Michael eavis 'in talks with longleat'

[Junglist1981]

Nothing lasts forever...

[michael eavis' beard]

I just don't see how having a one-off festival somewhere else in the fallow year is going to address Michael's concerns of the current site being "unsafe"?!

To me it's sounded the death knell for Worthy Farm.  

3 left....

 

[Paul_w]

6 hours ago, eFestivals said:

yup, wiltshire doesn't really do festivals, and there's a reason why.

 

The council would have to change their tune a bit to host Glastonbury, the Elton John concert at Longleat next week has a curfew of 10pm!

[Rumblestripe]

That's just Reg needing his beauty sleep.

[DeanoL]

1 hour ago, sime said:

I'm beginning to think this might be the beginnings of a slow death to Glastonbury Festival itself. It might not happen for a number of years yet but I can't shrug of the feeling that the Eavis family are in the early stages of some kind of transition. I hope I'm wrong :/

I think you're right that it's the first steps in changing a fair few things. I just assume those changes will be good, as pretty much every change made to the festival in the past fifteen years I've been going has been.

[sime]

3 hours ago, DeanoL said:

I think you're right that it's the first steps in changing a fair few things. I just assume those changes will be good, as pretty much every change made to the festival in the past fifteen years I've been going has been.

I am hopeful. Always hopeful for things. And if there is a slow move away from Worthy Farm, then I will be sad about that and the memories of festivals gone by and those which would then not happen. But, I would always look to a new event run by the same festival runners, (sure there will have been some changes with some of the organisers but they all do a grand job as far as I'm concerned), with optimism and excitement. It's going to be an interesting few years for Glastonbury Festival fans...!

[Junglist1981]

I reckon there'll be at festival a Worthy farm for years to come, but it'll gradually downsize to become more manageable. 

We're very lucky really, we've lived through the golden age of festivals. Our grandchildren will look back with envy. 

Edited June 3, 2016 by Junglist1981

[Pinhead]

To me the freedoms experienced at Worthy Farm are unlikely to be respected at Longleat. Cue booze import restrictions coupled with booze movement restrictions around the site. It wont be the same because it couldn't be. Whether people are happy to accept that or not these days is another matter...

Edited June 3, 2016 by Pinhead

[sime]

Reckon there will probably be an 'arena' with camping, (I assume there will be camping), outside of gates like at Bestival, Reading etc. I'm quite fascinated to see how it all comes together. Going to be intriguing being witness to the birth of a new festival.

[incident]

21 hours ago, sime said:

I'm beginning to think this might be the beginnings of a slow death to Glastonbury Festival itself. It might not happen for a number of years yet but I can't shrug of the feeling that the Eavis family are in the early stages of some kind of transition. I hope I'm wrong :/

If it is part of a slow death, which is very possible, it's certainly not the beginnings. I'd be of the opinion that the Festival won't last another 10 years in its current form at Worthy Farm - so that means either a complete relocation, or some drastic changes to the setup.

But the issues that may force that are the same issues which may cause them to investigate other sites - and they've been building for quite a while.

[Guest]

Can't imagine Glastonbury being anything other than on Worthy farm. There's something magical and spiritual about the place - who says that will be the case at Longleat. The "vibe" is one of the main reasons I enjoy it so much, never mind the music. It simply wouldn't be the same somewhere else probably with more strict rules. Maybe only a few left to go then till it changes to 'something else'  Hope not

Edited June 5, 2016 by Guest

[DeanoL]

On 03/06/2016 at 7:35 PM, Pinhead said:

To me the freedoms experienced at Worthy Farm are unlikely to be respected at Longleat. Cue booze import restrictions coupled with booze movement restrictions around the site. It wont be the same because it couldn't be. Whether people are happy to accept that or not these days is another matter...

While I'd be frustrated if there was a separate campsite and arena (because of daily queues and losing some of the sense of scale) I'm less bothered about the booze issue itself. You don't need to be trollied to have fun at Glastonbury.

[stuartbert two hats]

3 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

While I'd be frustrated if there was a separate campsite and arena (because of daily queues and losing some of the sense of scale) I'm less bothered about the booze issue itself. You don't need to be trollied to have fun at Glastonbury.

It helps

More to the point, you can save shit loads of money if you bring your own booze in, even if you don't get shitfaced.

[Jamie D]

Whether you're concerned about what security between camping and an arena might stop you taking in or not, having security and divides removes the sense of freedom that you get at worthy farm.

[LondonTom]

1 hour ago, Jamie D said:

Whether you're concerned about what security between camping and an arena might stop you taking in or not, having security and divides removes the sense of freedom that you get at worthy farm.

Plus it would mean a "chucking" out time in the arena of some sort, some of my best memories of Glastonbury are just strolling by the stages chatting crap at odd times of the night!

