not-Glastonbury 2018

[russycarps]

18 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

If you think Glastonbury is the land it's built on, and not the people who run it (right from the Eavii down to the stage manager of the smallest tent on site) then I'm not sure you really get what it is either.

It's an accumulation of everything. Including memories of the past.

[Pinhead]

Its all those things isn't it, the land being one of the more important elements of its identity. I except it might be more important for those people who have been going for a few years or more rather than for new punters, but myself I'd rather see it end gracefully where it is than loose all those things that make it special at another site like its alcohol freedoms, perhaps its limited sponsorship, campfire policy etc. Some things can never be taken elsewhere too - only perhaps recreated, such as permaculture, stone circle etc. I reckon there will be a much stricter regime too as regards the land use as well which may reduce the sort of attractions that can take place there. Seems a loss for the existing site too what will all the millions invested in getting the infrastructure there just right. Try moving that to another site or manage 200K+ people without it.

[grumpyhack]

2 hours ago, giantkatestacks said:

As an aside I didnt know there was a caravan site there as well. Interesting. well mildly diverting anyway.

The Caravan Club has a site at Longleat.  Again, like CenterParc, separate from the Longleat Estate/Safari Park operation.

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/caravanclubapps/applications/uk-caravan-sites-and-parks/SiteDetails.aspx?csid=21923

Staying there whilst attending Glasto at Longleat would be like staying off-site at Glastonbury proper.  You'd be at least a couple of miles from the Festival.

[gizmoman]

On 14/04/2016 at 2:54 PM, Pinhead said:

Yes I strongly agree. It would be tragic to think of that guy (I saw the same documentary as you I think), taking an increasing slice of the pie as time goes on to the detriment of the charities, for example, to which GFL subscribes as well as the money left over to plough back into the following years event. I don't doubt he might even levy a fee offset against the income that other events could bring in using the land at the same time as well, essentially making GFL compete. Not a great situation.

With any move, surely the investments and benefits to the local economies of scale around Pilton and further beyond would also suffer - you'd think that these days they'd all be keen to lobby the Eavises to reconsider - perhaps that's the intention....

I think this is a stroke of genius by Eavis, by running a large festival at a nearby site he totally regains his bargaining power with the local landowners who currently have him by the short n curlies, any threat to move at the moment is empty - he really can't do it, by launching an alternative in the fallow year he gets to give an income to the regular traders/worker, try out the new location, prove to the locals that he COULD if  he wanted go elsewhere and make them seriously think how much they would lose if he did. By putting the tickets on sale in October he can accurately judge demand and built the new site to order, much less financial risk. The only worry for me is the traffic situation, the Pilton situation is well understood and controlled, moving to a rural location untried could be a big problem, maybe they will stagger arrivals with dedicated tickets but you still have the problem of everyone leaving together at the end.

[smudger]

If its a one off and if its a shot across the bows of the neighbours then great. I can see how difficult it must be to juggle the needs of the farm with the needs of the running the festival. Agree that an attempt to recreate Glastonbury is probably doomed to fail though, way too much history and too iconic to be anywhere else but on that farm, but building on the uniqueness and the liberal licensing could still make it a festival worth going too. Especially in a fallow year, what else are we going to do anyway?

Hopefully it will serve its purpose and we're back to Pilton in 2019, but if the neighbours are to really believe they could move for good they, along with the rest of us, aren't going to be given much reassurance that it will always be on Worthy Farm.

 

Edited April 15, 2016 by smudger

[eFestivals]

18 minutes ago, grumpyhack said:

The Caravan Club has a site at Longleat.  Again, like CenterParc, separate from the Longleat Estate/Safari Park operation.

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/caravanclubapps/applications/uk-caravan-sites-and-parks/SiteDetails.aspx?csid=21923

Staying there whilst attending Glasto at Longleat would be like staying off-site at Glastonbury proper.  You'd be at least a couple of miles from the Festival.

not necessarily. It depends what part of the estate they might use.

Then again, it's probably not longleat anyway. It's merely the most prominent possibility.

[DeanoL]

19 minutes ago, Pinhead said:

Its all those things isn't it, the land being one of the more important elements of its identity. I except it might be more important for those people who have been going for a few years or more rather than for new punters, but myself I'd rather see it end gracefully where it is than loose all those things that make it special at another site like its alcohol freedoms, perhaps its limited sponsorship, campfire policy etc. Some things can never be taken elsewhere too - only perhaps recreated, such as permaculture, stone circle etc. I reckon there will be a much stricter regime too as regards the land use as well which may reduce the sort of attractions that can take place there.

