Anyone get the sense the end of Glastonbury is nigh?

[themuel]

something else somewhere else I think rather than the big G

Neil - I'm interested to know your take on this? What is your feeling on whether the festival is a stand alone event running alongside, or instead of the festival as it is now? I'm talking long term not fallow year.

Edited July 3, 2015 by themuel

[pedmills]

Why? I don't see it happening but curious as to why you think it couldn't work.

Because I can't see 135,000 people wanting to go to a replica Glastonbury outside of Worthy Farm. In 2008 they struggled to get 135,000 people, let alone 270,000.

 

Would any of you go to Glastonbury #2, knowing you were missing out on the 'real' festival on Worthy Farm?

If you make the 2nd festival smaller, then it would get a reputation as the fallback for people who didn't get 'proper' Glastonbury tickets. The atmosphere would be awful, numbers would drop. 

If you cut the numbers to Glastonbury #1 to give some to Glastonbury #2 then that means cuts to the amount of entertainment of #1, making it worse.

 

The headline slot wouldn't be an 'event' if it was being duplicated the next night. BBC coverage wouldn't be as hyped, Glastonbury would lose its uniqueness, etc. I could go on and on.

 

The reason people love Glastonbury so much is because there isn't anything quite like it. Why would Emily purposefully get rid of the festival's main selling point? I don't think she would jeopardise something so special that her father worked so hard for.

I think its more likely that they are thinking of a completely separate event, perhaps led by Nick. 

 

Edited July 3, 2015 by pedmills

[august1]

atleast the monorail fits on the new site

[Space Shanty]

Because I can't see 135,000 people wanting to go to a replica Glastonbury outside of Worthy Farm. In 2008 they struggled to get 135,000 people, let alone 270,000.

 

Would any of you go to Glastonbury #2, knowing you were missing out on the 'real' festival on Worthy Farm?

If you make the 2nd festival smaller, then it would get a reputation as the fallback for people who didn't get 'proper' Glastonbury tickets. The atmosphere would be awful, numbers would drop. 

If you cut the numbers to Glastonbury #1 to give some to Glastonbury #2 then that means cuts to the amount of entertainment of #1, making it worse.

 

The headline slot wouldn't be an 'event' if it was being duplicated the next night. BBC coverage wouldn't be as hyped, Glastonbury would lose its uniqueness, etc. I could go on and on.

 

The reason people love Glastonbury so much is because there isn't anything quite like it. Why would Emily purposefully get rid of the festival's main selling point? I don't think she would jeopardise something so special that her father worked so hard for.

I think its more likely that they are thinking of a completely separate event, perhaps led by Nick. 

 

 

Yeah I agree it'll have to be something completely unrelated.

A duplicate Glasto at a different venue just will not sail.

 

There is nothing stopping them trying to start up a brand new festival with some unique selling point, with a lineup that pulls some of the crowd away from Glasto and takes advantage of the huge numbers who don't get a Glasto ticket and who will either take the places left by those who switch from Glasto, or who decide the new thing suits them better anyway.

 

They could go commercial and take some of the chart stuff away from Glasto (and with it some of the crowd who only go for that stuff) or they could go boutique, a bit like Latitude only bigger

Edited July 3, 2015 by Space Shanty

[arcade fireman]

Yeah without details this is hard to say what's going on and the consequences. 

 

However, those who saw Michael Eavis talk this year apparently saw him rubbish the idea of the festival itself moving and said that was from an article two years ago. 

 

Unless something has happened at this festival in particular to change that (e.g. the urine levels in the streams), it's hard to see the festival we know moving site, unless its just for the fallow year. 

 

So maybe this is just the festival moving site for the fallow year in 2018, or a new festival entirely, possibly sprouting out of one particular aspect of the festival. In particular Glastonbury's electronic side is always quite underrated, everyone knows about the massive chart/rock acts playing but the sheer amount of world class DJs playing is astounding. So maybe they will build an offshoot around this? 

[Trebor]

Why move the festival to another site for a fallow year? Sounds to me like maybe Eavis wants his farm back to himself perhaps when he retires, so Emily and Nick are making moves to start a replacement festival.

[arcade fireman]

Why move the festival to another site for a fallow year? Sounds to me like maybe Eavis wants his farm back to himself perhaps when he retires, so Emily and Nick are making moves to start a replacement festival.

Because the farm needs the fallow year but they still want to keep revenue coming in that year? It's at least more likely than Eavis wanting the farm to himself in retirement as a reason to move it, if nothing else it's an award winning dairy farm for most of the year so he would have it all to himself for all but about a month anyway. 

