Is Glasto too expensive?

[Sunray]

Could be 500 quid, I'd still go.

 

[The Octagon]

Ticket price wise - No

Off the top of my head, a small percentage of the acts on the 'big' stages -

Bruce Springsteen
Neil Young
Blur
Prodigy
NERD
The Specials
Lady Gaga
Doves
Jarvis Cocker
Kasabian
Spinal Tap
Franz Ferdinand
Madness
Tom Jones

How much would you pay to watch these artists on their own?

That's not even counting the comedy, caberet, films, performance artists and hundreds of impromptu gigs in tiny corners of the site.

Under £200 is a bargain, IMO.

On the other hand, the prices within the festival are a fucking disgrace (for example, the shameless profiteering with regard to cigarettes as the weekend went on, £12 a pack on the Monday, what the fuck!).

Still going next year mind.

 

[Badgers]

Everything is too expensive but £200 for what you get and can access is good.

 

[tarannau]

There's still good food value around Glastonbury in places though. The nice folks at Yam the Cassava for example, who fill up plates of varied, wholesome food for the same price that the awful Dance field 2 pieces of greasy chicken and chips merchants charge.

 

[William of Walworth]

Tis true about the good value food at some stalls in some areas, you have to look around for them though. Still that can be part of the wandering about enjoyment

 

[Tort]

The festival itself is quality and still well worth the ticket fee, although the cost of extras such as food has crept up to commercial crapfest levels.

I'd have to disagree with that because I know of several stalls who charge less at Glastonbury than they do at other festivals. But even if it were true the fact that you can take all of your own food & booze to Glastonbury & eat/drink it wherever you like sets it apart from the Corporate Crapfests.

 

[genee_rave]

The couple of meals I bought at Bestival last week had about half as much food for the same price as at Glasto!

It would be good if the ticket price could include coach travel, for those who are too skint to drive or train it! It would help with them trying to encourage more people to get there by public transport...

 

[paolo]

Welsh Oggies for cheap and filling.
Pizza place next to Tiny Tea Tent for a bit of quality, nice indoor seating, £5 a pop.
Tor Rugby Club in the main market for cold soft drinks... something like £1, or maybe even less?
Vegge Nachos place up at the Park, for unfeasable sized portions even when you order small.

Any other faves folks? Ones that aren't obvious, no massive queues?

 

[TylerD]

I'd have to disagree with that because I know of several stalls who charge less at Glastonbury than they do at other festivals. But even if it were true the fact that you can take all of your own food & booze to Glastonbury & eat/drink it wherever you like sets it apart from the Corporate Crapfests.

"Several" out of how many? I did say "such as" food anyway, there are plenty of items that are becoming extortionately priced, e.g. the £14 cigarette packs (I'm a non-smoker so didn't notice this one, but that's a pretty disgraceful mark-up).

But the reason I'm not going next year (and perhaps never again) isn't down to the prices. I just don't like a lot of the people who go now, to put it bluntly. A good example being the bunch of vacuous females camping near us who spent all their time talking about themselves, Lady Gaga, shoes, themselves, Lily Allen, themselves, their boyfriends, Top Shop and, er, themselves and who blanked anyone who said hello to them. Like LusciousLucy said to me this year, most of thecrowd seemed to be V rejects.

 

[moose]

If it were too expensive, it wouldn't sell out every year - it's clearly pitched at a level that people who want to go can afford.

Whether it's worth it is another matter

 

[Clint Iguana]

Ticket price wise - No

Off the top of my head, a small percentage of the acts on the 'big' stages -

Bruce Springsteen
Neil Young
Blur
Prodigy
NERD
The Specials
Lady Gaga
Doves
Jarvis Cocker
Kasabian
Spinal Tap
Franz Ferdinand
Madness
Tom Jones

How much would you pay to watch these artists on their own?

.

nothing

 

[Hollis]

How do you work that out. Its site is way bigger, its scope and depth way larger, it's a true 5 day festival - these are all things which outweigh the fact that it has more punters. A single Wembley gig can contain nigh on a quarter of the glasto crowd and cosy nearly a quarter to attend.

Compare it to a much more constrained, commercial festival like Reading, Leeds or V and it's remarkable it doesn't cost more if anything.

I was thinking more in terms of the £80-£100 price range festivals, where I expect more of the ticket price simply goes on the infastructural costs of putting on 'a festival'.

 

[paolo]

"Several" out of how many? I did say "such as" food anyway, there are plenty of items that are becoming extortionately priced, e.g. the £14 cigarette packs (I'm a non-smoker so didn't notice this one, but that's a pretty disgraceful mark-up).

But the reason I'm not going next year (and perhaps never again) isn't down to the prices. I just don't like a lot of the people who go now, to put it bluntly. A good example being the bunch of vacuous females camping near us who spent all their time talking about themselves, Lady Gaga, shoes, themselves, Lily Allen, themselves, their boyfriends, Top Shop and, er, themselves and who blanked anyone who said hello to them. Like LusciousLucy said to me this year, most of thecrowd seemed to be V rejects.

£14 cigarettes? Nonsense. Never happened.

