13 - lucky number for an enlarged festival - an extra 20K?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Let's hope the not giving the usual free Sunday tickets to locals is just rumour. It would be very bad PR, and let's face it they deserve them for putting up with the road chaos etc when we all arrive.

[LondonTom]

God that would be awful in the main areas even if they increased the camping areas and such. The stages and that would need major reconfiguration, (probs do already.) Some crowded areas felt proper dangerous this year, mainly as people can't be trusted to behave in a civilized manner anymore. Then again what if its 20,000 nice festival goers who make it in? could balance the books a bit!

And god help you if your not in the first thousands to get in for camping space, it was bad enough being near Gate E this year (South Park/lil cordoned off bit on plus side, the actual area was fairly easy to navigate and not ram as packed as some fields)

[Ommadawn]

Absolutely no chance of more people being allowed in IMO. Mendip District Council will never grant a licence and Michael has said publicly (and privately) that he doesn't want more people. The council are concerned about the tent density though and I guess that any extra land would be for camping.

[Ommadawn]

Let's hope the not giving the usual free Sunday tickets to locals is just rumour. It would be very bad PR, and let's face it they deserve them for putting up with the road chaos etc when we all arrive.

[guypjfreak]

Locals do not get free Sunday tickets. They pay for a day ticket to grant them access on a Sunday.

[Ommadawn]

i thought they where put into a lottery sort of thing .. either way i think they deserve some sort of perk ..even tho we would all probably love to live there it really must be a night mare for those living real close .

some defiantly DO get tics cos my friend brought some off a villager years ago before photos hey it may have all changed now ..

at this point i would put a smiley face but i cant get them to work lol.. sad face..

[StoneCircle]

i thought they where put into a lottery sort of thing .. either way i think they deserve some sort of perk ..even tho we would all probably love to live there it really must be a night mare for those living real close .

some defiantly DO get tics cos my friend brought some off a villager years ago before photos hey it may have all changed now ..

at this point i would put a smiley face but i cant get them to work lol.. sad face..

Edited September 7, 2011 by StoneCircle

[eFestivals]

at this point i would put a smiley face but i cant get them to work lol.. sad face..

the issue with the emoticons has now been fixed - it was actually a webserver caching issue rather than an error within the upgrade.

And, following your request for more emoticons a few weeks ago, a whole load of new emoticons have now been added.

[rabid]

My policy for 2013 (if I'm lucky enough to get a ticket, and a babysitter!) will be trying to keep away from the main stages and the crowds.

[eFestivals]

Why go then? You could go to smaller festivals for a lot less money and stress and still see the same sort of bands and get the same sort of vibe.

that's not true.

I haven't spent more than an act or two in any year at the Pyramid/Other/JP/Park/Acoustic stages for well over a decade, yet I still find Glasto to be chock-full of the acts I want to see, and the majority of which aren't playing at other festivals.

It's those big mainstream acts on the stages I name that can be found elsewhere - just about everywhere in fact (with the occasional exception such as U2). So it's the people wanting those big mainstream acts who should go to the other festivals.

[DTichborne]

I too would rather lose out on a ticket than keep expanding it. It isn't Glastonbury when getting from anywhere to anywhere is a battle.

[DTichborne]

Let's hope the not giving the usual free Sunday tickets to locals is just rumour. It would be very bad PR, and let's face it they deserve them for putting up with the road chaos etc when we all arrive.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

A year or two ago the catchment area for free tickets was reduced, don't know by how much.

[amfy]

Ironically given what you've said, it was far more of a battle in the pre-superfence years, and I always felt aggrieved that the reason I could hardly move was due to a lot of people who hadn't made an effort to save a bit of money like I've always had to...

[dumski]

Well I would say I'm all for it. The organisers (normally) know what they're doing and if they do decide to increase the capacity then I'm sure it'll been a well thought out decision and measures will be taken to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Anything that means more people can enjoy the magical place that is Glastonbury gets the thumbs up from me.

[paulo999]

I'm sceptical about this story for a few reasons.

In a public Q&A at the South Bank, when asked about whether the festival would get any bigger, Michael chose his words carefully. He said no more *people*.

Secondly, the festival using more land does not automatically mean more people. In recent years it has expanded in area without increasing numbers.

All in all this sounds like a 2+2=20k story.

[AnnaGrant]

that's not true.

I haven't spent more than an act or two in any year at the Pyramid/Other/JP/Park/Acoustic stages for well over a decade, yet I still find Glasto to be chock-full of the acts I want to see, and the majority of which aren't playing at other festivals.

It's those big mainstream acts on the stages I name that can be found elsewhere - just about everywhere in fact (with the occasional exception such as U2). So it's the people wanting those big mainstream acts who should go to the other festivals.

Edited September 11, 2011 by AnnaGrant

[Ommadawn]

I want to find jewels Johnny Woo's lip synching act and end up doing the hokey cokey in a field with blokes dressed as women, or something comparable.

That happens all year round in Shepton Mallet

[Cooter]

Push out the camping above the Pyramid, then no problemo. making the festival greener by expanding the green area, and having fewer headliners, would also work.

Edited September 10, 2011 by Cooter

[dingbat2]

I am sure moving the camping back in front of the Pyramid won't work, I have camped there before and you cannot actually see the pyramid from these areas due to the way the slope inclines then flattens out

The overcrowdinng this year was really mainly around the prramid stage, it really was quite bad. The only solution is to encourage peope away from the pyramid to other stages, so I wonder if they did want to increase capacity then anothe main stage might work. One area which coud work would be to the west of the dance village, where they showed the footie last year, I heard they had nearly 100000 there during the england debacle - luckily I went to see holy fuck on the JP stage who were awesome. Having dual headliners could really work and move people away from the pyramid stage. I think there is room and ther will still be loads of room for more camping around the site - some of the car parks an be moved further to the west, across the main road

[Cooter]

I am sure moving the camping back in front of the Pyramid won't work, I have camped there before and you cannot actually see the pyramid from these areas due to the way the slope inclines then flattens out

[dingbat2]

errr what, and err what again?

Edited September 12, 2011 by dingbat2

[Aragorn]

if it gets any bigger my ticket will go back to the pot each year, its too big as it is FFS

[denwyn]

At this moment in time i am thinking i have done my last Glastonbury, 2011 was for me a complete and utter disaster as i was so ill i had to pack up and leave on the Friday...stiil its all forgoten now !!!. I Myself i would not like to see the numbers increased,even if they had more space,it gets far to packed by some stages anyway,and while i don't ever bother with areas like Shangri la or Arcadia,i don't really think bigger crowds would be appreciated in those areas. I would prefer to see a decrease in numbers attending,cut the ammount by 30k and put the ticket prices up to cover the loss of income. Bigger is not always better ?

[Dave F.]

The version of the story I heard (many hands old, I expect) was Mr. Eavis was enquiring whether the neighbouring farmers would be willing to rent the festival more land for extra car parking around the extremities of the site so more camping space can be provided.

I doubt that an increase in ticket numbers is on the cards. Eavis, MDC & the police have all said that 177,000 is plenty. Not only would there be further congestion on site, but the local entrance routes would probably not be able to handle the extra.

The problem with camping is that, no matter how much extra space is provided around the perimeter, there are many chumps that still insist on pitching their tent as near to the stages as possible. Who are the dipsticks that camp right next to the path between the Other & Dance Village by the ice cream van?