For five days a year, a group of fields in the Somerset countryside become home to up to 175,000 people – roughly the population of Middlesbrough.

Here is a breakdown of the event in numbers:

100-plus – the number of officially listed stages at the event. While some may rarely venture beyond the Pyramid and Other stages, there are scores of alternative venues to explore. From the late night Arcadia with its huge fire-breathing mechanical dragon to the more laid-back Bandstand, there is something for all tastes. The festival offers in excess of 2,200 performances listed on the official line-up including speakers, poetry readings and more.

5,000 – the number of loos on-site. Whether as a result of a dodgy burger or gallons of weak lager, a visit to a whiffy toilet is never far from the mind of festival-goers. It takes a team of hundreds to keep them usable over the duration of the event.

600,000 – the amount of pounds spent on new “super loos” for this year’s festival. Organisers want to phase out the unpopular portable toilets replacing them with long-drop and composting toilets at the site instead.

700 – the number of metres of male urinals dotted around the site. Women also have the opportunity to use female urinals known as Sheepees, with a new area dedicated to them at Glasto Latino.

11 million – number of litres of water expected to be used on the site over the main five days of the event.

0 – the total number of legal marriages at this year’s Glasto. It may be a popular choice for stag and hen events, but there will no proper weddings as the festival is not a licensed venue.

120,000 – the number of tickets which went on sale.

1,000,000 – the amount of people who registered to be able to get tickets.

1 hour and 27 minutes – the length of time it took for them to sell out.

210 – how many pounds you would have to part with to afford a standard ticket (plus booking fee). A quarter of a century ago the price was £17 to see headliners such as The Cure, Psychedelic Furs and Level 42, with the capacity a third of its present size.

1 – the cost of a ticket (in pounds) to get into the inaugural festival in 1970, with free milk thrown in.

950 – the cost of tipi hire, not including the cost of tickets. Accommodation in the tipis – which has sold out – is described as an “incredible and elemental experience, but not a luxury one”.

7,000 – the cost of a four-person luxury tent hired from The Yurt Company. The price includes sheepskin rugs, scatter cushions, real beds, fairy lights and hot water bottles.

8.5 – the perimeter of the site in miles. The festival is set across 1,200 acres in the myth-rich Vale of Avalon. It is more than a mile-and-a-half across, so factoring in the crowds, bottlenecks, all-day hangovers and the possibility of either cloying mud or draining sunshine, it can take a long time to get around.

1,300 – the number of recycling volunteers who will work on the site, most of them giving their service in exchange for a ticket.

400 – the number of cows who normally wander the fields of Worthy Farm. They will be tucked out of harm’s way for the duration of the event.

For the latest Glastonbury gossip visit www.westerndailypress.co.uk/glastonburyfestival