[ripcurl85]

On ‎03‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 7:51 PM, sime said:

Reckon there will probably be an 'arena' with camping, (I assume there will be camping), outside of gates like at Bestival, Reading etc. I'm quite fascinated to see how it all comes together. Going to be intriguing being witness to the birth of a new festival.

I think this is almost certainly the way it will be, probably a similar set-up to V at  Weston Park. l would imagine that, given the comments regarding the local authority and the police, alcohol import restrictions and a split between drinking your own in the camping fields but not the arena. This seems to be the case with pretty much all of the other major festivals (Glastonbury of course excepted) and I would imagine that there will also be a rule of two bottles of wine or four/six cans per person in the campsites as there is at Boomtown and Wilderness for example.

I would also expect to see a large increase in "glamping" and VIP options which seem to have become pretty prevalent at other festivals. Reading and Leeds for example even have an 30-odd quid upgrade ticket to allow you to use upgraded loos in the arena! The proximity of a Center Parcs to the Longleat site would lead me to think that there may be some sort of accommodation tie-in available as well.

None of the above are necessarily bad things, but would certainly be a sea-change to the Glastonbury of Worthy Farm.         

[Hotchilidog]

If ever there was a festival where it's sense of place was it's major attraction Glastonbury Festival is it.

A festival at Longleat, organised by the the Eavii or not, would simply be another festival, it may even be a great festival, but it will not be Glastonbury Festival.

The excitement and spirit that the Glastonbury Festival generates is almost entirely down to the Farm itself and the people that attend, and it is nothing to do with the acts that play there. You can have a great Glastonbury and not see anyone on the main stages. The site itself has created it's own special magic over the decades that is impossible to replicate overnight at a new venue. It is truly a wondrous thing.

A stately home can never compete with the mystical and spiritual history that makes Glastonbury so special. I think in the fallow year I'll return to Beautiful Days after few years of personal hiatus before hopefully re-entering the bunfight for Glastonbury 2018 tickets at Worthy Farm.

[stuartbert two hats]

28 minutes ago, ripcurl85 said:

I think this is almost certainly the way it will be, probably a similar set-up to V at  Weston Park. l would imagine that, given the comments regarding the local authority and the police, alcohol import restrictions and a split between drinking your own in the camping fields but not the arena. This seems to be the case with pretty much all of the other major festivals (Glastonbury of course excepted) and I would imagine that there will also be a rule of two bottles of wine or four/six cans per person in the campsites as there is at Boomtown and Wilderness for example.

I would also expect to see a large increase in "glamping" and VIP options which seem to have become pretty prevalent at other festivals. Reading and Leeds for example even have an 30-odd quid upgrade ticket to allow you to use upgraded loos in the arena! The proximity of a Center Parcs to the Longleat site would lead me to think that there may be some sort of accommodation tie-in available as well.

None of the above are necessarily bad things, but would certainly be a sea-change to the Glastonbury of Worthy Farm.         

They are bad things.

[Jamie D]

1 minute ago, stuartbert two hats said:

They are bad things.

Agreed. They would be bad if that's what Glastonbury becomes.

If however it's only for the 'secondary' festival then I can live with it like I do with other festivals knowing that that's not how things are done at Glastonbury.

[ripcurl85]

12 minutes ago, Jamie D said:

Agreed. They would be bad if that's what Glastonbury becomes.

If however it's only for the 'secondary' festival then I can live with it like I do with other festivals knowing that that's not how things are done at Glastonbury.

This. I think that if a "secondary" festival becomes, essentially, another festival in the calendar but with the added novelty of being organised by the Evii and taking place during fallow years at Worthy Farm then okay. However, I don't think anyone would want a permanent move from the farm to result in simply another Latitude being set up a few miles down the road at Longleat.

As posters have alluded to above, the current incumbent at Longleat appears to have a desire to sweat the estate's assets even more than his predecessors. I suppose that, to a certain extent, the shape of any festival held there will also depend on the outcome of negotiations between the Evii and the estate's managers. Clearly it's to be hoped that the charity and good works ethos of the organisers will form some sort of redlines in those negotiations.

[DeanoL]

2 hours ago, Hotchilidog said:

The excitement and spirit that the Glastonbury Festival generates is almost entirely down to the Farm itself and the people that attend, and it is nothing to do with the acts that play there. You can have a great Glastonbury and not see anyone on the main stages. The site itself has created it's own special magic over the decades that is impossible to replicate overnight at a new venue. It is truly a wondrous thing.

The site and the farm haven't created that. People have. People working really really hard to make something brilliant that deserve the credit for that over "magic".

Would you prefer to go to a festival on Worthy Farm organised by the folks who run Reading, or a festival at Longleat organised by the ones who run Glastonbury?