[Trebor]

Moving the entire festival for one year only is a huge amount of work for a one-off. No way is it more likely than the festival as it is coming to a natural end when the man behind it wants to retire.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Trebor

[crazyguy]

Would an option note be date shits for 2019 with a couple of years notice. Hold Glastonbury 1 in April/May and Glastonbury 2 in August/September? With anyone attending the first not allowed to the second?

[Pinhead]

In a way Glasto has become its own tough act to follow each year. Once you have reached the highest mountain top, what else is there to climb. Perhaps they feel that this reputation is unsustainable because the site cannot realistically affort to expand any more.

I can understand that the dairy farm takes priority too in the long run. However, the impact of the festival on this has been manageable over the years and remains so. To a greater extent than not the success of the dairy has also been linked to the success of the festival, a diversification initiative the money from which has no doubt helped support the dairy during times when the price of milk is below the cost it takes to produce.

Perhaps some domestic unheaval is anticipated in the Eavis family and custondianship of the land is in question in the forthcoming years.

[stuartbert two hats]

Moving the entire festival for one year only is a huge amount of work for a one-off. No way is it more likely than the festival as it is coming to a natural end when the man behind it wants to retire.

There's been no suggestion whatsoever that Michael himself doesn't want the festival on his farm.  Why would he?  He loves it, it's his life's work.

[phil the shrew]

Regardless of the Eavis families long term plans and the finances of the festival, I find it hard to believe there wouldn't be some kind of festival on that site for the many a year

You can't right off 40 years of history on the site, with all the historic connections. Think there will always be some kind of event there but quite possibly not like the festival we have known for the last few years

[frostypaw]

I'd get rid of the SE corner and halve the dance village, and move them to the second festival (not exclusively, as long as not at the same time you could have big stages and other bits like now). Then you'd keep the green aspect, the bands, setting, sacred space type bits in the current place. And I honestly think demand would split perfectly between the two, as loads go just to party in nightclub type venues, when loads go for bands / setting/ vibes / leaving the real world etc

I PRAY, I mean PRAY you and Space Shanty are right.

There have been two festival populations for quite some time - the day and night people are quite separate and it's become blindingly apparent as one of our day group is a night person. They know nothing of the line up, scratch through DJ listings when they get up in the mid-afternoon then get as mullered as they can and dance all night only to sleep through the next day.

That's fine if you wanna do that, but it's a different thing. There's no interest in any of the rest of site just arcadia, se corner, silver hayes.

I think there was always a degree of it but the dance provision was relatively small and the late night funs more diffuse and varied in their music. Now it's two festivals - a clubber's paradise of completely unregulated craziness, and the glastonbury I started visiting in 2003.

Not to diss what they do, the sets and all are incredible but when the crowds arrive it just turns into a rather grimy dance festival. I reckon those folk would be much happier with some combination of Creamfields and BoomTown. Let us get back to raving outside wine bars and random pop up sound systems in the markets chatting around campfires and the immense stone circle love ins

[Trebor]

I didn't say there had been a suggestion, it's just what I think. I don't doubt for a second he doesn't love the festival, that would be stupid, but he isn't getting any younger. Maybe he would find it difficult to not stay involved if it happened on his farm after he retires, so he needs some distancing from it? To be honest it makes more sense than moving the festival to another site to make some money on a year off, they're hardly in it for the money anyway!

I find it very telling that Michael didn't bother watching Kanye, I thought he always tries to check out the headliners.

[rachmac]

I PRAY, I mean PRAY you and Space Shanty are right.

There have been two festival populations for quite some time - the day and night people are quite separate and it's become blindingly apparent as one of our day group is a night person. They know nothing of the line up, scratch through DJ listings when they get up in the mid-afternoon then get as mullered as they can and dance all night only to sleep through the next day.

That's fine if you wanna do that, but it's a different thing. There's no interest in any of the rest of site just arcadia, se corner, silver hayes.

I think there was always a degree of it but the dance provision was relatively small and the late night funs more diffuse and varied in their music. Now it's two festivals - a clubber's paradise of completely unregulated craziness, and the glastonbury I started visiting in 2003.

Not to diss what they do, the sets and all are incredible but when the crowds arrive it just turns into a rather grimy dance festival. I reckon those folk would be much happier with some combination of Creamfields and BoomTown. Let us get back to raving outside wine bars and random pop up sound systems in the markets chatting around campfires and the immense stone circle love ins

This. Definitely.

