Glastonbury Pyramid Stage designer Bill Harkin dies, aged 83

In a tribute to Harkin from Glastonbury co-founder Michael Eavis, he shared that Harkin had been a “top-flight architect working for British Leyland car launches” when he came to Glastonbury Fair in 1970. At that time, 1,500 people paid £1 for a ticket to the fair, which included free milk from Worthy Farm.

At Glastonbury, he met co-founder Andrew Kerr, where they discussed spirituality and “the need for a new age of looking at life towards a utopian society”. These conversations developed into the idea of a music festival with a Pyramid at the centre. 

Harkin designed the very first Pyramid stage at Worthy Farm, which came to him in a dream. It was made from sheeting bought at Taunton cattle market, and it took 12 weeks to build.

“His enthusiasm and dedication led to what we have now – thank you so much Bill,” Eavis said. “In more recent years he was involved with the design of the structures at the Eden Project, first in Cornwall and now across the world.”

You can read Eavis’ full tribute to Bill Harkin here.