Some might be issues, some might be surmountable. There might also be opportunities with a new site for doing things that can't be done at Worthy. No, you can't recreate the old site in full. And it'd be disappointing if they even tried. But the other way to look at it is you're giving these people who made all that stuff you love a blank canvas to create with. I find that element really exciting.

[gizmoman]

3 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

Some might be issues, some might be surmountable. There might also be opportunities with a new site for doing things that can't be done at Worthy. No, you can't recreate the old site in full. And it'd be disappointing if they even tried. But the other way to look at it is you're giving these people who made all that stuff you love a blank canvas to create with. I find that element really exciting.

My thoughts too, once you've done Glastonbury a few times it starts to become familiar and you take things for granted, most years there a one or two new things and that's always exciting, at a new location EVERYTHINGS new, we'll all be getting lost and discovering things for the first time, i'm quite looking forward to it.

[barcelonista1899]

http://newsthump.com/2016/04/15/qatar-wins-bid-to-host-glastonbury-2018/

[weirdforces]

9 minutes ago, barcelonista1899 said:

http://newsthump.com/2016/04/15/qatar-wins-bid-to-host-glastonbury-2018/

This is hilarious. A lot of people are actually reacting to the news of a relocation as if this were going to happen.

[Pinhead]

43 minutes ago, gizmoman said:

I think this is a stroke of genius by Eavis, by running a large festival at a nearby site he totally regains his bargaining power with the local landowners who currently have him by the short n curlies, any threat to move at the moment is empty - he really can't do it, by launching an alternative in the fallow year he gets to give an income to the regular traders/worker, try out the new location, prove to the locals that he COULD if  he wanted go elsewhere and make them seriously think how much they would lose if he did. By putting the tickets on sale in October he can accurately judge demand and built the new site to order, much less financial risk. The only worry for me is the traffic situation, the Pilton situation is well understood and controlled, moving to a rural location untried could be a big problem, maybe they will stagger arrivals with dedicated tickets but you still have the problem of everyone leaving together at the end.

Maybe, but its not just a hardball rent game the other landowners are playing here. Its also about their longer term wishes for their land development which have gradually come to conflict with the needs of the annual even taking place that needs to use their land.

[denwyn]

7 hours ago, Cheesey said:

Unfortunately though it's not working fine (e.g. massive quantities of piss), and there are changes that the Eavii can't control (e.g. surround land owners getting greedy or wanting to use their land for other stuff). I don't think leaving it alone is a viable option.

Longleat has some stunningly beautiful land, and a festival there could work very well, if they figured out how to use that land well like they do at Worthy Farm. However, the thought of a toff in a castle having the festival by the balls doesn't fill me with positive thoughts.

OK,so in its present format it's showing signs of not working well, why not scale it down, cut numbers by 25,000/ 35,000. Put ticket prices up to £240, make it a max 4 day event, cut the big headliners like Adel,Rolling Stones etc. Get back to something easier to manage,and still give a decent amount to good causes I don't like the idea of that Prick in a castle having anything to do with Glastonbury at all. We may all have it wrong and it could be a Eavis wind up, to me it looks like crunch time is coming for Glastonbury.

[grumpyhack]

 

[Keithy]

I have wondered if much of this talk is around what happens to worthy farm after Micheal dies. 

Have the family decided that they'll sell the farm when he dies? Do they want to run a dairy farm & festival organisation? Perhaps Emily simply wants to run a festival organisation and Glastonbury will end with Micheal. Part of 'post Micheal' planning is for Emily to start a new festival at Longleat?

For me Glastonbury is a summation of the land, the history and Michael. I'm not sure it'd be the same if one of those 3 were missing? I know he's took a step back in the running of it but it's still essentially 'his' festival. 

Longleat would be an amazing location for a festival is just depends what part of the land it's held on. There are some great hilly, wooded areas that could make a magical place or or could be on the flat areas which might feel a bit 'generic festival in a field'.

I know there are current issues with land rent for neighbours but I can't help thinking this is post Michael planning and what happens to worthy farm.

[arcade fireman]

10 hours ago, denwyn said:

OK,so in its present format it's showing signs of not working well, why not scale it down, cut numbers by 25,000/ 35,000. Put ticket prices up to £240, make it a max 4 day event, cut the big headliners like Adel,Rolling Stones etc. Get back to something easier to manage,and still give a decent amount to good causes I don't like the idea of that Prick in a castle having anything to do with Glastonbury at all. We may all have it wrong and it could be a Eavis wind up, to me it looks like crunch time is coming for Glastonbury.

