Glastonbury clean-up crew includes 2,500-person recycling team

It's a major operation to de-litter the Somerset dairy farm after 200,000 people attended the festival

Volunteers clean up by the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm in Somerset, after the Glastonbury Festival in Britain. Reuters

Volunteers began shifting rubbish strewn across the 324-hectare site, as revellers made their way home after the festival on Monday morning. EPA

The clean-up crew tackled waste such as camping chairs, slippers, flip-flops and shopping bags needing to be disposed of. EPA

The thousands of discarded items include paper cups and food containers. EPA

It's a major operation to de-litter the Somerset dairy farm after 200,000 people attended the festival. EPA

The cleaning up begins after campers and festivalgoers packed up their belongings and left in a steady stream from the Somerset site. EPA

Cleaners load rubbish bags on to a truck, from the venue. AFP

A broken camping chair is left behind at the end of the Glastonbury festival near the village of Pilton in Somerset, southwest England, on June 27, 2022. - More than 200,000 music fans descended on the English countryside this week as Glastonbury Festival returned after a three-year hiatus. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP)

A major clean-up operation has begun at Glastonbury Festival to return the site from a pop-up city of 200,000 people back to a Somerset dairy farm.

Volunteers began shifting rubbish strewn across the 324-hectare site as revellers began to make their way home following headline performances by Billie Eilish, Sir Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar.

They began picking up thousands of discarded items including paper cups and food containers.

The clean-up crew tackled overflowing bins with waste and big items such as camping chairs, blow-up mattresses, slippers, flip-flops and shopping bags needing to be disposed of.

Scroll through the gallery below to see the best photos from Glastonbury 2022

Sir Paul McCartney invited Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen on stage to perform with him in the former Beatle's Glastonbury headline set on Saturday night. AP Photo

Sir Paul McCartney waves the Ukrainian flag. AP Photo

Festival goers watch Sir Paul McCartney perform at Glastonbury Festival. AP Photo

Olivia Rodrigo performs on the Other Stage. Reuters

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds play on the Pyramid Stage. Getty Images

An atmospheric moment from Roisin Murphy's set on the West Holts Stage. Getty Images

Yungblud. AP Photo

Skunk Anansie. Getty Images

Celeste. Getty Images

Billy Nomates on the Left Field stage. PA

Climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks on the Pyramid Stage. Reuters

A 'Glastonbury' sign is illuminated by sunset on day one of the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. Getty Images

A festivalgoer walks between the tents in one of the camping areas. The festival has returned for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began. Getty Images

Festivalgoers watch a recorded message from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. EPA

More than 200,000 music fans will attend the festival. PA

Former Spice Girl Melanie C plays a DJ set in the William's Green tent. PA

Festivalgoer Ed proposes to his partner Chelsea as the sun begins to set on day one of the festival. Getty Images

A festival attendee is silhouetted as they stand on top of the stone circle at Worthy Farm. PA

Pete Doherty from the band 'The Libertines' performs. AP

Revellers walk past graffiti attributed to Banksy as they arrive at Worthy Farm. Reuters

A festivalgoer goes down a slide at the festival. AFP

Thousands of tents are set up across the fields. AFP

There may be some inclement weather to deal with at the weekend. AP

Ai-Da is heralded as the world's first ultra-realistic robot artist, and has been producing abstract paintings of this year's Glastonbury headliners. PA

Festivalgoers take part in a laughter-yoga workshop in the Healing Field. PA

A cardboard cut-out depicting Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at the camping site. AFP

Festival founder Michael Eavis opening the gates on the first day. PA

“I’ve been litter picking every day for hours. In the whole recycling team, there are 2,500 of us and I’ve done it 10 years on the trot," said volunteer Sean Kelly, 32.

“It’s very similar to 2019 because it is dry; it is a lot easier to pick when it is dry.

“As a rule, everything is pretty much done early this year. There’s been a huge reduction in gas canisters this year, but there’s been a lot of vape bars and they are the only things you can’t recycle.

“Most things get recycled here.”

Campers packed up their belongings and left in a steady stream from the Somerset site on Monday morning as the rain descended following a festival that had defied ominous forecasts of thunderstorms and a yellow weather warning from the Met Office.

Highlights from the festival’s special 50th year include history-making headline sets from Sir Paul and Eilish as well as Lamar’s dramatic demonstration for female rights.

Scroll through the gallery below to see the gates open to Glastonbury for the first time in three years

Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival's founder, join fans on the opening day of the event in June 2022, the first since the pandemic began. AP

Eavis, right, and his daughter Emily, left, open the Glastonbury gates. AP

Campers put up their tent on the first day of the Glastonbury festival. Reuters

A festivalgoer is sprayed with water by a steward to cool them down on the first day of the festival. Reuters

Revellers arrive for Glastonbury. Reuters

More than 200,000 revellers will descend on Worthy Farm. Reuters

Guests arrive as the sun shines. Reuters

From left, Simon Lampard, 52, Pat Brooks, 82 and Linda Brooks-Lampard, 51 arrive on the first day. AP

Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar will headline this year's festival. Reuters

Thousands of people queue in the sunshine. Reuters

Police officers keep watch as revellers arrive. Reuters

People queue as the gates open. Reuters

The festival will run for five days until Sunday. Reuters

Meanwhile, Diana Ross reeled off hit after hit when she took to the stage for the Sunday teatime legends slot.

