It's not difficult to see why Glastonbury Festival has earned itself a reputation as being as one of the very best events of its kind on the planet.

The festival boasts huge headline acts and an eclectic array of arts and and entertainment - all in the heart of the beautiful Somerset countryside.

A record number of people tried to buy tickets when general admission sales began last year and around 200,000 people are due to attend this year's festival, from June 26-30.

While most Glasto fans are just content with getting a ticket to the event, some have taken their love of the festival to the next level by getting honorary tattoos.

We spoke to some of the die-hard festival fans about their motivation behind the tattoos.

Jessi Dimmock

Artist: Joanne Baker, Semper, Edinburgh

Jessi Dimmock's watercolour-style thigh tattoo

Jessi describes herself as a “festival fanatic” and even runs a blog about a range of festival-related topics.

This year will be her tenth consecutive year at the festival.

“My reason behind the tattoo is simply that I love the festival.

“It’s definitely my favourite place in the world. I go to a lot of festivals but Glastonbury will always be my favourite.

“On the Wednesday when I’m driving to site and I first come over the hill and see the tents and lights of the festival ahead of me, I get butterflies every time.”

The original design

Jessi got her tattoo in 2017. It took three hours to complete and cost £230 - the exact price of a Glastonbury Festival 2017 ticket.

"I had heard about the artist Joanne Baker for a long time. Her watercolour work is just divine and her designs are always so unique.

"Very luckily for me, I won an Instagram competition that Joanne ran, and it dawned on me that she has the perfect style I had been waiting for for a Glastonbury Festival tattoo - bright, bold and unique.

Matt Walsh, Arcadia Stewarding Team. 

Artist: Marcus Dodd, Revolver Rooms, Torquay

The Arcadia logo

Matt has been to every Glastonbury Festival since 1998.

From 1998-2002 he attended as a customer. From 2003-2016, he went with the Oxfam Stewarding Team. He now attends the festival with Arcadia Stewards.

“I’ve been following Arcadia since way back in 2008. I was stewarding for Oxfam at the time, so I’ve watched them grow from the Orchids, to the Afterburner, to the Spider, and most recently the Metamorphosis show.

“I had some close friends join the stewarding team with me in 2017 and we had such a great week, mixed in with some hard work, too. It’s a great crowd, though.

"I had been thinking about getting an Arcadia related tattoo for a few years, this tattoo was drawn shortly after Glastonbury 2017."

The tattoo took two hours to complete and cost Matt £160.

Matt says his greatest Glastonbury Festival highlight was in 2000 when Chemical Brothers played at the Pyramid.

"It was the busiest crowd ever. When they played 'It Doesn't Matter', the crowd went nuts. It was a great atmopshere."

Emma Lester

Emma Lester is building a sleeve of Glastonbury photos

Emma has been to Glastonbury festival nine times - her first experience was in 2007 and her last was in 2016.

"I didn't manage to get tickets this year and it's absolutely heartbreaking", she said.

"The longer we go the less it is about the music and the more it is about the festival as a whole.

"We used to bounce from stage to stage but now we like finding the secret gigs."

Emma says one of the biggest highlights was at a secret gig in 2015, when Frank Turner personally put Emma on the guest list after she asked him a question during a Q&A.

"It's hard to put into words. There's nowhere like it, it feels like home. It takes a bit of your heart and just keeps it," she said.

So far, Emma has sat in the tattoo studio chair for around seven hours and has spent approximately £500 on the sleve.

"The tattoo will eventually be a full sleeve of all my own photographs. Tipis, flags, Ribbon Tower and Beat Hotel are still to go on.

"It’s my favourite place in the world."

She expects that the entire sleeve will take around 15 hours to complete and cost at least £1,000.

André Sharp

André has also been lucky enough to get tickets to the last nine festivals.

"Glastonbury is part of my life", he said.

"Having the Pyramid Stage as part of my tattoo symbolises a chapter of my life. The whole tattoo is part of my life.

"Glastonbury isn’t just about the music, it’s the love and the harmonious feeling between people you meet. Everyone is so friendly. Everyone is there for the same reason - to enjoy the best party.

"What Michael Eavis has done is something truly spectacular. I’ve been lucky enough to meet him at Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza. What a truly kind gentleman he is.

André said the thing he most looks forward to about returning this year is "walking up to the Glastonbury sign, turning around and looking at the most magical place in the world."

"Not long now", he said.

Nic Rayner

Ben Chidge, Exclusive Tattoo, Street

For Nic, Glastonbury Festival is a place that allows him to continue making memories with distant friends.

He said: "I've been going for years with a group of people who I don't see throughout the year. These friends live all over the UK which makes it special.

"The atmosphere at Glastonbury Festival is amazing. It's different from the any others I've been to. I forget the world when I'm there.

"There are so many memories, from my tent having a small river travelling through it and falling in the mud, to dancing all night and getting sunburnt.

"I did five years in a cheap Tesco tent, my friends said I was mad. The tent sadly died at the last festival."

Here are some other tattoos that festival-goers have shared on social media

Lee Morris' leg tattoo is still in progress
John Rhead's thigh tattoo

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