James legs it to Glastonbury as Dragonfly wows festival revellers in their thousands

James legs it to Glastonbury as Dragonfly wows festival revellers in their thousands

10 July 2024

A BALLYNAHINCH man helped create one of the most spectacular attractions at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

While fans rocked in their hundreds of thousands to Dua Lipa, Coldplay, SZA, Shania Twain and the best of the headline acts, and millions more watched on TV, a giant mechanical Dragonfly left everyone gasping in disbelief.

Made from an adapted Royal Navy helicopter and lit up in a range of colours as it hovered above the crowd, the Dragonfly was one of the most popular attractions as top DJs including Fatboy Slim belted out sounds to late night revellers.

The legs were supplied by James Wightman, who owns a breakers business near Spa.

He was there to enjoy his creation along with his wife, Gloria, and four children, Sophie (20), Jenny (18), Sarah (17) and James (15).

“I couldn’t believe it when we saw the Dragonfly in operation,” Gloria said. “We were all so proud that Spa played a part in Glastonbury.

“We stayed for two days and the children had never experienced anything like it. It was mad.”

The journey from Spa to Glastonbury began last year when James was contacted by Arcadia Spectacular, a Bristol-based company which specialises in creating huge sculptures for big one-air events such as rock festivals.

James took the leg parts by lorry to Bristol where they were assembled and then taken to Glastonbury.

The Dragonfly took two months to erect and test before it was ready for the festival.

“It was unreal,” Gloria said. “You would have thought it was a living creature. With all the lights it looked as if it was moving. There was definitely a wow factor.”

Gloria said Glastonbury was an incredible experience.

“We couldn’t get over the size of it. Everything was on an incredible scale. There was much going on. It was mind blowing,” she remarked.

“It hardly ever got dark and we were up all night. The music was fantastic, particularly Coldplay and Dua Lipa.

“We loved every minute of it and the weather was gorgeous with not a sign of mud. We’re definitely going back.”

As for the Dragonfly its next venues are likely to be Mexico and Las Vegas before coming back to Glastonbury next year.