This makes me feel sad.

[DeanoL]

I find the presence of Paines and its VIP performer camping has a lot more of an effect on me (in terms of making getting to certain places on site from Bushy/Rivermead) than any VIP camping outside of the fence.

[A Guy Called Matt]

When you got to worry is when there's a special enclosure at the stages for people with VIP tickets

If that were to happen I stop going (like BST). Simple

[MrMac]

At the risk of presenting myself as a target of abuse... I ended up offsite "glamping" last year with a hospitality ticket.

It's not something I'd ever have considered doing - right up until the point where I failed to get tickets and got knocked back on the working applications I made.

[ghostdancer1]

When you got to worry is when there's a special enclosure at the stages for people with VIP tickets

from many years watching Glastonbury on TV, there's often shots of VIPs right at the front of the pit, so it wouldn't surprise me if they can walk straight in, as I can't imagine Jay-Z and Gywenth Paltrow were queuing up to get their spot at the front....

[Badlands]

At the risk of presenting myself as a target of abuse... I ended up offsite "glamping" last year with a hospitality ticket.

It's not something I'd ever have considered doing - right up until the point where I failed to get tickets and got knocked back on the working applications I made.

Can I ask how much you paid and if you could provide a quick review of the facilities/neighbours?

Is it full of hooray henrys?

[giantkatestacks]

Those are in front of the pit ghostdancer not at the front of it.

I dont like that either. I enjoyed the Prince perf at Hop Farm when lots of performers from the other stages/tents tried to watch from there. His people only allowed a few ( including an overjoyed Hot Chip who knew every single word) and one photographer and the rest were unceremoniously booted out.

And I think the nature of the crowd does matter, we were surrounded by hospitality holders at the rolling stones who were basically using it as a day pass. They were really v irritating.

[guypjfreak]

I think what depresses me more, is the aceptance and justification of it on here by "ordinary" punters.

It might help the festival in some regards, and it might just outside the fence but it still feels abit wrong.

it may FEEL wrong old son BUT its the same as everything ....if you let it annoy you then it will ..personally i dont even think about it old son fuck it ive never been up to the POSH area and if ive met any of the people that use the place then they have seemed normal to me ...........AND if as has been said it helps the festi well alls good ...

as long as they dont start doing it on row mead lol

[Curlygirl]

I really don't get this thread. Each to there own I say. My mum knows if I die before her I want her to celebrate my life at Glasto. She is very reluctant as she has never 'done camping' and it really isn't her thing so I have set aside £6000 for her and my step dad to glamp it. They will enjoy it as they know how, and what harm does it do to anyone else that they aren't slumming it? I love camping with mates and someone else's tent parked up the arse of mine, but not everyone does. I say chill peeps. Embrace the glasto ethos of love thy neighbour, regardless of they have more luxuries ( and a much longer walk back)!

[LondonTom]

Weirdest argument for 'glamping' ever, but having thought about it, it actually makes a very good point against it.

It changes the festival to suit those who wouldn't normally touch it with a barge pole, which will have some effect 'inside the fence' in the long run regardless of the options being 'outside' of it as they need to be catered for in what they expect.

[Big Vern]

get over yourselves you self righteous pompous tits.

[MrMac]

Can I ask how much you paid and if you could provide a quick review of the facilities/neighbours?

Is it full of hooray henrys?

I think that relative to a lot of these places I got a bargain at around £1,600 (per person) to stay in an airstream - apparently I picked up a last minute cancellation and I don't think I paid full list price ("bargain" relative to what other places were charging, rather than getting tickets in the general sale of course). That amount included a hospitality ticket, which as other people have mentioned is useful to use the short cut from Pyramid to Other, but little else.

As you would expect for the money, facilities were good - clean flushing toilets and no queueing for showers in the morning, ample phone charging points, lifts down to the festival and back. Food looked good, if a little pricey (not included in the accommodation payment) - but we only had one breakfast there, prefering to do our own thing and/or eat at our favourite stalls.

So basically it was like having a largish campervan for the week and not really all that different from being in the campervan fields.

To be honest, we didn't really see much of the neighbours other than on the day of arrival (Tuesday) before we could get into the festival proper. There were clearly some well-off people around, but nothing outlandish or flash - and in fact the only people we really chatted with were a group of 7-8 lads in their 30s/40s from Liverpool who had been "glamping" for the last few years. From Wednesday onwards we only really saw people on the way to or from the festival.

