Pyramid Barrier Layout / Over Crowding

[Charm]

Last year I tried to beat them at their own game, we were having a little sit on the grass and some of the selfish gits came and erected a chair wall that practically imprisoned us, so when the band came on we went and danced right in front of them, we thought this was absolutely hilarious and very satisfying. 
Charm x

[willd255]

On 6/28/2016 at 9:39 AM, Lubic87 said:

 If you want to get in to the front, just hang around near the wateraid tent on the left, and cut in at changover time.

This

[Aeleanor]

On 29-6-2016 at 0:22 AM, gizmoman said:

I've made many of the same points on here before, the barrier is necessary but is not managed properly, I rarely go down the front nowadays because of the potential crushing, some festivals empty the pit totally after each band, this would stop the present free for all which is the main cause of the crushes. there needs to be better control before someone gets hurt.

They do this in the Netherlands, but that also ends up in a nightmare. Exiting is fine (since you have a different exit than entry point) but queueing to get in is a nightmare. The barriers end in bottlenecks with different queues (like you'd see when queueing for a rollercoaster). The problem is that the crowd behind those bottlenecks will start to push the moment the gates open. But since only 10 or so people can enter at the same time you end up being crushed if you're not totally in the front. I was there for Coldplay and it was scary as hell. I ended up in the front for Adele during Glasto and even though there was a lot of pushing it wasn't as scary as Coldplay back then. 

The only thing I will say about this system, is that security can more easily control how many people get in and also you prevent people from sticking around for three acts just to see the headliner.

 

Edited July 11, 2016 by Aeleanor

[Little Andy]

2 hours ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

I obviously can't defend the specifics, but broadly speaking there's a good chance that beyond the bit where you were all jammed in together there would have been space.

I was in the mega crush to the right of Adele. I wanted to go past them under the assumption that there would be more space in the centre at the back (there had been for Muse and then Coldplay), but it was so tight it was impossible to get through without pissing people off.

[JennieT]

On ‎27‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 9:01 PM, Amii said:

Never mind the front, the back by Row Mead was chaos. If I didn't leave my tent by 9pm, that was me there for the night.

we spent most of our time up there because we had our 1 year old in his buggy, it was horrendous during coldplay and at other times. couldn't believe the idiots barging past people that far back. one guy even expected me to move my sons buggy (all I said was 'where too?' there was literally nowhere to move to! fell quite sorry for the peeps camping up there x

[tevaburger]

On 7/9/2016 at 7:18 AM, CaledonianGonzo said:

I still like to get down in the mix - I had to watch Beck on the screens cos the entire stagefront was obscured with flags.

My Beck view in the pit was obscured by 2 Korean flags, one of which was a Coldplay Korean fanclub thingie i think. mind you, i did cause a bit of annoyance to some as I battled thru to exit as New Pollution started to get to PJ Harvey...

completely agree with what you/Nal were saying about those who just stop once they've got in at side halfway back, instead of moving out to the centre where there's plenty of space...

 

[gizmoman]

9 hours ago, Aeleanor said:

They do this in the Netherlands, but that also ends up in a nightmare. Exiting is fine (since you have a different exit than entry point) but queueing to get in is a nightmare. The barriers end in bottlenecks with different queues (like you'd see when queueing for a rollercoaster). The problem is that the crowd behind those bottlenecks will start to push the moment the gates open. But since only 10 or so people can enter at the same time you end up being crushed if you're not totally in the front. I was there for Coldplay and it was scary as hell. I ended up in the front for Adele during Glasto and even though there was a lot of pushing it wasn't as scary as Coldplay back then. 

The only thing I will say about this system, is that security can more easily control how many people get in and also you prevent people from sticking around for three acts just to see the headliner.

 

Not had any experience with that system, but that sounds pretty bad too, there must be a better way, maybe an exit only gate at the rear of the pit so the exiting crowd don't have to fight against the flow of the incoming crowd, it would need stewards to control it but there are security in that area within the barrier that could do it.

[Harmonic Prospector]

On Sunday night I became "that guy" trying to get to my friends before Coldplay. In my defence I had left Gary Clark Jr early to allow time to locate my friends in the Pyramid field.

I got to the Pyramid bang on 9pm on the left hand side by the urinals, allowing me half an hour to get to try and get to my friends who were just to the right of the right hand sound stage. I knew it would be difficult but stuck to my plan of being the epitome of politeness as a worked my way through the crowd. I used the rat run behind the two sound stages where there are less people due to the restricted view and I managed to get within 30m of my friends by 9.10.

