THOUSANDS of festival-goers gathered in Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage field last night for a new addition to the opening night line-up: a drone show.

The festival first advertised the show last Thursday, advising people to “get there early” for the best viewing experience.

It began at 10.30pm and took around eight minutes from start to finish. Moments later, the traditional fireworks display got under way on the hill above The Park.

So, did it deliver? My take – and that of several people around me in the field – was that the drone show was rather lacklustre.

The show itself was impressively programmed and choreographed, but it didn’t quite live up to expectations.The show itself was impressively programmed and choreographed, but it didn’t quite live up to expectations. (Image: Ben Birchall, PA)

The chorography of the display was impressive, and it was cool to see the 576 drones dancing in the sky, twisting and turning into familiar shapes, words and symbols such as the festival's logos, the CND peace sign and an outline of the Pyramid.

But notable in its absence was a musical soundtrack to the display. Instead, the drones flew overhead in near-silence, until the crowd (in a very British way) began a chorus of expectant ‘oohs’ and ‘wheys’ as the latest motif was unveiled.

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The biggest crowd reaction – at least where I was sitting – was laughter in response to a shout of “put your lightsaber down, you t***”. The offending piece of Star Wars merchandise being waved around was soon lowered by its owner.

The show would have been improved by some music blaring through the speakers in the field, giving a taste of what's to come on the iconic stage.

However, this was likely not possible due to the festival’s licensing agreements for its main stages, which open on Friday.

Luckily, we still had an excellent view of the fireworks display from our position, which was more spectacular viewing and lived up to previous years.

But a problem with the fireworks display is the sheer number of people it draws to the hill near the ‘Glastonbury’ sign above The Park stage, as people gather in their thousands to watch the sun set and nab the best spot to ‘ooh’ and ‘ah’.

That, perhaps, is why the drone show was introduced: as an intricate crowd control measure to encourage people away from The Park, reducing the risk of crowd ‘bottlenecks’ on nearby footpaths.

I’m glad I took the time to go and see it – and it was nice to have a bit more space around me than I enjoyed last year, when I did head to the Glasto sign – but it won't be at the top of my list if I'm back at Worthy Farm in the future.