Is Glasto too expensive?

[bmd]

It's worth it to me but what does make me a little resentful are the year on year price rises over and above inflation.

I don't really get that, did Glasto charge too little and they're trying to make it up? Is it that commodities are more expensive and therefore the price reflects that? Or is it something else?

I would appreciate a little more transparency on why prices have risen something like 25% in the last few years.

But then even if they said "we just wanna squeeze a bit more profit" I'd still go, it would just take a little bit of the shine off. And I suppose that's because I see Glasto as a place where I can pretend that money doesn't come first and the price hikes on the tickets make that a little more difficult.

I pay for mine and my kids tickets so that's about £600 just for the entry. But I love the fact that they're there, seeing stuff that's outside of the shite that the education system wishes them to know. It's worth it for that alone imo. And I don't think there are many places they could go in the UK to get that kind of experience.

 

[david dissadent]

The costs of holding a festival in the UK have increased way out of proportion of general inflation. The security costs are huge and meeting health and safety is far from trivial. Also diesel is a big part of the budget of the festival and it was mentioned in 2008 as being a huge extra head ache. Booking American acts is aslo more expensive as the pound has weakened over the past two years.

 

[Clint Iguana]

.

I pay for mine and my kids tickets so that's about £600 just for the entry. But I love the fact that they're there, seeing stuff that's outside of the shite that the education system wishes them to know. It's worth it for that alone imo. And I don't think there are many places they could go in the UK to get that kind of experience.

Granted the kids will see things that they will not see anywhere else, but they only really need to se them once or twice.

There are other festivals about that provide 'alternatives' to the shite education system that will also provide a community spirit that is sadly absent from Glastonbury these days.

If my kid disapears at shambala/workhouse/endorse it or wherever, i dont worry cos i know she will be safe. I would be watching her like a hawk at glastonbury.

 

[Sunray]

The costs of holding a festival in the UK have increased way out of proportion of general inflation. The security costs are huge and meeting health and safety is far from trivial. Also diesel is a big part of the budget of the festival and it was mentioned in 2008 as being a huge extra head ache. Booking American acts is aslo more expensive as the pound has weakened over the past two years.

Yeah energy costs have rocketed as have the cost of putting on Festivals.

Dunno how many generators there are at Glastonbury but each one there has one of the fuel trailers, just one of which they use to fill all the generators at Bestival. I think they constantly go round filling them up.

Also remember that Glastonbury does not use corporate sponsors, so like the BBC its a rare privilege that there isn't someone trying to sell you crap, but understand that makes it more expensive.

Any profit it makes goes to either Water aid and Oxfam.

 

[TylerD]

Also remember that Glastonbury does not use corporate sponsors,

Orange, Budweiser and Emap are just some of Glasto's corporate sponsors.

And apparently Tesco is going to sponsor the Pyramid Stage next year if Undercurrents is to be believed: http://undercurrentsvideo.blogspot.com/2009/09/tesco-to-sponsor-glastonbury-festival.html

Any profit it makes goes to either Water aid and Oxfam.

The truth of that would depend on what are defined as operating costs and the break-even point. I'm sure Mean Fiddler does well out of its cut. The Eavises don't make very much out of it, to be fair to them.

 

[scifisam]

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.

I don't think it's Glastonbury's fault that you need to spend £300 just for spending money for a maximum of five days, or spend £50 on camping gear every year, and they're hardly responsible for your transport costs either.

 

[paolo]

And apparently Tesco is going to sponsor the Pyramid Stage next year if Undercurrents is to be believed:

Do you believe that?

 

[TylerD]

Do you believe that?

Ummm, almost as much as I believe the annual "Cliff Richard is dead" rumours.

I must admit I refused to believe that MJ was dead this year on this basis until someone checked t'interweb on their phone.

 

[moose]

And apparently Tesco is going to sponsor the Pyramid Stage next year if Undercurrents is to be believed: http://undercurrentsvideo.blogspot.com/2009/09/tesco-to-sponsor-glastonbury-festival.html

Well, they do have a history of involvement with the festival - they were sole distributers of the short-lived Glastonbury Festival Cheese a few years ago

 

[William of Walworth]

That Tesco thing is a blatantly dodgy rumour

Budweiser haven't been involved since 2007, it's Carlsberg behind most (not all) of the alcohol outlets now. I'm no fan of them, or of any corporate sponsorship even when relatively restrained as at Glasto, but let's at least be accurate about the details, and about the level of it at Glastonbury.

If you want to see really in yer face corporate sponsorship at festivals, V and Reading show you the way to do it. Glastonbuy is surely far less bad by that comparative yardstick.

To my thinking sponsorship at Glastonbury is kept under reasonably strict control, and is restrained to a tolerable-ish level. David D's posts about the running costs explain why such a big festival has little choice but to compromise and accept some degree of it.

Of course the issue of whether or not Glastonbury should be so big, is another discussion again ...

 

[Dovydaitis]

ive never been, but want to. would you say it's worth forking out for?