It was at this point things started to turn and I realised I was about to piss off a lot of people if I was going to make it to where they were. I gained another 10m and caught sight of my group so at least I had a focal point, however the crowd was so densely populated by that point I hit brick walls wherever I turned. Despite how busy it was there were still large groups of people with camping chairs erected with nobody sitting in them but using them as a brick wall for the likes of me trying to get through. I spent the next 15 mins edging further forward, using every inch of charm I had left, pointing out my group of friends to people who were quite rightly annoyed at this 6ft 1in guy forcing his way through gaps of people that a toddler would have struggled with.  I tried ringing my friends so they could turn round and help guide me from their end but the network was jammed and wouldn't connect. I encountered a lot of hate on my mission, all the while knowing I was currently the living embodiment of every thing I hate about people at festivals, knowing how many people I was pissing off in the process.

I was essentially like a broken record, trying to be as charming as it is possible to be and accepting whatever abuse came my way.

"Excuse me I'm so sorry, I'm going to be that really awful guy that is squeezing through last minute, my group of friends are literally over there (points out my friends camp as Christmas cowboy hat). I've come this far please can you let me just squeeze past to try and get to them, I really am so sorry"

Despite my politeness I got a lot of hate from people with quite a few not believing that the group I was pointing out were my friends. However one guy who was instrumental in getting me through was so nice about it and helped part the seas for me encouraging his friends to take a step back to allow me through. No obstructiveness, just recognised that I was so very close to where I needed to be and wanted help me out. 

I was 5m away by this point with one more group of people to get past, the apologetic charm supplies had almost been exhausted but managed one last push over the line as the last person separated me from my friends 

"Oh really, where are you trying to get to?"

"That guy standing in front of you"

At which point my friend turns round and he couldn't believe I had managed to get through to them. I have never felt such relief and I honestly thought with 10m to go I had no way of getting to them such was the density of the crowd. At that very moment the intro tape to Coldplay's set started up and they surpassed my expectations once again. I knew they would smash it, their 2011 set won me and a large percentage of my group over, but this year was something else. I still don't think I have been part of atmosphere like it at a festival before and was worth the pain of squeezing through so many people to find my friends. 

In summary, even though you will always get the likes of me squeezing through causing issues when you have made sure you have got yourself a prime spot, having large groups of chairs folded out so your bag has a seat for the duration of the gig is selfish and dangerous for those that may need to exit quickly  (saw plenty of that in the opening half an hour). By all means have a chair but use it wisely and at peak time when you are in the busiest part of the crowd, do not get annoyed when your chair causes even bigger issues.  

[stuartbert two hats]

27 minutes ago, Harmonic Prospector said:

On Sunday night I became "that guy" trying to get to my friends before Coldplay. In my defence I had left Gary Clark Jr early to allow time to locate my friends in the Pyramid field.

I got to the Pyramid bang on 9pm on the left hand side by the urinals, allowing me half an hour to get to try and get to my friends who were just to the right of the right hand sound stage. I knew it would be difficult but stuck to my plan of being the epitome of politeness as a worked my way through the crowd. I used the rat run behind the two sound stages where there are less people due to the restricted view and I managed to get within 30m of my friends by 9.10.

It was at this point things started to turn and I realised I was about to piss off a lot of people if I was going to make it to where they were. I gained another 10m and caught sight of my group so at least I had a focal point, however the crowd was so densely populated by that point I hit brick walls wherever I turned. Despite how busy it was there were still large groups of people with camping chairs erected with nobody sitting in them but using them as a brick wall for the likes of me trying to get through. I spent the next 15 mins edging further forward, using every inch of charm I had left, pointing out my group of friends to people who were quite rightly annoyed at this 6ft 1in guy forcing his way through gaps of people that a toddler would have struggled with.  I tried ringing my friends so they could turn round and help guide me from their end but the network was jammed and wouldn't connect. I encountered a lot of hate on my mission, all the while knowing I was currently the living embodiment of every thing I hate about people at festivals, knowing how many people I was pissing off in the process.

I was essentially like a broken record, trying to be as charming as it is possible to be and accepting whatever abuse came my way.

"Excuse me I'm so sorry, I'm going to be that really awful guy that is squeezing through last minute, my group of friends are literally over there (points out my friends camp as Christmas cowboy hat). I've come this far please can you let me just squeeze past to try and get to them, I really am so sorry"

Despite my politeness I got a lot of hate from people with quite a few not believing that the group I was pointing out were my friends. However one guy who was instrumental in getting me through was so nice about it and helped part the seas for me encouraging his friends to take a step back to allow me through. No obstructiveness, just recognised that I was so very close to where I needed to be and wanted help me out. 

I was 5m away by this point with one more group of people to get past, the apologetic charm supplies had almost been exhausted but managed one last push over the line as the last person separated me from my friends 

"Oh really, where are you trying to get to?"

