Glastonbury Festival, 2008.

The Glastonbury Festival - the largest event of its kind in the world - sailed into 2008 on troubled waters. Memories of the previous year's rain soaked conditions, coupled with a bulging market for festivals in Britain, and new choices in sunnier European locations, left the normally instant sell-out festival with slow ticket sales. Many began to speculate that the festival that has always been the undisputed granddaddy of them all was finally past its peak.

In the weeks running up to the event, even the most faithful simply hoped for a good year. What happened though, over the five day event, surprised even the optimists. As rain turned to blazing hot sunshine, acts such as Leonard Cohen put in performances that received rave reviews, and the choice of Jay-Z for Saturday night headline slot turned from questionable to a moment of genius, the performance winning critical acclaim in the British media.

Writing about Jay-Z, Alexis Petridis, of the Guardian, concluded: "It's also one of those transcendent, tingle-inducing Glastonbury moments people talk about so much, but it's a Glastonbury moment unlike any other: suddenly, a festival whose very future seemed pretty bleak 24 hours ago feels like a triumph." Roll on 2009.

Written by Paul.A.Holmes