£200 barrier breached

[The Nal]

I'd be in favour of some sort of discount for unwaged etc. Think it would be a good thing.

[eFestivals]

probably all the work has been taken by bloody australians!!

coming over here and taking all our bar jobs.

Have a listen to yourself russy. It's not nice.

[mrtourette]

Do the rich have to buy an additional ticket for their butler, or can they bring him along as part of the ticket price?

[Verbal]

Some really not nice attitudes in this thread, Glasto has always been about inclusion, but apparently if people have money to spend or can afford the ticket they are not welcome?

Its always been diverse, I have been going since the 90's and yes of course there have been changes, the world is a vastly different place, it seems some people just don't want people who dont fit in with their particular social group or standing to be able to attend

[Roodie]

A lot of my friends said no to going this year due to the price. I wanted to go to celebrate my ...ahem...40th birthday, and one friend kept saying it would be cheaper to go to Magaluf for a week. Errr... I don't want to go to Magaluf, I want to go to Glastonbury.

Anway, looking at the cost, you can spend nearly £100 for five days' camping in some holiday campsites these days!

[Jie Bie]

I'd be in favour of some sort of discount for unwaged etc. Think it would be a good thing.

[russycarps]

coming over here and taking all our bar jobs.

Have a listen to yourself russy. It's not nice.

[russycarps]

Some really not nice attitudes in this thread, Glasto has always been about inclusion, but apparently if people have money to spend or can afford the ticket they are not welcome?

Its always been diverse, I have been going since the 90's and yes of course there have been changes, the world is a vastly different place, it seems some people just don't want people who dont fit in with their particular social group or standing to be able to attend

[Vanderlyle]

people are not saying they dont want the richies there, they are saying they dont want ONLY richies there, which is where are pretty much at now.

how can you miss the point so spectacularly?

[russycarps]

It's just utter horse-**** though. £200 for a 5 day holiday isn't pricing anyone out of the market really. And for the (very few) for whom that does price you out of the market, maybe either i) get a working job or ii) spend your five days learning a new skill so you can earn an extra 50p per day over the course of the year.

My g/f, for example, has does a Monday-Friday job but worked 4 additional Saturdays in May so she could buy a Bestival ticket. It's not rocket science.

Edited October 8, 2012 by russycarps

[russycarps]

you don't need any skill to work a festival...

[russycarps]

you talk such bollocks russy

[The Nal]

Do the rich have to buy an additional ticket for their butler, or can they bring him along as part of the ticket price?

[Ed209]

Our generation "robbed" the music industry through filesharing. Festivals and live music is their way of robbing us back.

[Neville Street]

Russy - the work option is a realistic one at Glastonbury for people who struggle with the ticket price. There are such a range of organisations involved, and not all need deposits. Even those that do are often sympathetic if people have difficulty, and whilst some can't afford a deposit they may be able to borrow the returnable deposit from a friend or relative.

Your comments about the litter picking team leaders may be true, I have not been up early enough to see them. I have worked in a range of roles at Glastonbury and other festivals (crew catering, traffic management, stewarding, etc.) and have always found the people in charge to be ok. Sometimes a bit out of their depth, but usually doing it for a ticket or a small wage, and doing their best. I would actually recommend working to anyone stuck without a ticket or who can't afford a ticket, and that is from experience.

I know where you are coming from, and have been attending myself since the 80's and have observed the demographic change, but I think that those that are arguing against you are making more sense. The price is good value, and the festival remains accessible to a wide range of people.

The stuff about Aussies was funny though , and the Nals pygmy butler "Anus" made me smile, even in my ticketless state

[01seb]

seriously get out of your pit early one morning and watch them in action, you'll be horrified. Us pen pushing desk jockeys dont know how lucky we are sometimes.

[Vanderlyle]

do you think all those millions of unemployed people havent tried getting jobs?

what skill do you suggest all those unemployed people learn 5 days a week? How do you expect them to pay for the training? or pay to get to the training?

[abdoujaparov]

Pretty much anyone can get a job.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Pretty much anyone can get a job. Its just that people (rightly in many cases) think they shouldn't be working a job way below their qualification etc. Other than if you've got a serious criminal record, there are jobs going.

Likewise pretty much anyone could get a job at a festival. But, again, many people don't want to do this (you don't like the idea because the supervisors are mean).