As for most people being V rejects... well, that's *us* then, by definition. I'll use that as a greeting to fellow urbs next year.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

But the reason I'm not going next year (and perhaps never again) isn't down to the prices. I just don't like a lot of the people who go now, to put it bluntly. A good example being the bunch of vacuous females camping near us who spent all their time talking about themselves, Lady Gaga, shoes, themselves, Lily Allen, themselves, their boyfriends, Top Shop and, er, themselves and who blanked anyone who said hello to them. Like LusciousLucy said to me this year, most of thecrowd seemed to be V rejects.

And maybe they'd prefer not to camp near someone so judgemental. Although I agree the blanking thing at a festie is a bit , but then sometimes people do that not because theyr'e rude, but because they're actually a little shy or unsure of themselves in that situation.

 

[purplex]

Probably not given the amount of entertainment the Eavis's provide.

 

[Voley]

I think it's too expensive now. I doubt I'll go again. I could have a couple of weeks abroad for the same price.

 

[Voley]

I'd be interested to hear how much money people take with them these days. If I was going on the Wednesday I don't think I'd want to take much less than 300 quid or so.

 

[moose]

Me too, but that could be because of our remarkable capacity for beer and cider

I used to buy the 'breadth of the entertainment on offer' argument for how expensive it is, then remembered I only have one pair of eyes and one pair of ears.

 

[DeepStoat]

I take £300 spending money now it's £200 ticket.

Plus £50 for transport.

Plus any other camping stuff needed.

Looking at about £600


Fuck.

 

[paolo]

I take £300 spending money now it's £200 ticket.

Plus £50 for transport.

Plus any other camping stuff needed.

Looking at about £600

Fuck.

Yep, same budget. It's not cheap.

Worth every penny, but not cheap.

 

[pennimania]

of course it is very expensive - but worth every penny imo.

I reckon most who want to go will get in one way or the other - working or paying.

I don't think there is anything quite like it - not that I've seen anywhere. Sometimes quite tiny, lovingly executed details that you happen upon.

Chairs encrusted with 'jewels' and scallop shells, fluorescent bicycles dangling from a stage, the rainbow childrens' clothes on the Park washing lines, little gems everywhere you look

You know you can pay a lot just to camp for one night on some of these fancy camp sites - with no entertainment and terrible neighbours.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

That's mental though. You could practically go to Thailand for a month for that including the flight well, OK more like 800 but still...

 

[paolo]

That's mental though. You could practically go to Thailand for a month for that including the flight well, OK more like 800 but still...

Are you going there?

 

[Voley]

Me too, but that could be because of our remarkable capacity for beer and cider

Yeah, there is that.

 

[david dissadent]

It may be worth the money but value is not the same as affordability. I think just about every festival is value for money in terms of lineup vs going to gigs. Glastonbury is far from affordable to everyone.

Time passes things change.

 

[DeepStoat]

It may be worth the money but value is not the same as affordability. I think just about every festival is value for money in terms of lineup vs going to gigs. Glastonbury is far from affordable to everyone.

Indeed.

 

[Addy]

Price for all the acts is good.
Probability of seing all the acts is poor.
If you was to see 5 bands perform @ £25 a throw makes Glasto reasonably priced.
Cost of all possible associates for the weekend could run i to the 100-0's depending on whats your poison.

Me, personally, I'd stick to the small local festies where you feel less ripped off and you get to see the acts you want, rather than justify your spends.
I done glasto once in 92 or 93 (cant recall) .... wouldn't do it again for the gate price.

 

[TylerD]

And maybe they'd prefer not to camp near someone so judgemental. Although I agree the blanking thing at a festie is a bit , but then sometimes people do that not because theyr'e rude, but because they're actually a little shy or unsure of themselves in that situation.

It wasn't just me, several people thought that particular group's attitude sucked. Admittedly this may have been because we were stuck in the traffic jam so long that it was night by the time we got to pitch and the usual haunts like Pennards had been filled up hours earlier so we ended up near the gate rather than deeper into the site, where the more seasoned Glasto-goers usually are.

But even in areas like Shangri-La and Trash City, there was a definite feeling that many of the crowd would have been more at home at V. There was still enough going on and enough awesome people to have a good time, obviously, but I honestly don't feel the atmosphere is as good as you'll get at several smaller festivals these days.

As for whether the ticket price still represents good value, it has gone from £58 in 1993 to £83 in 1999 to £175 in 2009. It has tripled in the space of 16 years. Is it three times as good as it was in the 1990s? I don't think so. I'd still miss it if it was gone for good though.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

I've never been. I'd like to go and i'm sure it's great but then I look at the price and my eyes water. I haven't left the UK for quite a while now and i'd rather put the money towards going abroad than camping in a muddy, albeit fun field.

Maybe one day i'll go, then again i've said this for ages now and I still haven't gone.

 

[The Octagon]

£14 cigarettes? Nonsense. Never happened.

As for most people being V rejects... well, that's *us* then, by definition. I'll use that as a greeting to fellow urbs next year.

I saw it get up to £12 on the monday morning, wouldn't have surprised me TBH.