Not sure a 240 quid festival without any big headliners would be viable. There's so much competition amongst festivals these days, both domestically and internationally. 

[beodeejay]

hmmm.

Hard to recreate the 'feeling' behind Glastonbury (or any other established event) from a standing start in a new location.   You can stick big stages and bars/food stalls anywhere...   but no Tor on the horizon, no familiar paths and the well-establised core of fields around Avalon/West Holts/Acoustic, no railway line, no Kings Meadow, no fires, no  longdrops !!

BUT - I can see a festival run by GFL that has a related but separate identity.    The Park Festival...   or something similar. it would sit as a sub-brand (think epiphone to Gibson or Squire to fender to use a musical comparison) to Glastonbury.

If it works, at Longleat as it sounds likely to be , then that would also leave the future option open to run it concurrently, or the month before/after in a non-fallow year.  As a one off thing, GFL are still testing the water for other off-site events, covering the payroll in a fallow year and firing a warning shot at the money grubbers.

If it serves only to slap the neighbouring farms around the face a bit it is probably worth doing for GFL - assuming GFL don't actually lose ££££'s...   These 'greedy locals' will see an alternative happening down the road that nets them exactly £0.

So A bigger WOMAD or smaller Glasto could work.  Plenty of experience they can call on - loads of the performers, caterers, crew  and staff who always go to Glastonbury would be available... 

£200 seems the limit for prices, tbh.  Assuming it is a mix of a stage sizes and themes, but maybe 20 or so 'venues', not the number at Glastonbury.

Edited April 16, 2016 by beodeejay

[guypjfreak]

if they move its the end of glasto as we know it

is it all about that bloody gas pipe or the other farmers or if Mr E dies ????? may be they can move the PS ??

any ways wot ever the problem i really believe that if they were to move or try to move glastonbury festival as GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL it just wouldnt work i couldnt it would lose its............ummmmmm......its heart its soul ...whether its sunny of R,,,ing we all know wot to expect where we like to go wot to do who to see ect if the festi moves permently then imo you could never replecate this .

if on the other hand its just in the fallow years then heyho if the Eavis family believe they NEED to do this [ which i dont think they do i rather like the idea of a year off evry now and then ] then yea thats cool but it does look like there testeing out the waters for a new site and as i said at the top imo this will be the end of glasto as we know it

[denwyn]

On ‎16‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 9:39 AM, arcade fireman said:

Not sure a 240 quid festival without any big headliners would be viable. There's so much competition amongst festivals these days, both domestically and internationally. 

I'm not to sure on that, there is a huge following for Glastonbury, and lots who don't go for the big name acts, more this Glastonbury experience, I'm afraid for me the music comes first, but the headliners there booking now to my mind are not right for Glastonbury. I would love to see it with much smaller crowds, less big name headliners. The other side of Glastonbury away from the music is something I don't ever bother with, but it has a big following and should be kept and improved on. In a way I shouldn't really stick my nose in this, as I will be 68 at this years festival, and have probably will call it a end in 2017 should I be lucky enough to get a ticket. M.E could be testing the ground with his farming neighbours, and if we believe what we read or hear, Farming is not such a money spinner these days, so they would be fools to mess M.E about, I do though think that there are changes coming to Glastonbury even if it stays on Worthy Farm....and I hope it stays there, and forgets all this nonsense about a fallow year festival

[eFestivals]

i'm laughing at the number of articles now going around suggesting Longleat as the likely site. I wonder where they got the idea from?

While it's the nearest high-profile possibility I'm sure there's loads of other options.

Edited April 18, 2016 by eFestivals

[Pinhead]

They're probably all just quoting off one another now I expect in a typical demonstration of lazy journalism. Does anyone have any idea of any other likely sites, preferably with a single landowner, that could possibly accommodate around 200K within 20 miles however?

[zahidf]

hopefully somewhere closer to london

[Pinhead]

There was a site North West of London that was being touted as a possible at one point. But that 'within 20 miles' caveat would seem to rule that out now.

[DeanoL]

43 minutes ago, Pinhead said:

They're probably all just quoting off one another now I expect in a typical demonstration of lazy journalism. Does anyone have any idea of any other likely sites, preferably with a single landowner, that could possibly accommodate around 200K within 20 miles however?

Is there a chance Eavis could be buying land also?

[FloorFiller]

29 minutes ago, zahidf said:

hopefully somewhere closer to london

Hopefully the opposite of this please

[Dukeicon]

2 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

Is there a chance Eavis could be buying land also?

I very much doubt it.
He said the other night that he has already agreed the rent with the land owner.