Boycott 2010 is something isn't done!

[kyjenni]

Recycling and thousands of pounds worth of perfectly good camping equipment going in to landfill.

Litter Pickers treated like absolute garbage (pardon the pun), rumours circulating of them being fired for no reason just to line someone else's pockets.

People not taking their stuff home with them. Although in some defence it was generally believed that all equipment was recycled and not just dumped in the trash.

Lazy workers not cleaning toilets at Shangri La and Trash City which were appauling (I spoke to many people behind the scenes!).

Greedy money grabbing workers on the Glastonbury Festival staff treating people badly and cutting corners to line their own pockets.

Lack of communicaion between Security, Police, Stewards etc

Security being too heavy handed and starting their own martial law.

The above doesn't apply to everyone and this isn't a difinitive list of the issues, but these are just some areas that are seriously lacking at Glastonbury Festival. My favourite place in the world got seriously tainted this year. If things don't change I won't be attending next year and that would be a huge shame. I have simple ideas to get things improved and if no-one at the Festival Office is prepared to talk then I think that's incredibly narrow minded. People are prepared to volunteer time to help, changes do not have to increase costs. I only got back from the site on Sunday so I have a lot to put together, I hope I can make a difference and I have had messages of support already.

Just seems a little bit of common sense and a lot of respect is lacking here and I'm taking it on as my own little mission to initiate change.

Are you with me?

[Bluearsedfly]

No.

[Mahdnyw]

Boycotting will not help, you need to take decisive action

[sifi]

What Bluearsedfly said.

I think if you do have serious concerns with these matters, then approach the festival organisers with them.

Boycotting Glasto won't work - people won't do it. And if they did do it, it would just kill the festival

Seems like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

[kyjenni]

Boycotting is not the main plan no! I have a plan, I have many plans but i'm off out in a mo and haven't got the time to go into them on here.

And thanks for the support Bluearsedfly! If that was meant to be a sarcastic response then fine, if a serious one then go do one because I can't be bothered with narrowminded selfish idiots like yourself.

[Addicted_Adele]

Kyjenni IS talking to the people that matter, and as I have already told you Kyjenni I will help in any way I can but I wont be boycotting next year x

Edited to suit (the message was to Kyjenni who already knew my intentions)

Edited July 7, 2009 by Addicted_Adele

[sifi]

And thanks for the support Bluearsedfly! If that was meant to be a sarcastic response then fine, if a serious one then go do one because I can't be bothered with narrowminded selfish idiots like yourself.

[hombrederayo]

I didnt realise that things behind the scenes were so f**ked up tbf.

[ukslim]

I'm not boycotting the festival, so no, I'm not with you.

Most of the complaints are news to me. I had a lovely time, and all the workers I communicated with seemed to be concealing the way they'd been terribly mistreated, very well. Literally start to end, it was all smiles.

I'm not saying you're making this all up - just that I need to see more specific evidence that these are serious and endemic problems (not just a few isolated examples).

"thousands of pounds worth of perfectly good camping equipment going in to landfill"

"in some defence it was generally believed that all equipment was recycled and not just dumped in the trash"

... well, which is it?

And, beyond having clean up crews pack up camping equipment for reuse/recycling, what's your proposed solution. People are already asked to leave no trace -- if they're wilfully disobeying, how are you going to stop them?

[gregor1984]

I think people need to chill out on the "leave no trace" thing and accept that at a festival on this scale, a lot of people are not going to be bothered taking all their stuff with them.

The security issue is something that might need addressing. Personally, I didn't have a single issue this year and never have at Glastonbury - this was the 4th time I've been. But there are enough stories and comments on here to suggest it needs looking at. I'm also a Leeds Festival regular, and it took the last major year of the riots (2005) for them to address a security situation that made Glastonbury's security look like pussycats, and they've nailed it now, it's spot on.

[oafc0000]

Simply no

[meatyparson]

I'm not boycotting the festival, so no, I'm not with you.

Most of the complaints are news to me. I had a lovely time, and all the workers I communicated with seemed to be concealing the way they'd been terribly mistreated, very well. Literally start to end, it was all smiles.

I'm not saying you're making this all up - just that I need to see more specific evidence that these are serious and endemic problems (not just a few isolated examples).

"thousands of pounds worth of perfectly good camping equipment going in to landfill"

"in some defence it was generally believed that all equipment was recycled and not just dumped in the trash"

... well, which is it?

And, beyond having clean up crews pack up camping equipment for reuse/recycling, what's your proposed solution. People are already asked to leave no trace -- if they're wilfully disobeying, how are you going to stop them?

[Addicted_Adele]

I dont think its a case of someone wanting to get their own way, unfortunately many many people have a total disregard for other people, whether it be their property or the people themselves.