"That guy standing in front of you"

At which point my friend turns round and he couldn't believe I had managed to get through to them. I have never felt such relief and I honestly thought with 10m to go I had no way of getting to them such was the density of the crowd. At that very moment the intro tape to Coldplay's set started up and they surpassed my expectations once again. I knew they would smash it, their 2011 set won me and a large percentage of my group over, but this year was something else. I still don't think I have been part of atmosphere like it at a festival before and was worth the pain of squeezing through so many people to find my friends. 

In summary, even though you will always get the likes of me squeezing through causing issues when you have made sure you have got yourself a prime spot, having large groups of chairs folded out so your bag has a seat for the duration of the gig is selfish and dangerous for those that may need to exit quickly  (saw plenty of that in the opening half an hour). By all means have a chair but use it wisely and at peak time when you are in the busiest part of the crowd, do not get annoyed when your chair causes even bigger issues.  

Upvoted for the metric precision.

[H.M.V]

7 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Upvoted for the metric precision.

Downvoted for quoting really long post :p

[stuartbert two hats]

29 minutes ago, H.M.V said:

Downvoted for quoting really long post

Downvoted for quoting really short post

[scaryclaireyfairy]

I had to do a sharp exit from the Adele crowd.  I was way-way at the back, near the tree, and found myself totally penned in by rows of people stood up with neat rows of chairs behind them.  It was like an effing stadium with no aisles.  I tried skirting round a bit but they were like a maze and no one would move their chair.  I was barely holding my panic/anxiety together and tried explaining this to one particular woman while asking if she could move her chair a sec to let me through.  She refused and was quite rude.

I'm afraid I kind of lost it.  I'm not proud but I barged past her, booted that chair out of my way and steamrollered on through.  It was that or me having a full-blown panic attack stuck right in front of her, which I'm sure would have marred her evening more.

I understand people like a seat in a wet year more than usual.  I do too.  But please, not in a crowd just in case you might fancy a wee seat during that album track you don't know.

[tevaburger]

unfortunately the chair thing is not a wet year vs. dry year thing. i think they're there to stay now, and it's a right shame.

think of a packed pyramid in 2016 or '15 of about 80,000 at some point, supposedly a massive general admission standing gig...how many 'seats' do you reckon there are nowadays in that field amongst the 80,000? it's getting ridiculous. it's truly a stationary seated field. think back to that video of the Fun Lovin Criminals in '99 doing Scooby Snacks...can you imagine that much of the Pyramid heaving up and down that far back up the field in 2016 or '15?

[Spindles]

@Harmonic Prospector - It sounds like you feel that you were doing something wrong by moving through a crowd to get to your mates, you weren't and you did it the right way.  People who take umbrage at others moving through a crowd need to sort out their attitude, just as much as those who barge selfishly through without a thought.  People who think that others moving past is some sort of affront were the problem at that Paul Simon gig a few years ago where the crowd was super compressed at the edges and fairly roomy in the middle, whereas the Coldplay crowd seemed to understand that if people were allowed past then it would prevent such localised crowding.

If someone (or a group) are passing through then I make a little sidestep move to help their passage, just as when I need to move through I make eye contact, give an apologetic smile and thank people/apologise as I go.  It's a big old field with room enough for over 100,000 people with co-operation.

[CaledonianGonzo]

It depends on the circumstances, but I'll almost always try to help people move forward.  It's a shifting dynamic, not a neatly organised first come, first served system.

[CHRLY]

Got in the pit for ZZ Top to meet my friends with a woman in front of me sat on a stool between us. Politely asked her if I could get to them and she said "Yeah, if you find another way." I just stepped over her chair harmlessly. Easy work. 

[Aeleanor]

1 hour ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

It depends on the circumstances, but I'll almost always try to help people move forward.  It's a shifting dynamic, not a neatly organised first come, first served system.

There was one guy during the wait for Coldplay shifting forward 'to get himself a bracelet' because, so he said, people had told him he would get those near the stage. 

I didn't believe him, obviously. 

[Quark]

2 hours ago, CHRLY said:

Got in the pit for ZZ Top to meet my friends with a woman in front of me sat on a stool between us. Politely asked her if I could get to them and she said "Yeah, if you find another way." I just stepped over her chair harmlessly. Easy work. 

Had this one prat at ZZ Top nearly knock my missus off her chair because he wanted to get to the front

Have to say that I'm pretty sure we've all been the person trying to get to a group of friends at some point.  As Spindles said, it's all about co-operation.  However...

The ones that get my goat, and I try to be deliberately obstructive to, are the chains of douchebags holding hands like a bloody infants school day out, who aren't slowing down for anyone.  Managing to step into a break in their chain so they get separated does make me feel a little bit warm inside.

