Justice.

[Zacko]

It can be a bit sketchy at times, there were about 5 girls who couldn't have been older than 13 or 14 down at the front for Rage at Finsbury...they didn't last very long.

I suppose it depends on the acts and the people around them really, I wouldn't mind moving back a little bit if a kid wanted to see - assuming it wasn't a "heavy" act playing at the time.

[Bernsville]

It can be a bit sketchy at times, there were about 5 girls who couldn't have been older than 13 or 14 down at the front for Rage at Finsbury...they didn't last very long.

I suppose it depends on the acts and the people around them really, I wouldn't mind moving back a little bit if a kid wanted to see - assuming it wasn't a "heavy" act playing at the time.

[gizmoman]

There is a vast difference between pestering and asking politely. Why shouldn't kids be in the front? I see it all the time even in the pit, and nothing has happened to them, apart from the fact that they had a great time. People are aware of who is around them and act accordingly. When security moved the kids to the barrier, it meant that they could see and the people behind could also have an unhindered view despite having to move a whole 10 inches backwards. They all could see perfectly and all would be able to enjoy themselves.

You don't have to move for anyone if you don't want to, but to be honest you have to be a bit of a nob not to move especially if it totally doesn't affect your viewing experience. Security thought that and acted accordingly.

[jasper in the rye]

i dont mind letting anyone in as long as they want to see the band. I let in this short young girl in who was attached to a long line of other teenagers who promptly started having a conversation with each other and just taking photos not interested in listening to the band at all.

[Bernsville]

I doubt that security were thinking about the view the kids were getting, I think it far more likely they wanted to be able to see them in case the crowd got a bit too lively, if they were right on the barrier they could lift them out of danger if necessary.

[LondonTom]

There is a vast difference between pestering and asking politely. Why shouldn't kids be in the front? I see it all the time even in the pit, and nothing has happened to them, apart from the fact that they had a great time. People are aware of who is around them and act accordingly. When security moved the kids to the barrier, it meant that they could see and the people behind could also have an unhindered view despite having to move a whole 10 inches backwards. They all could see perfectly and all would be able to enjoy themselves.

You don't have to move for anyone if you don't want to, but to be honest you have to be a bit of a nob not to move especially if it totally doesn't affect your viewing experience. Security thought that and acted accordingly.

[Newtoit]

I read this thinking that I would be all for the kids having a good view etc...

But if I had waited all that time to be on the barrier & then got told to move for a few 7 year olds I think I would be a bit p*ssed off ( I have kids this age myself).

Being at the barrier isn't just for the view, you are right there if any of the band come down off the stage - which some have in the past, so you can be part of the action, seen on the TV couverage....Each to his own, but if that's what you've waited for, fair play, you've earned your space on the barrier.

I think kids have a great time at Glastonbury, but in the right place. You cann't control a crowd & all the pushing that goes with being right at the front. If the kids had wanted to be at the front that badly, maybe they should have waited for hours too.

Hope Glastonbury doen't completely overkill on the PC side of everything!!!!

Bring on 2011!!!!!!!!!!!

[MamaJojo]

Agreed. Getting into the front for muse there was a family who decided they wanted in on the action (husband & wife dragging their 2 young kids behind them - Looked about 8-10 years old). As they made their way through the crowd it was pretty obvious everyone was thinking "how are those kids going to survive in the pit?!" but everyone was too polite to say anything to the parents. ...Really hope they made it okay.

It does seem that some parents expect a crowd of 1000s of people to be careful of a few young ones in the crowd. People will do what they can, but nothing can be done about the natural surging in festival crowds.

[doogleduck]

So next year we'll potentially have the choice of Daft Punk, Justice, Chemical Brothers and Deadmau5, which will we get?

[rexclark]

How about all four? I think I'd spontaneously combust with happiness

[Oddone]

one little charmer spent most of the set punching me in the head and another was pissing all over everybody....

Lesson learned

[MamaJojo]

I am interested. Tell me more!