I am the laziest person you are likely to meet, but would never go to someones home and dump my waste (any of it if we want to pick holes) on their property, why cant others do as I and many others do and leave no trace? It's so easy and no I am no smug bastard I just wouldnt disrespect someone elses home.

There were 21 people camped within our group...we left no trace...

With regard to the other allegations there is PLENTY of proof and Kyjenni will not be taking on the task of addressing these issues alone.

I am normally a "head in sand" kind of person too, but sometimes you have to stand up and try to be heard.

Lets not make this thread a nasty one, theres enough of that in the big bad world, instead why dont YOU ask what YOU can do to help.

Much Love x

Edited July 7, 2009 by Addicted_Adele

[STEVEYBOY]

I know that the Glasto message is 'leave no trace' but most people are simply not going to take their rubbish or knackered tents home with them.

So therefore why can't there be a area to dump your rubbish like other festivals.

Our camp put all our rubbish in bin bags but then had no where to put them, thus leaving them where we camped.

Just a thought

Edited July 7, 2009 by STEVEYBOY

[Detective McNulty]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Go to f**king V next year you cryer.

f**k me I would hate to think that the festival organisers actually came on here and read some of the absolute vitriol that gets aimed at them. They are running a festival the size of a f**king town. Of course there are going to be imperfections.

If the Glastonbury organisers do read these things, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of me and my pals. Easily the best five days of this year and by far the greatest festival I have ever been to.

Keep up the good work.

[crimsonking]

Boycotts dont work, they never have done, for everyone that boycotts, there will be another 10 punters after their tickets. There have been some valid points made as for all the smiles and friendliness, peace and love of the festival, look beneath the surface if you want to and you will see a dark underbelly with drug dealers, rip off merchants and generally people out there trying to screw you over particularly over at Shangri-La, Trash City, Arcadia and at the Dance Village. Best thing is to hope Mr and Miss E can sort this out, write to them if you want, but otherwise just to be happy and enjoy the festival but dont be so naive as to not be aware there are sinister things going on under your nose, oh and try not to get so wasted and off your face that you totally lose all sense of reality your surroundings, you may as well have 'victim' tattooed on your forehead

[Magma]

And thanks for the support Bluearsedfly! If that was meant to be a sarcastic response then fine, if a serious one then go do one because I can't be bothered with narrowminded selfish idiots like yourself.

[Detective McNulty]

A 'dark under belly of drug dealers'?

Mate, not asif there is a local shool that these people are waiting outside and selling Ket to the Y7s? People in Glastonbury WANT drugs. The dealers are a public service.

[marktea]

You have raised some interesting issues but to be honest you have just not given enough information or detail to decide one way or the other.

It's inevitable that things will not all go smoothly in a festival of this size. I'm sure its a constant process of change and, hopefully, improvement. The real worry would be if there are real issues that have arisen but which are then ignored or there is no process by which you can effectively feed back comments.

It might be better to start a new thread that is not tainted with the suggestion of a boycott but is just looking for supportive feedback and comment on what needs improving.

For example, the worst set of urinals I saw last year were at the back of the pyramid field towards the cider bus where demand in the evening meant that people were just pissing against the blue tarpaulin causing the whole area to become flooded. Exactly the same thing happened this year with nothing apparently having been done. It either needs proper stewarding or, preferably, additional facilities to be added at that particularly busy point. If you are collating a list of points to put to those in a position to do something about it then perhaps you could add that on and others could make their own suggestions.

Its in all our interests for the festival to develop and improve and if there are organistational things that people on this forum have spotted then I would hope that sort of feedback would be gratefully recieved by the organisers. If you can be bothered to take some points up with them in the right spirit then that sounds fine to me. All depends how you go about it, but the boycott suggestion is not the answer.

Edited July 7, 2009 by marktea

[Detective McNulty]

The more I think about this, the more apalled I am by your attitude. Just totally unconstructive, ungrateful and childish. This isn't a large commercial festival run by a beer company to make money, this is a little old man on his farm donating loads of money to charity and putting on the greatest festival on earth.

Then we get some f**king cryer trying to get people to walk out on it due to whinges about toilets, If you want to contribute, email the organisers some suggestions as to how you feel these issues could be addressed. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to take them on board.

[beergut100]

I agree that a boycott will not work in this situation (though it is nonsense to say they never work). I think the OP makes some very good points and has the interests of the festival at heart; so I don't understand the aggresively negative responses of some of the respondents. The involvement of the Glasto-goer is, in my opinion, very much in the spirit of the festival and I would be happy to help in some way; but a boycott is not the answer.