 

[William of Walworth]

ive never been, but want to. would you say it's worth forking out for?

Yes, worth saving up for even. But then I would say that I spose ...

 

[paolo]

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

I've never seen a creeping price - even on Monday.

Where was this? One of 'yellow' signage places? Which one?

 

[Clint Iguana]

ive never been, but want to. would you say it's worth forking out for?

The place bores me, i have no intention of ever going again. However, i have the advantage of having been 22 times.

As much as i hate the place, I can say without a shadow of doubt that everyone should go at least once... the TV experience does not come even close to the reality. So yes, fork out

 

[Teaboy]

It's expensive and year on year getting more so.

If you compare it to other festivals and live music in general then it does represent value for money, it's true that no festival comes close to glasto

However if you consider it as a holiday then you'd have to say it's very pricey. Over the last decade or so the cost of holidays has remained relatively stagnant, glasto on the other hand has been rising notably.

This year was the final straw for me, having loads of things to do is great, but its less great if the crowds are so vast you can't get to see them. I'm also amazed, given how much experience they have, that they still sometimes get the sound wrong on the main stages, Prodigy this year were completly ruined.

 

[William of Walworth]

The place bores me, i have no intention of ever going again. However, i have the advantage of having been 22 times.

As much as i hate the place, I can say without a shadow of doubt that everyone should go at least once... the TV experience does not come even close to the reality. So yes, fork out

22 times, fucking hell!!!

I find it hard to imagine getting bored with it even after that many times though ... but then that's me .... smaller/different festivals suit some people far better (including me sometimes as it goes, but then I do lots).

 

[William of Walworth]

It's expensive and year on year getting more so.

If you compare it to other festivals and live music in general then it does represent value for money, it's true that no festival comes close to glasto

However if you consider it as a holiday then you'd have to say it's very pricey. Over the last decade or so the cost of holidays has remained relatively stagnant, glasto on the other hand has been rising notably.

Really not sure I agree with that. I still think it represents fair value for money myself, considering all you get.

This year was the final straw for me, having loads of things to do is great, but its less great if the crowds are so vast you can't get to see them.

Wre you completely overcrowded from seeing some acts then?

I'm also amazed, given how much experience they have, that they still sometimes get the sound wrong on the main stages, Prodigy this year were completly ruined.

Was it that bad? We were working on the Info Desk next to the Other Stage the Sunday evening, and I wasn't aware of sound level problems ...

My beef was with the shortness of their set, they finished at least 20 mins earlier than they needed, but not with the sound.

 

[Sunray]

Prodigy Sounded fine where I was standing.

 

[TylerD]

If you want to see really in yer face corporate sponsorship at festivals, V and Reading show you the way to do it. Glastonbuy is surely far less bad by that comparative yardstick

Maybe so, but I was responding to the (inaccurate) claim that Glastonbury had NO corporate sponsorship.

Glade Festival has no corporate sponsorship and the lack of logos all over the site for the entire weekend adds to the feeling of escaping from the grim reality of everyday UK life for a little while.

 

[paolo]

...the lack of logos all over the site for the entire weekend...

Same as Glastonbury.

Your attempt to correct inaccuracies, introduces others.

 

[William of Walworth]

Maybe so, but I was responding to the (inaccurate) claim that Glastonbury had NO corporate sponsorship.

Glade Festival has no corporate sponsorship and the lack of logos all over the site for the entire weekend adds to the feeling of escaping from the grim reality of everyday UK life for a little while.

Fair enough, not been to the Glade so can't comment on that. But on the bit I've bolded, I do feel like this at Glastonbury too ....

 

[TylerD]

Same as Glastonbury.

Your attempt to correct inaccuracies, introduces others.

You are attempting to find inaccuracies where there aren't any. Glastonbury does have corporate sponsorship, it does have corporate logos on the site.

Glade lacks corporate logos anywhere on the site. The same can not be said of Glastonbury. That was the intended meaning of the bit you quoted in bold and this was perfectly clear from the context. Better luck next time.

 

[paolo]

it does have corporate logos on the site.
.

I can only think of the Natwest Bank, tucked, as it is, up by the farm. I suppose they could be told to use a generic font, or not be invited to attend at all.

Oh, yep, one other: Queens Head has Q mag logos inside. And I guess the Guardian has logos inside its tent.

 

[TylerD]

I can only think of the Natwest Bank, tucked, as it is, up by the farm. I suppose they could be told to use a generic font, or not be invited to attend at all.

 

[scifisam]

But that's not there just to be a logo, is it? It's a phone recharging point.

 

[paolo]

Was that even taken at Glastonbury?

I'm fairly sure it's a generic Orange publicity shot, but happy to be proved wrong. Their charging tent looks nothing like that.

 

[DeepStoat]

Prodigy Sounded fine where I was standing.

They were fucking gash where I was.

The NME stage is nigh on always shite.

 

[paolo]

The NME stage is nigh on always shite.

NME stage?

 

[DeepStoat]

NME stage?

t'Other

 

[paolo]

t'Other

Showing your age.