Your (potentially) Contraversial Changes to Glasto

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

4 hours ago, frostypaw said:

I don't quite get this belief that the sky will fall and the world cave in if numbers are reduced. Are there no smaller festivals that survive or something? AFAIK there are plenty that do, and Glasto survived fine before. What is it?

Of course there are smaller festivals, but are they as good? Do you personally prefer any to Glastonbury? Do any of these smaller festivals get acts to perform for free, or get massive headliners to perform for £200k, or even at a loss? If numbers were reduced something would have to give in return, its madness to say it wouldn't. What would you want it to be though, the ticket price? The charity donations? A change in attitudes to corporate sponsorship?

[CaledonianGonzo]

They simply shouldn't have some of the world's biggest acts playing exclusive and special shows. It means people are going to want to see them and crowds will develop.  

Something must be done.

[Badlands]

It all goes a bit Tory on here when we come back doesn't it?

 

[phil the shrew]

Would like to see the John Peel stage given more space and better facilities around it. Seems a bit out of the way now

Would like to see smaller stages like circus area start on the Thursday. Some wonderful stuff there but often the smaller stages have tiny audiences on the weekend which seems harsh on the performers 

[CaledonianGonzo]

5 minutes ago, Badlands said:

It all goes a bit Tory on here when we come back doesn't it?

 

Ultimately, the best case scenario is fewer people enjoying themselves.

[Tartan_Glasto]

As much as I feel it's a bit too crowded, there's not a lot that can be done about that. I can't imagine they're going to reduce capacity anytime soon.

One thing that would help is to stop the TBA slots. They cause too much hype and people end up going who aren't really interested in the act just so they can say they were there. 

Also, if there was anyway to widen the bottle necks at and near Pyramid. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

4 minutes ago, Tartan_Glasto said:

One thing that would help is to stop the TBA slots. They cause too much hype and people end up going who aren't really interested in the act just so they can say they were there. 

Fest would definitely be improved by fewer nice surprises.

[Tartan_Glasto]

2 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Fest would definitely be improved by fewer nice surprises.

Not sure if you're being sarcastic there or not. True secret sets are nice for those in the right place at the right time. However, having them down as TBAs and people knowing in advance who will be there just causes mass migration to those areas.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Just now, Tartan_Glasto said:

Not sure if you're being sarcastic there or not. True secret sets are nice for those in the right place at the right time. However, having them down as TBAs and people knowing in advance who will be there just causes mass migration to those areas.

So what?

Word leaks out, sometimes deliberately and sometimes not.  Either way, by their nature people will be curious as to what's about to happen and will show for it.

When big bands play small venues some people have to lose out, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't happen.  I didn't get a ticket to see Depeche Mode at the Barras, but that doesn't mean it shouldnt have happened.  

And everyone who wanted to see Liam Gallagher got to see him, didn't they?

[General Lee]

Lots of people saying to sell less tickets in here. WOuld you be happy if they did that and you missed out for a couple of years? Would you be prepared to pay an extra £50 on your ticket price if you did get one? 

Genuine question. I missed out this year after 11 in a row and did all I could to get a ticket. It was horrible, I felt upset at several points over the weekend. From the outside looking in it looked a fantastic year too. 

[St.A.to.Z]

- Sort out the Thursday acts. As said earlier Williams Green area was so overcrowded with people failing to see the Smyths.

- Extra speakers at Other Stage.

- Move Arcadia so it isn't pretty much directly en route to the Park from anywhere else in the festival.

- Sack off the secret set culture. Set the lineup and stick with it. The Killers being at JP was too extreme. Unfair on people who couldn't get close to see them and unfair on other bands playing to a smaller crowd than they deserve as half the festival are outside the JP tent at 3pm.

- Cut down some trees between the two entrances from the JP side of the pyramid to open up access a bit.

- Open the gates at 6am on the Wednesday rather than 8am. I don't think people would arrive any earlier but would reduce the queue.

- Ban entrance with trolleys until after 5pm on Wednesday. People who want to bring that much stuff can arrive later or return to their car after pitching their tent when queues are smaller. 

[liamium]

crowds were a bit hairy for me at times and I had to take myself out of situations to prevent the wobbles but it's not really a problem and I don't think the answer is cutting numbers.

everything felt quite nicely balanced this year and in harmony (SEC was brilliant! never been able to so freely navigate it) but the one thing I might like to see change is to have Glasto Latino out of the SEC and enjoying a fuller programme of latin american acts & speakers. I saw a couple of the late night bands on there and had a great time. It just doesn't gel with the rest of what's going on there and just feels tacked on tbh. I have no idea where you could put it tho. 

[Tartan_Glasto]

45 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

So what?

Word leaks out, sometimes deliberately and sometimes not.  Either way, by their nature people will be curious as to what's about to happen and will show for it.

When big bands play small venues some people have to lose out, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't happen.  I didn't get a ticket to see Depeche Mode at the Barras, but that doesn't mean it shouldnt have happened.  

And everyone who wanted to see Liam Gallagher got to see him, didn't they?

Mate, in a thread which asks you to give your own controversial changes, I am simply giving mine. 

There's no need to be a dick about it.