 

I tell my friends that Glastonbury's not a music festival as I see very little of the music (3 bands this year) and spend all my time in circus, cabaret, glebland, greenfields and that's all I need. I miss the days of crazy-sized groups at the wine bars dancing - good times!

[sunnyshoes]

Have the wine bars long gone? I didn't notice any this year.

[Sawdusty surfer]

There's been no suggestion whatsoever that Michael himself doesn't want the festival on his farm.  Why would he?  He loves it, it's his life's work.

 

 Exactly.

  

 Here's a clip I filmed. He drove down through the Greenfields and it took him 45 mins just to get along the length of drag between the Green Futures and Croissant Neuf. He was getting high fives, posing for selfies, bumping fists, getting hugs and kissing babies. He was absolutely loving it. People would rather get a selfie with him than Kayne.  

 

Edited July 3, 2015 by Sawdusty Surfer

[kerplunk]

I PRAY, I mean PRAY you and Space Shanty are right.

There have been two festival populations for quite some time - the day and night people are quite separate and it's become blindingly apparent as one of our day group is a night person. They know nothing of the line up, scratch through DJ listings when they get up in the mid-afternoon then get as mullered as they can and dance all night only to sleep through the next day.

That's fine if you wanna do that, but it's a different thing. There's no interest in any of the rest of site just arcadia, se corner, silver hayes.

I think there was always a degree of it but the dance provision was relatively small and the late night funs more diffuse and varied in their music. Now it's two festivals - a clubber's paradise of completely unregulated craziness, and the glastonbury I started visiting in 2003.

Not to diss what they do, the sets and all are incredible but when the crowds arrive it just turns into a rather grimy dance festival. I reckon those folk would be much happier with some combination of Creamfields and BoomTown. Let us get back to raving outside wine bars and random pop up sound systems in the markets chatting around campfires and the immense stone circle love ins

 

Sounds good to me! But the idea of Emily putting on a munter-fest to take the load off glastonbury doesn't sound very likely to me.

 

My guess would be something that's a development of the part of glastonbury that she already organises (The Park) and probably not a part of any sort of 'strategy' for future glastonburys at all.

[stuartbert two hats]

I didn't say there had been a suggestion, it's just what I think. I don't doubt for a second he doesn't love the festival, that would be stupid, but he isn't getting any younger. Maybe he would find it difficult to not stay involved if it happened on his farm after he retires, so he needs some distancing from it? To be honest it makes more sense than moving the festival to another site to make some money on a year off, they're hardly in it for the money anyway!

I find it very telling that Michael didn't bother watching Kanye, I thought he always tries to check out the headliners.

He's not into rap and loves the Moody Blues.  He was on stage, hardly the sign of someone who doesn't want the festival around anymore. Later that night the man was off dancing in Glasto Latino, hugging people and accepting gifts of glowsticks.  He seems to be enjoying the festival like a punter more than ever now he's stepping back from the running of it.

 

I really think you're way off the mark if you think this new site business is because Michael wants a quiet retirement and his farm back.

[___S_o_m_a__]

Have the wine bars long gone? I didn't notice any this year.

 

No they were still there this year...

[Trebor]

I didn't say he doesn't want it around anymore, I'm talking about possible plans for the future when he isn't part of the festival anymore.

[Jackmypie]

Just occurred to me (sorry if it's been mentioned before) that we could be talking about a Reading/Leeds type idea here?

 

Two festivals, albeit smaller, one at Glastonbury, one somewhere further North?

No thanks. As a southerner I like talking to all the northerners when I'm there. If there was a north/south festival the south would be 99.9% white and drinking pimms

[Ommadawn]

I'm sure Michael would like to go on till he drops but then what? Emily has no interest in the farm as a business and there's no guarantee that it will be left to just her anyway. It may well be that there won't be any land available at Worthy Farm to hold the festival on in say 10 years time. Maybe she and Nick have an eye to the future and are testing the waters so to speak.

[arcade fireman]

Worthy Farm is an award winning dairy farm for most of the year. Emily's personal interests may not lie in farming, but I find it difficult to think she won't be interested in keeping it as an asset. It won't take that much to have people in the know manage it. 

[stuartbert two hats]

Worthy Farm is an award winning dairy farm for most of the year. Emily's personal interests may not lie in farming, but I find it difficult to think she won't be interested in keeping it as an asset. It won't take that much to have people in the know manage it.

It already has management in place. Michael just signs the cheques. Ok, that's a bit unfair, but he's not the day to day farm manager. Have you seen The Udder Side on iPlayer? That gives a good overview of the day to day operations.