Glastonbury Festival tribute to 'wonderful, inspiring' Jo Cox

Updated

The life of MP Jo Cox will be celebrated at the Glastonbury Festival on what would have been her 42nd birthday.

As part of birthday tributes to the mother-of-two spanning from New York to Nairobi, festival co-organiser Emily Eavis has urged campers to come together to remember the MP she called "such a wonderful, inspiring woman who gave so much".

On Monday, she tweeted: "We're holding a tribute for Jo Cox at 4pm, Weds at The Park stage on what would have been her 42nd birthday. Please come along if you're here."

Wednesday will see the start of arrivals to the festival, with over 180,000 festival goers expected to pour in over the rest of the week to see hundreds of acts including headliners Muse, Adele and Coldplay on the famous Pyramid Stage.

After battling heavy flooding, traffic jams and a long trudge to the campsite, those arriving today can expect a mostly dry two days to explore the biggest-ever grounds before Glastonbury officially kicks off on Friday morning at 11am.

Other highlights of the festival include its first classical music headliner in a tribute to David Bowie, Jeff Lynne's ELO in the Sunday "Legends" slot and even a talk from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Idris Elba fans will be disappointed, however, as he pulled out of his DJ slot just one day ahead of the festival beginning due to scheduling conflicts with his new film The Dark Tower.

In more bad news for campers, the site is already being hailed a mudbath even before thousands of wellies get their chance to churn up the soil, with workers sharing pictures of boggy fields and submerged paths.

More rain is predicted across the weekend, with Saturday expected to the wettest of the festival.

But the Met Office has told ticket holders that sunglasses will be just as essential packing as wellies as it forecasts the mercury to top 21C (70F) on Thursday and a balmy 19C (66F) over Saturday and Sunday.

Police are expected to crack down on legal highs during the festival following the introduction of the new Psychoactive Substances Act that could see dealers face up to seven years in prison.

Avon and Somerset Police warned: "No matter what you may have heard, we have a zero tolerance policy to illegal substances.

"Security checks on your way into the site are stringent and the festival's security staff are well practised in finding any place you might decide to hide your stash."

This year's festival will coincide with the EU referendum result, which will be announced on Friday morning.

Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis has expressed his support for the Remain campaign.

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