How do you explain Glastonbury to someone that's never been there? What do first timers think?

[Justiceforcedave]

So my partner recently wrote this review/explanation of Glastonbury trying to sum it up to folks who have never been...

http://www.musobox.com/blogarticle.php?id=68

And it got me thinking... we went with a group of people this year 2 of which were first timers and they remarked that despite all our efforts, the explanations we had given didn't match up to the reality... not in the slightest! So my question is, how do you put it into words? And did you go with any first timers or are you a first timer and how did it match your expectations?

[fatyeti24]

i've gone with noobs the last 2 festivals, and tbh, i just leave them to it. once they've made the decision to go, i like to leave it up to them to discover. the last thing i want is to give them 'fatyeti24's must-see guide'.

the noob i went with this year knew next to nothing. i think it over awed him a bit, which is understandable. he was a bit cynical about it before he arrived - i told him that that would be kncoked out of him by Monday. i think by Sunday he was just about getting his head around the place. "i'd come again" he said, all cynicism departed.

[Justiceforcedave]

One of the noobs we went with this year actually smashed it! She probably did twice as much as I did

[Inhaler]

"I wouldn't bother mate, it's shit"

gotta try and make sure I get my ticket first!

[Zoso1975]

We were first timers! As an overall experience, it was just awe inspiring. The greenfields site was just amazing... We hardly saw any acts really, we spent alot of time with our little cherubs in the kids field everyday and just wandering around, it's very exhausting, the size of the place is just massive, a lot of leg work, i could comfortably say we got to only see 10% of the site, but hayho...........there's no rush! we're converted!!!!

We found it to be very stressful really, just because of constantly being alert for the girls. Everything seems to be hassle, just sanitizing the long drops prior to pooing, getting out of the camping area's........but we soon got into the swing of things.

[dub-tech]

Just. Go !

[frostypaw]

I've given up tbh, it's too big, too overwhelming and you lapse too quickly into utterly deserved superlatives that make you sound overly biased

Best to just confirm it's amazing and try and salve the seemingly inevitable paranoia about germs and long drops. I swear that and the shower thing are what stops the hoardes descending.

[Justiceforcedave]

Yeah especially "grown ups" the idea of no shower seems to be a massive beef.

[Nez85]

Mates first time and he loved it, i would describe it as an adult disney land! Closest thing i can compare it to

[Zoso1975]

Yeah especially "grown ups" the idea of no shower seems to be a massive beef.

[eoinca]

All my friends we went with who were first timers were festival veterans having been to EP, Oxegen and others. All of them were blown away.

[Gnomicide]

"I wouldn't bother mate, it's shit"

gotta try and make sure I get my ticket first!

[frostypaw]

Indeed. Or "It's such hard work, you've got to be prepared to put the effort in".

Otherwise I tell them that if festivals are something you think you would enjoy, it's the greatest place on earth.

[Somersetsun]

As a first timer this year, I'd tell them:

It will smell. You won't notice.

You'll get lost. You won't want to get found again.

You'll rip the clashfinder up by the end of the first day. It doesn't matter.

It's not about the music. No, really. And Simon Cowell is wrong, there are some damn good jugglers in the world, and they will divert you from that band you thought you had to see. And that's fine.

You'll open some portaloo doors and wish you hadn't. No one dies.

Sit in the Glade after dark. Stop a little. Stop a lot. People watching here is the best you'll ever get, forget Paris.

Eat everything. All the stuff that sounds yummy, is. You'll dance it off again, forget the diet, forget rules, forget everything.

Leave your watch at home. It's the spaces inbetween the slots where the magic happens.

Suspend your belief. Or your belief system.

Smile. What your primary teacher lied to you about is true here, they really will mostly all smile back.

Sing. Loudly and out of tune. Cry a bit. No ones looking. No ones laughing.

But most of all, just once, go to the peace dome, sit cross legged, preferably on your first day, and listen. You'll hear everything and nothing and the world will shift a little on its axis for you and everything for the next 4-5 days will really seriously totally be alright.

[markeee]

if theyre young..tell them it's like Magaluf or Aya Napa or wherever people go x10000

[Thearg]

Yeah especially "grown ups" the idea of no shower seems to be a massive beef.

[Keithy]

To me it's almost indescribable. The scale of it is just something you can't adequately explain. I try and tell my friends that it's the population of Exeter or Plymouth all in one place, that it spreads as far as you can see....but still, it blows me away every time I turn up.... like all good cities, you can't see it all in a week.

[Schaferhunden]

Went for the first time this year, and I still have Glasto dreams almost every night.

I must say nothing have made this kinda impact on me in years. Not since i was a kid/teenager. I didnt think I could be blown away like this anymore, thought the world had gotten to small and that I had seen to much for anything really to take my breath away. Along comes 6 days in a field in England and Im lost for words. Its not a festival, its how life really should be.

[pedmills]

It's not how I would describe it to another first-timer, but I thought I would post this up anyway:

On Wednesday or maybe Thursday this year, my mate (a first-timer) came out with this:

"Glastonbury is such an immersive experience that I forgot I had a dad."

[Ovechkin]

An utopia.

Finally realised what people meant with "post glasto depression "

[russycarps]

Mates first time and he loved it, i would describe it as an adult disney land! Closest thing i can compare it to

[**claire**]

Went for the first time this year, and I still have Glasto dreams almost every night.

I must say nothing have made this kinda impact on me in years. Not since i was a kid/teenager. I didnt think I could be blown away like this anymore, thought the world had gotten to small and that I had seen to much for anything really to take my breath away. Along comes 6 days in a field in England and Im lost for words. Its not a festival, its how life really should be.

[whisty]

is this really what glastonbury is now?

[Dave The Hedgehog]

I think it's very difficult to describe Glastonbury to somebody who's never been. Describing it to the newbies like myself depends on what sort of questions they ask and how straight forward yours answers are, or whether or not you pay that much attention to things (from an analytical perspective) to be able to reflect afterwards and obviously try to convey a generally positive and balanced coverage of things.

However, if somebody asks me, "what was your Glastonbury journey like?" (and they have) - simple; I had a great time, met a lot of interesting people, experienced some wonderful music and came back completely exhausted; it was everything I expected it to be, it's everything you expect it to be, and if you don't have a great time at Glastonbury or come back with a fresh perspective on things, then it's because you've been dead for too long to appreciate what it's like to be alive.

What was the weather like, what bands did you see, what was the journey down like, what were the queues in like... not important.

I got Glastonbury on Friday morning. I was sat there, up behind the Tipi's on the hill at 5:30am. Not a soul on earth tried to stop me going there; there were no obstacles in my way. I was completely alone, smoking a fag, looking down at the makeshift city beneath my feet for a good 30 minutes, and then it suddenly hit me that nothing else mattered on this earth other than that utter sense of freedom Glastonbury gave me.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Dave The Hedgehog

[Ommadawn]

People need to know the history of the festival in order to fully appreciate it. I just lend them the Glastonbury film which usually does the trick.