[Oddone]

boooooooooo

[lme]

Hmm this is a difficult one. My kids are comfortable in crowds / mosh pits so I don't worry about that but I still wouldn't take them down to the front for a headliner @ a main stage at a big festival like Glastonbury. The only way they'd see the stage would be to be on the barrier but that would mean spending hours down at the front & they would get bored waiting. At Glastonbury, we prefer to see bands in smaller tents as it is easier / there is less waiting around (we arrived at Leftfield in the gap before Reverend & the Makers, got a spot on the barrier towards the side & stayed for Carl Barat).

If the girls really want to see a headliner type band, I'd prefer to take them to see them outside a festival, or to a smaller festival . That usually works fine (they've been on the barriers for Babyshambles @ Benicassim & for the Stooges @ Get Loaded). However, I think we are going to have a bit of a dilemma in August. My younger girls (8 & 11)want to see the Libertines & they are unlikley to be playing gigs outside Reading / Leeds that they would be allowed into. Don't think I'll be taking them anywhere near the barriers @ the main stage at Reading or Leeds though!!

[radish]

Depends on the kid(s) in question I suppose. I remember Less Than Jake on the Other Stage years back, much crowd-surfing going on with a few of us doing the usual leg-up service, before we knew what was happening a couple of us had just literally launched a lad no older than 8 or 10 about 6 ft clear straight up above the crowd (we'd been helping lardy bastards, hadn't compensated for the kid being much lighter). We looked at each other aghast, worried we'd just killed someone, but we couldn't see the lad anywhere so thought he must have been ok and got back to enjoying LTJ. About 10 minutes later the same kid tugged at my shirt and asked if we could launch him over the crowd again. Thrillseeker thought it was the best thing ever.

But I have seen the other side as it were, kids in real danger being where they can't handle it, gaggles of teenie girls at Prodigy, Metallica, Manics, Madness (although to be fair I've seen teenage boys in Slipknot shirts not survive a Madness pit) and more having to be dragged out 30 seconds into the first song or even before the band come on because it's too much. Nice one on the security in this case, good bit of crowd/dancefloor/moshpit justice there. Shame it sounds like more V fest type attitudes seem to be cropping up though ("This is my space, nobody else has any right to encroach on it or block my view so I'll be as much of an anti-social arse as I want") - some people need to have some etiquette lessons before being allowed to attend. Or just not be twats I guess. Let's face it, I do what I can to make sure I don't block somebody's view, I'm only 6ft 1in and frequently end up stuck behind some 8ft giant myself, but I don't expect anybody else to have to do anything about my view, that's down to me to sort out.

Edited July 14, 2010 by radish

[lme]

Depends on the kid(s) in question I suppose. I remember Less Than Jake on the Other Stage years back, much crowd-surfing going on with a few of us doing the usual leg-up service, before we knew what was happening a couple of us had just literally launched a lad no older than 8 or 10 about 6 ft clear straight up above the crowd (we'd been helping lardy bastards, hadn't compensated for the kid being much lighter). We looked at each other aghast, worried we'd just killed someone, but we couldn't see the lad anywhere so thought he must have been ok and got back to enjoying LTJ. About 10 minutes later the same kid tugged at my shirt and asked if we could launch him over the crowd again. Thrillseeker thought it was the best thing ever.

But I have seen the other side as it were, kids in real danger being where they can't handle it, gaggles of teenie girls at Prodigy, Metallica, Manics, Madness (although to be fair I've seen teenage boys in Slipknot shirts not survive a Madness pit) and more having to be dragged out 30 seconds into the first song or even before the band come on because it's too much. Nice one on the security in this case, good bit of crowd/dancefloor/moshpit justice there. Shame it sounds like more V fest type attitudes seem to be cropping up though ("This is my space, nobody else has any right to encroach on it or block my view so I'll be as much of an anti-social arse as I want") - some people need to have some etiquette lessons before being allowed to attend. Or just not be twats I guess. Let's face it, I do what I can to make sure I don't block somebody's view, I'm only 6ft 1in and frequently end up stuck behind some 8ft giant myself, but I don't expect anybody else to have to do anything about my view, that's down to me to sort out.

[FestivalFriend]

Agree with all of these, but originally came to this thread because I thought it was about campaigning for the French wonders to play with Daft Punk next year