95% of that stuff that's 'not at the main stages' is run by someone. That tiny little tent with acoustic bands on? Run and booked by a person. Walkabout performers in the Theatre fields - they don't just turn up, they're booked by the organisers. The vast variety of amazing food stalls - carefully programmed by a guy. It's not magic, it's hard work.

Now yes, some of that work has been directed by the geography of the site, and by iteration over a period of years. Which creates a certain 'vibe'. But for every instance of the development of the site itself helping create something cool there was something cool someone wanted to do and couldn't because of the nature of the site. Giving these awesome people a blank slate to create with could make something very special.

[Hotchilidog]

4 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

The site and the farm haven't created that. People have. People working really really hard to make something brilliant that deserve the credit for that over "magic".

Would you prefer to go to a festival on Worthy Farm organised by the folks who run Reading, or a festival at Longleat organised by the ones who run Glastonbury?

95% of that stuff that's 'not at the main stages' is run by someone. That tiny little tent with acoustic bands on? Run and booked by a person. Walkabout performers in the Theatre fields - they don't just turn up, they're booked by the organisers. The vast variety of amazing food stalls - carefully programmed by a guy. It's not magic, it's hard work.

Now yes, some of that work has been directed by the geography of the site, and by iteration over a period of years. Which creates a certain 'vibe'. But for every instance of the development of the site itself helping create something cool there was something cool someone wanted to do and couldn't because of the nature of the site. Giving these awesome people a blank slate to create with could make something very special.

Of course people are part of what make Glastonbury special, it's also why it has been able to evolve from within itself over the decades. I am certainly not dismissive of the work that people put into the festival. But it is the sense of place and history that gives Glastonbury it's unique appeal. An appeal that other festivals lack. To use the example of V for instance, you could plonk that anywhere, no-one is going to be upset about moving Chelmsford. Moving Glastonbury would be a different matter altogether.

I am not suggesting for one minute that the proposed festival at Longleat would not be a good event at all. On the contrary i'd expect all the stops to be pulled out to make it a superb festival. It would not, however, in my view be the Glastonbury Festival. I would not feel the same emotional tie to it, I just wouldn't. Kind of like AC/DC this weekend, by all accounts bloody superb, and I'm sure if I went I'd have enjoyed it, but with Axl out front filling in on loan it would not have felt like AC/DC to me, just another rock and roll show.

FWIW I think it's great something is being planned for the fallow year, but if it moved permanently from the farm the new event would have to create it's own history it could not carry the farm with it.

[DeanoL]

8 minutes ago, Hotchilidog said:

I am not suggesting for one minute that the proposed festival at Longleat would not be a good event at all. On the contrary i'd expect all the stops to be pulled out to make it a superb festival. It would not, however, in my view be the Glastonbury Festival.

No it wouldn't. It'd be something else, but just in terms of job satisfaction, if I run Glastonbury and want to make something else, I'd want to make something even better. Whether it works out better or worse, who knows.

And no, it won't have all the memories of previous festivals attached. But the upside is: it won't have all the memories of previous festivals attached. Remember your first time at Glastonbury when everything was new and how amazing that was? The idea of having that again is pretty great. And after a few years once you have that familiarity with the site and it wears off...well by then it has that history.

When you first went to Glastonbury you didn't have that emotional connection either. It grows over time.

[sime]

I'll give this Longleat festival a try if I like the sound of it and if I get a ticket. If I don't like it's set up and it's just a run of the mill, arena festival with a curfew etc like Reading or the I.O.W then I will not be so interested although I will likely give it a try.

 I knew before I went to my first Glastonbury how open it was. Of course, it had years to perfect itself. And it's that openness which is one of the major attractions to me. I've been to Reading and Bestival a few times and I do like them, (well Bestival now, would never go to Reading again!), but I do not like the fact that there is an arena and not a great deal to do once everyone is herded outside of the main area. Be interesting to see what sort of rules get put in place with this new one.

[Hotchilidog]

45 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

No it wouldn't. It'd be something else, but just in terms of job satisfaction, if I run Glastonbury and want to make something else, I'd want to make something even better. Whether it works out better or worse, who knows.

And no, it won't have all the memories of previous festivals attached. But the upside is: it won't have all the memories of previous festivals attached. Remember your first time at Glastonbury when everything was new and how amazing that was? The idea of having that again is pretty great. And after a few years once you have that familiarity with the site and it wears off...well by then it has that history.

When you first went to Glastonbury you didn't have that emotional connection either. It grows over time.

Pretty much agree with all of that. I certainly do remember my first real-life encounter with the festival, it was unforgettable. my first glimpse of the site from my coach was just unforgettable and I look forward to replaying it in just over two weeks time!