A large crowd partied through the night and into the morning, with special managed access to the Stonehenge stone circle extended until 8:30 a.m. on Sunday as people celebrated the summer solstice.
Stonehenge is considered a place of worship by modern-era ‘Earth-based’ or ‘old’ religions such Neo-Druids and PagansImage: Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo/picture alliance
“As the sun rose on the year’s longest day, we welcomed more than 20,000 people to celebrate together, with thousands more joining via our livestream from across the world,” English Heritage, which administers the Stonehenge site, said on Sunday.
On June 21, the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is tilted furthest towards the sun, resulting in the longest day of the year. The reverse is the case in the Southern Hemisphere, which has its longest day on December 21.
The prehistoric megalithic stone circle on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire in southwest England appears to have been built to align with the sun’s path on these days.
English Heritage said that more than 20,000 people attended on SundayImage: Ben Birchall/PA Images/picture alliance
Why did crowd control start to be implemented at Stonehenge?
As of 1978, public access to Stonehenge started to be restricted — with visitors no longer free to walk among the stones — a response to cases of vandalism and increased erosion as a result of rapidly rising tourist numbers.
Modern-era solstice gatherings had first started as early as the mid 19th century, assisted by train access to nearby Salisbury.
Stonehenge solstice gatherings were stopped in the 1980s, but restarted with more controls (and a few fees) in 2000Image: Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo/picture alliance
These rather more anarchic and freeform events came to a violent halt in 1985, when police and a group of hundreds of New Age travelers calling themselves The Peace Convoy clashed in what came to be known as the Battle of Beanfield.
As police tried to enforce an injunction to stop the convoy obtained by local authorities, at first with a roadblock, more than 500 people were ultimately arrested.
It was one of the largest mass-arrest events in Britain at least since World War II. Allegations of police misconduct and of violence against officers circulated on both sides.
On the solstices, the strict ban on people touching the stones — aiming to slow erosion — is liftedImage: Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo/picture alliance
How do the modern-era solstice celebrations work?
As of 2000, English Heritage started opening up the Stonehenge site for the two solstices — as well as the spring and autumn equinoxes — for managed entry. The events have gathered momentum since.
Parking is pre-paid, booking-only, and in 2026 the fees rose another 5 pounds to 25 pounds (roughly €28.20 or $33.20). Spaces sold out, and English Heritage warned people not to park on the roadside of the A303 or the other busy trunk roads passing the site — a key route connecting the southwest to London — saying cars would be towed.
Instead, special buses from Salisbury ferried other revelers to the site.
‘And oh, how they danced, the little children of Stonehenge,’ if you’ll permit us to plagiarize a poetImage: Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo/picture alliance
What else is happening on summer solstice in Europe?
The weather surely fits the bill on the first day of the astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere, with the UK and much of Europe facing severe heat warnings.
Temperatures were comparatively modest in the Salisbury area by national standards on Sunday, with highs of 29 degrees Celsius (84.2 Fahrenheit) forecast.
In France, though, the government forbade the public consumption of alcohol amid the Music Day celebrations marking the summer solstice. These involve thousands of concerts in village squares, rave venues and Paris clubs, bringing communities together and increasingly drawing international visitors.
Amid scorching temperatures in France, authorities have prohibited public alcohol consumption at Sunday’s solstice music eventsImage: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu/picture alliance
Sweden’s Midsummer celebrations, that began as early as Friday, might have suffered a setback on Saturday with the country’s 5-1 trouncing at the hands of the Netherlands in the World Cup.
Perhaps predictably, Scandinavian temperatures are much more conducive to outdoor revelry at present, even amid the heat wave to the south.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
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