The soul singer treated the crowd to a selection of classics including I’m Coming Out, Baby Love, You Can’t Hurry Love, Stop! In The Name Of Love and at the conclusion of Chain Reaction, pink confetti was launched from the stage.

Another standout moment was Sir Paul’s Saturday headline show, where he wowed the crowds with a show-stopping set list which included surprise guest appearances from Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.

As he took to the Pyramid Stage, the former Beatle became the festival’s oldest solo headliner, a week after he celebrated his 80th birthday.

During his more-than-two-hour set, he played a range of classic songs including Hey Jude, Blackbird, Live And Let Die, Ob-La-Di, Ob‐La‐Da and Get Back.

The electrifying show was further amplified as he introduced Grohl to the stage to sing I Saw Her Standing There and Band On The Run, marking Grohl’s first public performance since the death of his Foo Fighters bandmate, drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Springsteen later joined Sir Paul for Glory Days and I Wanna Be Your Man.

As part of the encore, through special technology, which could isolate John Lennon’s vocals from old recordings, Sir Paul was able to duet The Beatles’ track I’ve Got A Feeling alongside his former bandmate on the Pyramid Stage.

On Friday, US singer Eilish performed on the Pyramid Stage, becoming Glastonbury’s youngest ever solo headliner.

Scroll through the gallery below to see images of Billie Eilish and Kalush Orchestra performing

US singer Billie Eilish performs in the headline slot on the Pyramid Stage during Glastonbury Festival. Getty Images

Multi-Grammy winner Eilish is the youngest solo act in history to top the bill on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. Getty Images

Eilish performed a crowd-pleasing set, which kicked off with hit 'Bury a Friend' and ended with 'Bad Guy' and 'Happier Than Ever'. Getty Images

Without directly referencing the US Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 ruling giving women the constitutional right to abortion, Eilish said: 'Today is a really dark day for women in the US.' Getty Images

Eilish then dedicated 'Your Power', a song about abusing power, to the US Supreme Court ruling. Getty Images

The Glastonbury Festival is being held in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England. AP

The festival returned for its 50th anniversary this year, two years later than planned after Covid-19 scuppered the 2020 and 2021 events. AP

Crowds watch Billie Eilish perform on stage. AP

Other top headliners to come at the festival include Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and Kendrick Lamar.

Billie Eilish on the Pyramid main stage. AP

The UK music weekender, which is among the biggest in the world, is set to welcome more than 200,000 guests over the coming five days. Getty Images

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses festivalgoers via a video link. AFP

'Glastonbury is the greatest concentration of freedom these days and I ask you to share this feeling with everyone whose freedom is under attack,' Zelenskyy told festivalgoers. AFP

Kalush Orchestra, Eurovision winners from Ukraine, performing their first UK gig at Shangri-La's Truth Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. EPA

The band, whose song 'Stefania' earned them the winner's title at the singing contest in Turin last month, spoke about their hopes of their country hosting next year's Eurovision competition. EPA

The European Broadcasting Union had said it cannot host the Eurovision in Ukraine, due to security issues. Winners of the contest traditionally host the competition the following year. EPA

Ukraine has condemned the European Broadcasting Union's decision to strip it of the right to host next year's Eurovision song contest on security grounds after Russia's invasion. EPA

The BBC said it was in talks with the EBU about hosting the event in the UK, with the country's Sam Ryder finishing runner-up to Kalush in Italy. EPA

If the UK does host the contest in 2023, it would be the ninth time it has done so — more than any other country. EPA

The crowd watching Kalush Orchestra. EPA

Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra on the Truth Stage. EPA

Glastonbury has not taken place since 2019 as the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to live events across the world. EPA

MC Kilimmen from Kalush Orchestra on stage. EPA

Oleg Psyuk, the frontman of Kalush Orchestra, performs. EPA

Crowds wave the Ukrainian flag as they watching Kalush Orchestra perform. EPA

Bobby Gillespie, vocalist for Primal Scream, performs on the John Peel stage at Glastonbury Festival. EPA

The festival featured countless other memorable moments including Greta Thunberg delivering a passionate speech from the Pyramid Stage, calling on society to take on its “historic responsibility to set things right” with the global climate crisis.

It also hosted an array of Ukrainian representatives, with the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy giving a poignant address via a video message and the Kalush Orchestra playing their first UK performance since they triumphed at Eurovision 2022.

While heading to the festival, many artists and festivalgoers had to battle travel chaos as major rail strikes took place during the event and many flights were delayed or cancelled.

However, these issues did not dampen everyone’s spirits and nor could the infamous Glastonbury showers, as the weather remained relatively dry in comparison to previous years.

Celebrities at Glastonbury 2022: Kit Harington, Princess Beatrice and Chris Martin spotted — in pictures

Kit Harington and Rose Leslie attend day three of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 24, 2022 in Glastonbury, England. WireImage

Sienna Miller, wearing a Mango dress and sunglasses and Missoma jewellery, and Oli Green, are seen on day one of Glastonbury Festival. Getty Images

Poppy Delevingne attends day three of Glastonbury Festival. WireImage

Daisy Lowe attends day four of Glastonbury Festival. WireImage

Laura Whitmore watching Skunk Anansie on the Other Stage during day four of Glastonbury Festival. Getty Images