Numbers on site

[Sam Crawley]

Many have said this year felt much busier than previous years despite similar ticket numbers. Anyone seen any official numbers post-festival? I looked up the official council report, but that seems to come out mid-Autumn so we have some time to wait. I wondered whether it was a perception thing as more people were staying around the main stages more of the time this year because of the line-up, or perhaps there's a new security loophole and lots of people got in somehow that shouldn't be there? Any ideas?

[amfy]

I think it was simply that the age spread on the Pyramid -

Bruce Springstein/Neil Young

Madness/Specials

Blur

Lily/Dizzy

just pulled the entire demographic to one side of the site this year.

Maybe that was just us.

[LusciousLucy]

Posted the same question yesterday and it does just seem to come down to a killer Pyramid line up really.

Oh and a f**kton of people sitting in cheap camping chairs taking up space!

[EasyUserName]

Many have said this year felt much busier than previous years despite similar ticket numbers. Anyone seen any official numbers post-festival? I looked up the official council report, but that seems to come out mid-Autumn so we have some time to wait. I wondered whether it was a perception thing as more people were staying around the main stages more of the time this year because of the line-up, or perhaps there's a new security loophole and lots of people got in somehow that shouldn't be there? Any ideas?

[ukslim]

Many have said this year felt much busier than previous years despite similar ticket numbers. Anyone seen any official numbers post-festival? I looked up the official council report, but that seems to come out mid-Autumn so we have some time to wait. I wondered whether it was a perception thing as more people were staying around the main stages more of the time this year because of the line-up, or perhaps there's a new security loophole and lots of people got in somehow that shouldn't be there? Any ideas?

[Mardy]

as I said somewhere else, Pyramid was heaving, but cabaret/avalon/greenfields etc were all pretty empty. Depends where you go, eh? also, for much of it, less people at the glade/john peel than usual

[Petaldaze]

I agree re Pyramid...I spent more time there this year than any other and i've been going since '89!

Don't think it felt any busier overall than last year unless you happened to be trying to go for a casual pint of Brothers at just the time Rolf was due on! (lack of programme consultation on my part!)

[Sam Crawley]

I wonder if the licence numbers assume a % of people who manage to sneak in through one way or another. Friend of a friend got in via staff wristband somehow.

Pyramid was always busy, even for things that you'd not expect to be that packed. Maybe Other stage line-up didn't balance it so well. I think as Mardy says, JP etc didn't seem as busy.

Am interested to see some real numbers...

[Joshuwarr]

Apparently there was a few fence jumpers this year but apparently not any more than usual.

[serginhowardinho]

There was a whole community camped next to me who'd managed to sneak in via a member of staff in the Park. They were thoroughly nice people, but are just one example of at least eight people more than the licence allows. I bet there's loadsa people inside the fence 'illegally'.

Incidentally, they all said they'd be paying for their tickets next year. Which i guess is the least they ought to do!

[talullah]

I also spoke to 2 people who had got in without tickets...It really did feel busier this year...even last year with the headliners the pyramid wasnt as packed as it was this year.

[Rachie]

yeah i feel the same, deffinatly more packed this year then the previous two id been to.

Also trying to get into shangre-la/trash city and not being able to was a first. :s

[Laura_Babs]

Did seem busier. I knew one guy who got in on a mates wristband as well and at least one other person who was planning on heading down on the saturday without a ticket. not sure if they did in the end.

[paulo999]

Seems like different experiences for different people.

I had to go to Shangri-La on Sunday night about 30 mins after the headliners finished. I threw caution to the wind and went direct via Avalon.

Although I had a crew wrist band for the area, I thought I'd go the public route to see how bad it would be - and it was fine. A slight shuffle along the railway track, but nothing like the same time & day in 2004 when I spent an hour on the railway track, which got packed enough to be scary.

[ShadyBlueBell]

Posted the same question yesterday and it does just seem to come down to a killer Pyramid line up really.

Oh and a f**kton of people sitting in cheap camping chairs taking up space!

[incident]

Wednesday was obviously a lot more packed than previously, and trying to navigate around when Rolf was on was impossible, but apart from that it didn't seem at all busy to me to be honest.

But then I only went to the Pyramid once all weekend.

Markets, Acoustic, Avalon, Greenfields were all probably slightly quieter than the year before.

[Laura_Babs]

How busy did people think it was for the Prodigy comparitively with other years? When we arrived it was empty so I assumed everyone was at Blur. That was about 20 minutes before they came on. But then it started to pack out at the last minute, or at least it felt like it. I'm not used to being in the middle at gigs anymore (too old at 25!!! ), so maybe it just felt busy!

[adamski]

Apart from the wednesday and thursday it seemed a lot quieter to me, apart from at the pyramid for the specials which was pretty packed. The other acts I saw at the pyramid, Lily Allen and Status Quo were relatively quiet. Maybe for the headliners and at other times the pyramid was busier, but the park, acoustic, cabaret and jazz world were all easy to navigate when I was around!

[Sam Crawley]

How busy did people think it was for the Prodigy comparitively with other years? When we arrived it was empty so I assumed everyone was at Blur. That was about 20 minutes before they came on. But then it started to pack out at the last minute, or at least it felt like it. I'm not used to being in the middle at gigs anymore (too old at 25!!! ), so maybe it just felt busy!

[LusciousLucy]

Actually now I put my mind back, someone I spoke to over the weekend said there had been a lot of not exactly fencejumpers but quite a bit of wristband swapping or something or other. Cant verify it but I think it came from the same person who told me 5 peeps had been sent off site with swine flu and that turned out to be true didnt it?

[cabstar]

I seem to recall the facts & figures at the press tent this year stating attendance on site as being 139,000 compared to 159,000 last year.

On the last night I rand from Blur to Black Eyed Peas to Prodigy & all 3 arenas looked rammed full!!! The paths & stalls in between each where completely deserted apart from the stall holders.

[Sam Crawley]

Actually now I put my mind back, someone I spoke to over the weekend said there had been a lot of not exactly fencejumpers but quite a bit of wristband swapping or something or other. Cant verify it but I think it came from the same person who told me 5 peeps had been sent off site with swine flu and that turned out to be true didnt it?

[meatyparson]

190K is the number I heard ????

Defo felt busier than last year

[puppetmode]

i saw wrist band swapping at the paines field gate. They all looked pretty similar with shaved heads. One guy came out and met 2 others and asked if they were ready and handed them tickets and wrist bands, then they just walked through the re-entry gate. I guess long sleeves covers the lack of wrist band problem.

I think girls would be able to get away with it more with similar make up and maybe glasses. Most gate stewards arent arsed by the look of you just that the ticket is genuine. So maybe its the way to get onsite. A big risk though if you have a long journey, but worth it at £175

[Laura_Babs]

Haha and here's me reading this just after reading that at 53, MonkeySpanker went to a Dance headline act, i.e. 2 Many DJs, for the first time in his life and loved it to bits!