Opening ceremony kicks off Glastonbury with a bang

The Pyramid Stage opened with a theatre and circus show for the first time since 1990

With tents firmly pitched and wristbands secured, revellers spent the first night of Glastonbury Festival exploring the more obscure and eccentric attractions on site.

Ticketholders queued through the night to be among the first to enter the gates of Worthy Farm on Wednesday, brimming with excitement.

As night fell, for the first time in 35 years, the event hosted an opening ceremony from a theatre and circus act in front of the Pyramid Stage.

And with the main line-up not starting until Friday, crowds also flocked to the traditional opening fire ceremony in the Green Fields' Sacred Space.

Acrobats and singers took part in the immersive performance

Many performers were suspended in the air for the show

The audience at the immersive aerial performance were asked to tune in and hum along to the movements of a digital cyclist on screen at the Pyramid Stage, creating a "collective soundscape".

Glastonbury organisers described the performance, named The Dreamweaver's Journey, as a "beautiful chaos of sound".

The Dreamweaver's Journey was a colourful display of light, colour and sound

Crowds were encouraged to sing along to the "breath-taking aerial odyssey"

Elsewhere on site, others leaned into nostalgia and indulged in a 90s singalong at the Greenpeace stage.

The official opening of the ambient Tree Stage saw meditations, celebrations, offerings and the ceremonial lighting of the Tolpuddle fire, which stays burning continuously from dusk till dawn.

The lighting of the Tolpuddle fire is a symbolic tribute to the festival's history and community spirit

Revellers gathered at the sacred Stone Circle to watch the sun set

The evening culminated in a fireworks display, seen from both ceremonies, which ignited the sky with blazing trails and colourful sparks.

Many people gathered at the Tipi Village, The Stone Circle and at the base of the Glastonbury sign to watch the spectacle.

Festivalgoers huddled together under shelter as they awaited a break in the clouds

Campers awoke on Thursday morning to a flood of torrential rain carving a river through the grass.

But despite its best efforts, the weather could not dampen the spirits of festivalgoers who braced the rain wearing sunglasses, in true Brit fashion.

Festivalgoers made makeshift tents in an attempt to stay dry on Thursday morning

Forecasters say the damp start should pass and be replaced by a windy afternoon with temperatures ranging from the high teens to low 20s.

By the evening, the winds should subside and the evening will be clear with a chance of patchy rain at about midnight.

Additional reporting by Paul Glynn