And it may just be me, but I generally find the worst ones for barging tend to be late teen/early 20s girls.  Who probably don't expect you to stand solid and watch them bounce off into the mud.  And yes, I know I need to find my fun elsewhere, but after 4 days of getting elbowed in the small of the back, you do tend to lose patience.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Quark

[Hugh Jass]

22 minutes ago, Quark said:

 

And it may just be me, but I generally find the worst ones for barging tend to be late teen/early 20s girls.  Who probably don't expect you to stand solid and watch them bounce off into the mud.  And yes, I know I need to find my fun elsewhere, but after 4 days of getting elbowed in the small of the back, you do tend to lose patience.

It's not just you. I'm happy to move when someone is asking politely but won't budge if someone is just trying to barge through. The advantage of being "solidly built" (ok, fat) is that smaller people do just bounce off you.

[Quark]

8 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

It's not just you. I'm happy to move when someone is asking politely but won't budge if someone is just trying to barge through. The advantage of being "solidly built" (ok, fat) is that smaller people do just bounce off you.

That and being harder to kidnap

Thanks for making me feel less like a grumpy old arse.  Actually no, for making me feel less like the only grumpy old arse

[Hugh Jass]

14 minutes ago, Quark said:

That and being harder to kidnap

Thanks for making me feel less like a grumpy old arse.  Actually no, for making me feel less like the only grumpy old arse

There's nowt wrong with being a grumpy old arse. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. 

The fact that I am one at 34 is slightly concerning however.

[The Nal]

10 hours ago, scaryclaireyfairy said:

I had to do a sharp exit from the Adele crowd.  I was way-way at the back, near the tree, and found myself totally penned in by rows of people stood up with neat rows of chairs behind them.  It was like an effing stadium with no aisles.  I tried skirting round a bit but they were like a maze and no one would move their chair.  I was barely holding my panic/anxiety together and tried explaining this to one particular woman while asking if she could move her chair a sec to let me through.  She refused and was quite rude.

I'm afraid I kind of lost it.  I'm not proud but I barged past her, booted that chair out of my way and steamrollered on through.  It was that or me having a full-blown panic attack stuck right in front of her, which I'm sure would have marred her evening more.

I understand people like a seat in a wet year more than usual.  I do too.  But please, not in a crowd just in case you might fancy a wee seat during that album track you don't know.

Don't blame you at all and I'm amazed there aren't more people losing the plot. Walked all the way up the path on the right to get in somewhere in the crowd on the right for Adele and there were some points in the crowd that were completely impassible with chairs. And no one sitting down. One area about the size of a peno box on a football pitch we had to navigate around. Picnic blankets on the floor with no one or nothing on them. 

Mrs Nal wasn't as polite as me after 15-20 minutes of this. And a couple of chairs got....errr..... "moved" as she was muttering things like "fucks sake" as she stepped up the pace.

GF could help. A sign or two in the field politely placed advising people to fold the chairs up at busy times. Or the odd announcement. And the same for the pit. A couple of security guards strategically placed advising people to keep moving, or to turn around if the pit is full. The crush for the Stones was potentially quite dangerous. 

On the plus side, didn't notice too many "chatters" this year which was good to see. Less of me fantasising about opening my fridge in the morning and seeing their head on the top shelf. 

[Charm]

I'm quite happy for people to pass but barging through does make me cross, had to give one group of hand holders a severe telling off as they were moving so fast and nearly knocked me over, just pushing through is awful behaviour, a bit of politeness is all that's required. 
Charm x

[stuwilky]

2 hours ago, Quark said:

That and being harder to kidnap

Thanks for making me feel less like a grumpy old arse.  Actually no, for making me feel less like the only grumpy old arse

Can I join your club?  You're making me feel better! 

[Spindles]

2 hours ago, Quark said:

That and being harder to kidnap

Thanks for making me feel less like a grumpy old arse.  Actually no, for making me feel less like the only grumpy old arse

Far from it.  The daisy chains of girls in 'festival fashion' have long been a gripe on these boards and rightly so.

I blame it on a lack of knowledge of gig etiquette, made worse by the fact that they see it happening and copy, thinking it is acceptable.  It's not.  At a gig you look out for each other, you step aside for those moving through and you move respectfully through crowds when you need to, if someone goes down,  you help them up, if someone looks panicky, you make them some room or help them out to quieter ground. 

I took my kids as early teens to their first festivals, I taught them how to behave in crowds and I reckon they are encouraging their friends to behave the same, I know that the daisy chain girls will one day mature and realise the error of their ways though, particularly if they see more people providing a good example of how to behave (as this year's excellent crowd did, for the most part).