Pros

- could go early and avoid the traffic queues

- comfortable, but not much more than campervan fields

- showers / loos

- wouldn't have been able to go without it (the only one that actually mattered)

Cons

- price

- massive hill to walk up on the way back (the lifts stopped at midnight - and who would ever want to leave at that time!)

[stuartbert two hats]

Fly Glastonbury (aka Winding Lake Farm) is a total bullshit place. Long story, but I ended up waiting in reception there for 10 minutes last year. As you may imagine, I was the only one who looked like they had been living in a field for three days. It was like the Monty Python scene in the Holy Grail where they can recognise the king because he's not covered in shit, except in reverse. Awful place, felt really uncomfortable.

The toilets in the camper vans are all disconnected as well. You pay a fortune and can't even use the fucking toilets.

Don't tell me the festival can't do anything about them, they allow them to resell tickets.

Edited March 13, 2015 by stuartbert two hats

[Purple aki squat]

get over yourselves you self righteous pompous tits.

How dare you

Do you know who I am?

[DeanoL]

Don't tell me the festival can't do anything about them, they allow them to resell tickets.

They can. They need to keep the land-owners happy, as if they didn't they could object to the festival and likely win. So if not offering them a way to profit off the festival itself, you need to pay them off.

So that money will need to come from somewhere else. Either increased ticket price, less money to charity, fewer stages, or less money spent on acts.

[The Nal]

Nothing wrong with a few hundred VIPers at the festival. People who wouldn't ordinarily go will go, fest makes some cash and keeps the neighbours happy.

Some people want to see us living in mud huts and flinging excrement at each other for the duration.

[stuartbert two hats]

They can. They need to keep the land-owners happy, as if they didn't they could object to the festival and likely win. So if not offering them a way to profit off the festival itself, you need to pay them off.

So that money will need to come from somewhere else. Either increased ticket price, less money to charity, fewer stages, or less money spent on acts.

They choose to. They don't have to. Whether they should choose to or not is another matter, but they do have a choice.

[Big Vern]

Some people want to see us living in mud huts and flinging excrement at each other for the duration.

they would never waste such a valuable resource!

[Pinhead]

I will never be able to reconcile myself with the cultural gangrene that is some of the 'luxury' camping options now available at this festival. I understand why it has happened, and why the Eavii to some extent even sponsor it - all of which has been discussed on here in years previously. However I personally feel that it does threaten to poison many of the intrinsic traits of the festival that I find so enjoyable, causing it to mutate into something else which I frankly would have no interest in attending, though I fully concede that such wishes are purely selfish. I can only hope that this doesn't happen, however such wider social trends representing themselves at Glastonbury are really beyond anyone's influence, except perhaps the Eavis family.

[frostypaw]

Aaah lovely people

You've put bits far better than I feel I would have.

It's changed the festival experience's goalposts. At least for relatively new attendees. It could be said that it all started with the increased and more 'positive' media coverage (to me the tipping point was Kate Moss staying in LV caravans) but it's resulted in a massive increase in folk who are there to Do Glastonbury and Be Seen and spot celebs and look and behave like they're on a night out in their local city with all the fashion and posturing that involves - preferably with a luxurious pied'a'terre to retreat to and get a facial after being around all those messy people

They're not hurting me sure, you could claim I'm being elitist - but I'd argue almost the opposite. I think this is all a big distraction for those who Do and Would come despite the risks of mud or breaking a nail - it makes it harder for the festival's community to be as integrated and all-encompassing as it has been in the past. It's just not as friendly as it used to be, nor is it as effective in it's message - but it does still do well at both so it's not lost my interest yet

[katyrnewman]

.

Edited March 14, 2015 by katyrnewman

[Wooderson]

Where did you school?

He went to the Other Place, Aki.

[mandolin]

Hi I am currently doing my dissertation on people's experiences in crowds. If anyone here has had either a good or bad experience in the crowd at festivals could you please fill in my survey? https://surveyplanet.com/54f343029b88fd4a47289b96

Thank you!

Any chance you could leave maybe one thread alone? You really are becoming a bit of a pain which will seriously decrease the chance of you getting anyone to answer your dissertation questions. Better grammar would help a little too.

[Woffy]

I've had a look; very bland indeed. Very hard to ascertain what you'd extrapolate from that.

It's the sort of ineffectual guff Social Services trot out.