Glastonbury queues warning due to increased security checks
Recent terror attacks in Manchester and London mean there will be more car and bag searches taking place.
Wednesday 21 June 2017 07:48, UK
Festival goers are being asked to "be patient" as they contend with heightened security checks to get into Glastonbury.
Extra car and bag searches mean getting on the site is likely to be a slow process for the thousands of ticket holders hoping to set up camp early.
Avon and Somerset Police say there is "no intelligence" to suggest a specific threat to the festival.
However, in the wake of the terror attacks in London and Manchester, increased security measures have been introduced.
Assistant Chief Constable Caroline Peters says the policing style "may look and feel slightly different" but, like the rest of the UK, "festival-goers should be alert but not alarmed".
High visibility officers are going to be present throughout the festival, mostly for reassurance.
"Police officers, they're going to be wearing black shirts, they're going to be wearing protective vests and body cameras - but that's no different to any day to day patrol," she added.
After the suicide attack on Manchester Arena, security at major music events has been a lot more visible.
Armed police protected rockers at the Download Festival and the Isle of Wight.
In Germany, thousands of people had to be evacuated from a rock festival when police received a credible terror threat.
John Gearson, Professor of National Security Studies at King's College, says police face a challenge; how best to deter copycats without making the public feel alarmed.
"The difficult question, I think, for the police and for the organisers is how far an armed police presence will be appropriate and needed to deter people who might want to carry out armed attacks.
"We are going to control it and contain it, but in the current climate people have to accept that there is a greater risk, let's say a residual danger, than there was in previous years.
"People who think they've got nothing to do with politics will find they are the target of some of these terrible violent acts."
Festival goers have been asked to play their part in keeping Glastonbury safe and secure.
Ticket-holders have been told to pack light, place luggage tags or ID on all bags and belongings including their name and mobile number.
Queues getting into Glastonbury are nothing new. It is, after all, the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world.
This time last year, on the Wednesday before the festival, congestion on the roads caused traffic jams that some claimed lasted almost 11 hours.
The reason then was simple: mud. Flash floods meant poor conditions for driving onto the site.