What Has Changed

[Kowalski101]

OK we are heading for our 5th Glastonbury, but it will be the first since 2002 due to people having children/'careers'/other sundry bollocks.

We know it's bigger in terms of capacity - reckon we had 125,000 - what else has changed in the last twelve years?

[fantomas]

Well, a whole new area south of the railway track (The Park) and a big viewing area up there an a big robotic fiery thing (Arcadia) and the late night SE corner partly where Lost Vagueness was, is now huge and a big adult playground now with dozens of late little venues, areas, etc. The dance village got bigger with more stages, the Pyramid has a second barrier, the Leftfield moved and has shrunk and the drainage is a little better so they say. The tipi field moved to the south and is lovely. The whole place got bigger on the south west side to accomodate more camping. The festival got more middle class. People use a lot of those gas canister things. There are less hippies.

For starters anyway!

[Freewheelin2]

Cameras/big screens on The Other Stage and I think West Holts (Jazz World). Flying lantern thingys are banned. Tony Benn (bless 'im) won't be there.

[Guitargeek]

No screens on west holts last year. Fingers crossed for this year!!

[plaskins]

It's not as good as it used to be...

(Sorry, I had to! I don't believe this myself - it is what you make of it )

[monkey1989]

I want more hippies

[General Lee]

I want more hippies

[glasto-worker]

I am not going to give a list - the Big Change for me is not the site - its the people many of them appear unable to walk unless they are staring down the way and flapping their thumbs sending important messages to God know who and the biggest wind up is to have thousands holding up their bloody phones when you are at a stage so unless your sitting on a friendly Giraffe all you will see is all these bloody lights shining back at you. I am Building my portable electromagnetic pulse generator and will be blasting it when I have had enough.

I swear some people will send text messages to their friends even although they are only sitting across the table to each other.

so when in the past you could bump into people and talk - the only people who will be bumping into you is the ones not looking where they are going as they have this important message to send out.

yes its a generation thing as I just cant understand why they don't go and enjoy themselves rather than flapping their thumbs and bumping into people.

[Mollyanne&Mike]

I am not going to give a list - the Big Change for me is not the site - its the people many of them appear unable to walk unless they are staring down the way and flapping their thumbs sending important messages to God know who and the biggest wind up is to have thousands holding up their bloody phones when you are at a stage so unless your sitting on a friendly Giraffe all you will see is all these bloody lights shining back at you. I am Building my portable electromagnetic pulse generator and will be blasting it when I have had enough.

I swear some people will send text messages to their friends even although they are only sitting across the table to each other.

so when in the past you could bump into people and talk - the only people who will be bumping into you is the ones not looking where they are going as they have this important message to send out.

yes its a generation thing as I just cant understand why they don't go and enjoy themselves rather than flapping their thumbs and bumping into people.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

I am not going to give a list - the Big Change for me is not the site - its the people many of them appear unable to walk unless they are staring down the way and flapping their thumbs sending important messages to God know who and the biggest wind up is to have thousands holding up their bloody phones when you are at a stage so unless your sitting on a friendly Giraffe all you will see is all these bloody lights shining back at you. I am Building my portable electromagnetic pulse generator and will be blasting it when I have had enough.

I swear some people will send text messages to their friends even although they are only sitting across the table to each other.

so when in the past you could bump into people and talk - the only people who will be bumping into you is the ones not looking where they are going as they have this important message to send out.

yes its a generation thing as I just cant understand why they don't go and enjoy themselves rather than flapping their thumbs and bumping into people.

[glasto-worker]

Damn right. Do not understand the fixatino with filming live performances on cameras. Was sat behind someone at a Robert Plant gig recently. They filmed the whole thing on thier crappy little iphone (its now on youtube) and never once seems to react or enjoy the band themselves.

Other biggest change: more and more and more flags at the stages.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Don't get me started on flags - but at least they don't blind your vision like these bloody Smartphones - its a bloody joke seeing the BBC is filming the whole thing so they are completely unnecessary.

