Is Glastonbury the best festival in the world?

[paulo999]

True.

As for the money bit tho, you're more than slightly wrong. Someone somewhere is raking in a fortune.

[eFestivals]

My verdict too. Last time I looked, a year or so ago, the finances were far from transparent. A whole lot of money there, not being spent on infrastructure or artists.

well, to be fair they're spending more on infrastructure than they were - some friends of mine were at the last one or one before that, and it's bit less of a survival test than it once was.

And it does have some great workshops. Looking thru the programme (which listed loads of stuff that wasn't actually there), I was tickled by them having what I think were called "the art of anal" workshops. It wasn't clear if there was any practical side to these.

[glastonbury-ex-newcomer]

Could someone explain what burning man is? Thanks.

[eFestivals]

Could someone explain what burning man is? Thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Man

[5co77ie]

There's also a Europena version of burning Man called Nowhere:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NoWhere_%28event%29

Which I hear is much more like the ethic of Burning man than Burning Man actually is

Edited November 10, 2009 by 5co77ie

[pog rom!]

There's also a Europena version of burning Man called Nowhere:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NoWhere_%28event%29

Which I hear is much more like the ethic of Burning man than Burning Man actually is

[Bort]

erm .... you've forgotten Burning Man.

[benissright]

Reading for me, i prefer to glastonbury. But it is no way a festival better than glasto.

[Redwinevino]

Roskilde certainly run's it close

[scaryclaireyfairy]

FFF?

[frankie boy]

but what about V festival!

[cejx]

Could someone explain what burning man is? Thanks.

[Okky]

Beautiful days was pretty ace

[jamiejc]

but what about V festival!

[dvjj]

Is the Pope catholic? Do Birds Fly? Do fish swim?

[barnaby cringle]

Does the Pope shit in the woods?

[LondonTom]

Does the Pope shit in the woods?

[grumpyhack]

FFF?

[1mills]

Cheers for the info Bort and Toilet Duck re: Coachella.

Having to drink in segregated areas doesn't sound that appealing. I'm not looking to get completely smashed up, but I also enjoy sitting off in the daytime watching unknown bands with a drink and chilling.

Coachella seems a better time for me as it's in April, whereas Bonaroo is in June which is the same month a Glastonbury, which makes the whole time off work etc more hard work.

Any idea what dates the line up actually comes out for Coachella as that could be a deciding factor in convincing a few people to go. Does it come out all in one go, or do they just announce the headliners then slowly add artists over it over the following months?

Edited November 11, 2009 by 1mills

[rock n roll star]

Yes.

[Pinhead]

Off course it is

[eFestivals]

nobody does it better that the Eavises.

Will it remain the best? Only time and Emily will tell, and there are many contenders today.

I reckon that Glastonbury is what it is because it's not primarily run to make money. It's run firstly as a (self financing) party, and then when money does come into it, it's to benefit some great causes.

Michael (even now, supposedly retired) is still very much a farmer first. I'm 99.99% sure that if he was given an option of the festival or the farm, the farm would definitely win.

While there's been other festivals started since Glastonbury started which don't have money as their prime objective, they've been started in a different age, when money is held up as the master of us all (Thatcher's capitalism if you like) - and so they've not been able to tap into the same idealistic network of people that still remains a strong part at the centre of what Glastonbury is.

Emily of course isn't a farmer, so it's hard to gauge how her increasing influence over the festival will pan out. I suspect that, in her mind, it'll be to a much greater extent than with her dad the business that she works for and pays her bills, and I guess that'll bring changes over time. But alongside that, it's not like she's someone brought in from outside, and detached from what the festival is about, so hopefully she'll hold onto that heritage.

The other 'contenders' have none of that. They're run by music promoters as purely money making exercises, and while some are very good at what they're trying to do, what they're trying to do is something different from Glastonbury, because they're driven purely from that profit angle.

[austrian_zeppelin]

basically, the original Woodstock was brilliant. a one-time exception.

[denwyn]

When its DRY it can't be beat.....

[jbutcher]

V is the best festival in the world.

I've been going to Glastonbury for years, but this year I went to V, what a revelation! Glasto is full of chavs and its a rip off.