Revellers at the Glastonbury Festival are facing a weekend in wellies yet again after rain hit the site.

Heavy showers fell late on Thursday, but most fans were refusing to let the weather get in the way of the party.

The main stages are due to open later, hosting acts like Kings of Leon, Pete Doherty, Jimmy Cliff and Fatboy Slim.

Other attractions include a silent disco, a planetarium, a whirlpool bath and a replica New York nightclub. The event in Somerset is in its 38th year.

Canvas cafe

Most of the 137,000 fans have now arrived and set up camp.

They are hoping further rain will hold off and prevent a quagmire on the scale of the last two festivals, in 2007 and 2005.

Those mudbaths have been partly to blame for putting fans off buying tickets this year.

"I did think twice about coming back because last year was such hard work," said Naomi Hadfield, 25, from Liverpool.

"But I thought 'I hope it's better weather', and I chanced it," she said, sheltering from the rain in a canvas café selling hog roasts and giant Yorkshire puddings.

"It seems like it wouldn't be the same without rain," said her friend, 21-year-old Tom Kelly. "It's an English tradition."

Not sold out

The event has still not sold out. On Thursday evening, organiser Michael Eavis said they were "within a few hundred" tickets of a sell-out.

Another reason for the slow sales has been the choice of headliners, with particular criticism for Jay-Z's slot at the top of the bill on Saturday.

"He doesn't belong here," Ms Hadfield said.

"In his field he's the best of the best. However, he's not my cup of tea and one of the reasons it didn't sell out is because he's headlining."

Twenty-year-old Harriet Read from Bristol said she was looking forward to seeing Jay-Z, despite not normally being a fan.

"I can't wait - it will be awesome," she said. "It's at Glastonbury and I just want to know how it will pan out.

"I want to know if he will kick the critics' asses or if it will be awful."

Rumours have spread around the site that the New York rap giant will be joined by high-profile guests, such as his wife Beyonce, Coldplay singer Chris Martin or rock collaborators Linkin Park.

Some smaller stages, such as the Queen's Head, the Left Field and the Dance Lounge, hosted music on Thursday.

With no main stages open, there were huge crowds spilling out of the Queen's Head tent to see hot new acts such as Glasvegas and Santogold.

Other fans explored the other attractions, activities and oddities on offer.

This year sees a new area called Shangri-La, which hosts the Jacuzzi Lounge, the Gramophon Salon - a Japanese café where waiters in kimonos serve records - and a 1950s-style US diner that doubles as a nightclub.

Another area offering eccentric twilight adventures is Trash City, which has expanded this year.

That is home to the Dragstrip biker bar, the NYC Downlow disco, the fuselage of an apparently crashed jet and the futuristic sculptures of the Unnatural History Museum.

"There's more than just music," says Joey Scott, 16, from Bristol. "At some festivals, there is just music.

"Here, you never run out of things to do."

Some fans arriving on Friday are expected to face delays getting to the site after a nearby fire on Thursday.

The blaze, at a scrapyard a mile from the site, caused the closure of the A37, which police expect to remain shut until at least 1200 BST on Friday.

(BBC)

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