[stuartbert two hats]

Horrible to hear about the smartphones. Probably like most of the posters on here, I spend far too much time looking at screens than is good for me. Back in 2010, there was none of it. Glastonbury is the one time I can unplug. I don't approve of GFL pushing this charging bar. I will be taking photos at the festival with my phone, but not many and not of the bloody stages!

Sent from my Galaxy S5

[russycarps]

Biggest change is the people. Expect to see most people being well groomed and very fashion conscious. The days of everyone being united via muckiness are long gone.

Have a look at the topshop/topman website to see who you will be sharing the festival with.

And you will get a huge shock when you go to the stone circle...

[Woffy]

God is our guide! from field, from wave,

From plough, from anvil, and from loom;

We come, our country's rights to save,

And speak a tyrant faction's doom:

We raise the watch-word liberty;

We will, we will, we will be free!

[Titters2]

The phone-filmers are all idiots. The quality from recording on an iPad is much better.

I reckon iPad use will be spotted by the time Elbow's set is done on the Friday...

Other things that have changed - the cinema is now in a tent.

brothers is no longer served in 2l bottles.

[hjglasto]

What a negative thread!

As someone in the generation being referred to, I can assure you none of the people I know going (20-30), will either be on their smart phones the entire time or washing and being 'fashion conscious'. I only use the basic £5 nokia and just to find out where people are etc.

Obviously people who are like that do exist, but it's a case of whether or not you let it get to you. Seeing a topshop clad irritating teenage girl on her iPhone who's moaning about how frizzy her hair is doesn't need to bother you unless you let it bother you. Positivity guys!

[stuartbert two hats]

Anyway, nothing wrong with Top Shop. They sell cheapish clothes. I used to buy clothes in Top Shop all the time before I got old. It's not much different to getting your clobber from ASDA.

[Woffy]

Anyway, nothing wrong with Top Shop. They sell cheapish clothes. I used to buy clothes in Top Shop all the time before I got old. It's not much different to getting your clobber from ASDA.

[Glastonlocal]

I rarely buy clothes, but when I do they are of good, durable quality. Unless its fancy dress, which I do quite a lot of.

I'm not sure this opinion is relevant but here it is anyway.

[Keithy]

There's definitely a type of 'festival outfit' that a certain type of people wear, bought straight off the high street.

There seems to be more people there who see it as their festival rather than a collective experience and woebehold if you get in their way.

The 'old glastonbury' is still there, you just have to dig a little deeper to find it.

My dislike of recent years is the John Peel tent. Remember the original new Bands Tent was a little smaller, the stage closer and lower and the tent ceiling much lower. The new tent just feels a bit generic to me and some bands look a little lost in there.

[scaryclaireyfairy]

the "hash, speed mushrooms!" guys are no longer doing the rounds of the campsites and there's a lot more plod around.

on the subject of clothing, my mates and i tend to wear the same clothes every year which makes it really hard to date the photos! old crap with some wear left in it that's too shabby to wear anywhere else.

[stuartbert two hats]

I reckon the food is better. There are loads of great places that have popped up in the last 12 years. There's a food court near the Acoustic stage, called Williams Green.

The commercialism that was on the rampant increase does seem to have stopped. At one point we had tents with heavy Smirnoff, PlayStation and Virgin branding, but there's just a relatively low key EE charging tent now.

You're right about the crowd levels - it actually does feel fuller now, despite the expansion in the site. Not quite 2000 style, but more than the early naughties. There is a lot more camping space, but the tents are generally bigger now.

It's good!

[russycarps]

What a negative thread!

As someone in the generation being referred to, I can assure you none of the people I know going (20-30), will either be on their smart phones the entire time or washing and being 'fashion conscious'. I only use the basic £5 nokia and just to find out where people are etc.

Obviously people who are like that do exist, but it's a case of whether or not you let it get to you. Seeing a topshop clad irritating teenage girl on her iPhone who's moaning about how frizzy her hair is doesn't need to bother you unless you let it bother you. Positivity guys!

[Tuna]

The OP is asking what has changed. The proliferation of permanently groomed, fashion conscious people is one massive change over the past few years.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Tuna