What is comes down to is your belief that the festival should be put on at a price level which allows the unemployed to be able to come. Well frankly I have no idea why that should be the case. It's an international festival with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Lady GaGa etc playing. If you are unfortunate enough to be unemployed, then for 2013 you can suck it ****ing up and miss out on a five day drinking and music fest. If you are employed and on minimum wage, then you can decide whether to do 30 odd extra hours (about 1/2 hour per week) to pay for your ticket or, once again, you can suck it up and go somewhere cheaper

[eFestivals]

I know where you are coming from, and have been attending myself since the 80's and have observed the demographic change

I know where he's coming from, and have noticed the same change - not only within Glastonbury but outside of it.

Myself and (with different employers) friends were sacked from their jobs in the 80s purely from oiur attendance at Glastonbury and the fact that "I don't want someone that goes there working for me".

The two things are related. People don't get sacked from their jobs for going to Glastonbury now because their boss might also go to Glastonbury. It's not all bad.

And while their boss might be a tory voting scumbag, he might also be someone who has grown up with and appreciated festival culture - as I have as a boss, and some of my friends. It's not all bad.

The problems are not contained within Glastronbury, the problems are from life - where those in work all feel their wage (no matter how high) is always justified or at least something never to be reduced but those on the dole with no opportunities are scrounging scum who deserve less than their already-subsidence benefits; where tax increases for the rich "aren't workable" but unworkable cuts in subsistence benefits don't have the same consideration made.

And the population by-and-large claps along. "It's what anyone would do in the same position" (words I've heard you post here with all seriousness).

Don't look at the Glastonbury ticket price and say the world is bad. Look at your self and ask what you're doing to make it good - and stop lying to yourself.

[mrtourette]

What is comes down to is your belief that the festival should be put on at a price level which allows the unemployed to be able to come. Well frankly I have no idea why that should be the case.

[abdoujaparov]

In short, while it's a nice idea, and can work for things like football season tickets (especially for clubs like the one I support where demand comes nowhere near outstripping supply), I don't see how it can work for Glastonbury.

[abdoujaparov]

What is comes down to is your belief that the festival should be put on at a price level which allows the unemployed to be able to come. Well frankly I have no idea why that should be the case. It's an international festival with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Lady GaGa etc playing. If you are unfortunate enough to be unemployed, then for 2013 you can suck it ****ing up and miss out on a five day drinking and music fest. If you are employed and on minimum wage, then you can decide whether to do 30 odd extra hours (about 1/2 hour per week) to pay for your ticket or, once again, you can suck it up and go somewhere cheaper

[Mardy]

Pretty much anyone can get a job. Its just that people (rightly in many cases) think they shouldn't be working a job way below their qualification etc. Other than if you've got a serious criminal record, there are jobs going.

Likewise pretty much anyone could get a job at a festival. But, again, many people don't want to do this (you don't like the idea because the supervisors are mean).

What is comes down to is your belief that the festival should be put on at a price level which allows the unemployed to be able to come. Well frankly I have no idea why that should be the case. It's an international festival with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Lady GaGa etc playing. If you are unfortunate enough to be unemployed, then for 2013 you can suck it ****ing up and miss out on a five day drinking and music fest. If you are employed and on minimum wage, then you can decide whether to do 30 odd extra hours (about 1/2 hour per week) to pay for your ticket or, once again, you can suck it up and go somewhere cheaper

[mrtourette]

I think the issue is to what extent should the festival take responsibility for making itself available to all, and how far should it go to prove that it is still has the same ethos as thirty yeas ago even if it's to the detriment of those who can afford a ticket. 'Affordable for the unemployed' is such a vague term that it's a minefield. There are single mothers of three who can't work due to child care costs so spend all day looking after their children who will never be able to afford a ticket, and there are dole cheats who fritter away their benefits on lottery scratchcards and spesh who could afford a ticket if there were prepared to sacrifice some non-essentials. Do they all have the right to demand that the festival does more to ensure that they have as equal a chance as those who work or have more disposable income? Or should they look at their situation and, as with a holiday, car, new telly, etc., say "shit, I can't really do that this year due to some cicumstances in my life that may or may not be of my own doing, oh well maybe it'll be better next year"?