Edited July 7, 2009 by beergut100

[eFestivals]

I dont think its a case of someone wanting to get their own way, unfortunately many many people have a total disregard for other people, whether it be their property or the people themselves.

so .... the issue is nothing to do with the festival, and everything to do with people that attend the festival. Care to tell me how that's the festival's fault?

With regard to the other allegations there is PLENTY of proof and Kyjenni will not be taking on the task of addressing these issues alone.

I am normally a "head in sand" kind of person too, but sometimes you have to stand up and try to be heard.

Lets not make this thread a nasty one, theres enough of that in the big bad world, instead why dont YOU ask what YOU can do to help.

Much Love x

Litter pickers - for well over the last 20 years a number have been sacked. Why? Cos they're not picking the litter as they should be.

Lazy workers not cleaning toilets at Shangri La and Trash City - that's funny; I saw the cleaning crews cleaning the bogs in Shangri-La each day. But again, is this really the festival's fault? Nope. They try to employ good workers as any employer does, and as every employer knows not everyone is a good worker.

Greedy money grabbing workers on the Glastonbury Festival staff treating people badly and cutting corners to line their own pockets - total bull; they simply don't have access to the money with which to line their pockets.

Lack of communicaion between Security, Police, Stewards etc - while this might be imperfect, it's certainly far better than it was ten years ago. There's far better systems in place for this than used to be the case.

Security being too heavy handed and starting their own martial law - again, there's good and bad. However hard the festival tries to have only good, it's relying on people, and some people are not as good as they should be. But at the same time, they have a role to fulfill for the festival, and for them to fulfill that role perfectly requires them to be dealing with only perfect people. Who's perfect?

My favourite place in the world got seriously tainted this year. - well, mine didn't. Like there's good and less good places in any town, the same applies at Glastonbury. I guess I hang out in the good places because the only "issues" I saw were a person being searched for drugs after being seen smoking a joint (which, much as I'd dislike the same happening to me, is fair enough. Drugs are illegal, and the festival has to abide by the law); and someone being man-handled by security when they started to go the wrong way in the Shangri-La one-way system - again, a reasonable act, because with so many people in that one-way system going the wrong way risks causing an incident and putting many people's safety in jeopardy.

I'm not trying to claim things as perfect; I recognise that they can't be perfect. Anything that relies on humans will have human failings.

[Addicted_Adele]

The more I think about this, the more apalled I am by your attitude. Just totally unconstructive, ungrateful and childish. This isn't a large commercial festival run by a beer company to make money, this is a little old man on his farm donating loads of money to charity and putting on the greatest festival on earth.

Then we get some f**king cryer trying to get people to walk out on it due to whinges about toilets, If you want to contribute, email the organisers some suggestions as to how you feel these issues could be addressed. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to take them on board.

[beergut100]

I'm not boycotting the festival, so no, I'm not with you.

Most of the complaints are news to me. I had a lovely time, and all the workers I communicated with seemed to be concealing the way they'd been terribly mistreated, very well. Literally start to end, it was all smiles.

I'm not saying you're making this all up - just that I need to see more specific evidence that these are serious and endemic problems (not just a few isolated examples).

"thousands of pounds worth of perfectly good camping equipment going in to landfill"

"in some defence it was generally believed that all equipment was recycled and not just dumped in the trash"

Edited July 7, 2009 by beergut100

[ukslim]

I doubt anyone here disagrees that the abandoned stuff is a shame. But I don't see what else the festival can do about it. Again, what's your revolutionary solution? Flood the site with security on Monday morning, who'll go "Oi, you're not leaving til you pack up that tent"?

The other allegations are vague. Make them less vague, and I might be more interested:

• "Litter Pickers treated like absolute garbage" - in what way, specifically? (Edit: I read the "Tents left behind..." thread and this is now clear. It sounds like there are legitimate concerns but I'd be surprised if they weren't addressed -- or the supply of litter pickers will dry up)

• "rumours circulating of them being fired for no reason just to line someone else's pockets" - just rumours, then? Get worked up once it's corroborated.

• "Lazy workers not cleaning toilets at Shangri La and Trash City which were appauling" - all those responsible? Or just a few bad apples? How would you address this? Fire them (see above)?

• "Greedy money grabbing workers on the Glastonbury Festival staff treating people badly and cutting corners to line their own pockets" - couldn't be more vague if you tried. Treating people badly how? Cutting what corners? How are these people personally profiting?

• "Lack of communicaion between Security, Police, Stewards etc" - wasn't perfect, but from what I saw it was better than in any previous year.

• "Security being too heavy handed and starting their own martial law." - There are isolated incidents every year, but was it really a particularly serious issue this year?

When 200,000 people are crammed into a small area, there will always be a few problems. But enough to warrant a boycott. Sorry, again, no.

Edited July 7, 2009 by ukslim