Glastonbury 2008 will be a “vintage” year - or so the organisers promised yesterday - as the hammering of a hundred thousand tent pegs hailed the beginning of the country’s most famous festival.

Killjoys may be lamenting the slow exchange of tickets that remained stubbornly on sale, and the fans’ response to the indie kid’s worst nightmare - a hip-hop headline act - has yet to be seen. But only one question will determine the success of this year’s event: Will it rain?

Another washout in the Glastonbury tradition, and this canvas city comprising more than 175,000 campers, traders and performers could be in trouble. However, the element to fear this year may not be water, but wind.

Those who have pitched tents on the site at 900-acre Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, will have to steel themselves for strong southwesterly winds, which are predicted throughout the festival. Light showers are also expected today and tomorrow, but campers should escape the torrential downpours that have blighted previous years. Temperatures will hang around the 19C (66F) to 20C mark.

The Druids at least were confident that their prayers for sunshine would be answered. Archdruid King Arthur Pendragon led revellers in Hyde Park in a sacred call to the Sun God Lugh to spare the Glastonbury faithful from a mudbath.

Emily Eavis, Glastonbury organiser, said: “We can promise this year’s Glastonbury-goers the absolute time of their lives come rain or shine - however, I wouldn’t complain if, just for once, I was able to ditch the wellies. If the Druids have helped us charm the Sun into the sky over the festival weekend then they have my full backing.”

About 175,000 tickets have been sold but up to 3,000 were still on sale yesterday. This year is likely to be the first since 1993 that the festival has not sold out.

Veteran performers, including Leonard Cohen and Neil Diamond, are likely to be staying in accommodation of the windproof and waterproof kind. But tent owners beware: put those pegs in tight, or you could face many postcider hours stumbling over guy ropes in the dark, hunting for a tent that has long since blown away.

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