[CaledonianGonzo]

That reads perfectly politely to me, but whatever.  Knock yourself out with the name-calling if you've got no better response.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

55 minutes ago, General Lee said:

Lots of people saying to sell less tickets in here. WOuld you be happy if they did that and you missed out for a couple of years? Would you be prepared to pay an extra £50 on your ticket price if you did get one? 

Genuine question. I missed out this year after 11 in a row and did all I could to get a ticket. It was horrible, I felt upset at several points over the weekend. From the outside looking in it looked a fantastic year too. 

Absolutely not. Selling 20k less tickets is the equivalent of losing 5 million quid. I'm not sure how the festival could cover such a loss without cranking the price up, giving nothing to charity or taking in a load of corporate sponsorship. It's fine as it is, I want the best chance of going and for as few people as possible to be priced out, which means dealing with the inevitable crowds that you are going to get at the best festival in the world.

[General Lee]

2 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Absolutely not. Selling 20k less tickets is the equivalent of losing 5 million quid. I'm not sure how the festival could cover such a loss without cranking the price up, giving nothing to charity or taking in a load of corporate sponsorship. It's fine as it is, I want the best chance of going and for as few people as possible to be priced out, which means dealing with the inevitable crowds that you are going to get at the best festival in the world.

Yep, that's the point I was making really.

Edited to say I've seen you make the same point above my question.

Edited June 28, 2017 by General Lee

[DeanoL]

7 hours ago, frostypaw said:

I don't quite get this belief that the sky will fall and the world cave in if numbers are reduced. Are there no smaller festivals that survive or something? AFAIK there are plenty that do, and Glasto survived fine before. What is it?

Sure, if you're happy with Glastonbury becoming a smaller festival. But then there's less room. So it's as crowded as before.

And as always with this debate, I tell people to assume it's your favourite area that will get the chop when it downsizes and check you are still happy then.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

27 minutes ago, General Lee said:

Yep, that's the point I was making really.

Edited to say I've seen you make the same point above my question.

Sorry to hear you missed out this year, it was rubbish and you didn't miss a thing 

Good luck for 2019.

[Purple aki squat]

Nothing major, have it running for 7 days would be good though 

[General Lee]

1 hour ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Sorry to hear you missed out this year, it was rubbish and you didn't miss a thing 

Good luck for 2019.

Ha, cheers!

You too. 

[Chinaski_]

I would like to see some kind of mini supermarket on site where you can buy fruit, juice, cereal, cans etc. without having to buy them individually from vendors or bring them with you as they get crushed along the way. 

[frostypaw]

4 hours ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Of course there are smaller festivals, but are they as good? Do you personally prefer any to Glastonbury? Do any of these smaller festivals get acts to perform for free, or get massive headliners to perform for £200k, or even at a loss? If numbers were reduced something would have to give in return, its madness to say it wouldn't. What would you want it to be though, the ticket price? The charity donations? A change in attitudes to corporate sponsorship?

Yes, yes they are. Have you been to any to compare?

Yes, Boomtown does it better.

Remember the physical size of the festival isn't the only measure - a few less giant acts and it would still be an incredible festival. Besides headliners used to perform for far less than that - the sheer amount of money moving around means they ask for more to start with.

You're kind-of reinforcing my thing about people being unable to even imagine it any other way. The festival did exist and survive in the past you know. Just look into it's history a bit - you'll see it never used to have headliners like it does now. It was still Glastonbury you'll have to agree.

The crowd churn is entirely intentional and gonna stay though, they don't want people camping out all day down front pissing on the ground - they want changeovers and variety so everyone can get a chance

 

[Hugh Jass]

32 minutes ago, battleborn said:

Extend it to 7 days. (All Stages for 4 days, outskirts for 7 days)

Increase capacity to 250,000

Change the curfew hours to 10am-3am for all the main stages. 

Unban flares, smoke cannisters and crowd pyrotechnics. 

Try and feed similar bands into eachother to avoid masses of people flowing about at the same time.

Almost everything you have suggested is impossible.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

15 minutes ago, frostypaw said:

Yes, yes they are. Have you been to any to compare?

Yes, Boomtown does it better.

Remember the physical size of the festival isn't the only measure - a few less giant acts and it would still be an incredible festival. Besides headliners used to perform for far less than that - the sheer amount of money moving around means they ask for more to start with.

You're kind-of reinforcing my thing about people being unable to even imagine it any other way. The festival did exist and survive in the past you know. Just look into it's history a bit - you'll see it never used to have headliners like it does now. It was still Glastonbury you'll have to agree.

The crowd churn is entirely intentional and gonna stay though, they don't want people camping out all day down front pissing on the ground - they want changeovers and variety so everyone can get a chance

 

But the festival needs to sell out and remain oversubscribed to remain viable. The big acts are what keep the interest up and keep new people wanting to go, they see it on TV and want to go the next year. Like it or not that's the situation, without the big acts the festivals popularity would gradually decline and it would no longer be what it is now.

[frostypaw]

Just now, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

But the festival needs to sell out and remain oversubscribed to remain viable. The big acts are what keep the interest up and keep new people wanting to go, they see it on TV and want to go the next year. Like it or not that's the situation, without the big acts the festivals popularity would gradually decline and it would no longer be what it is now.

You state a lot of "facts" that I don't think you are really sure about buddy.

If what you are proposing was true how could it EVER have grown to what it is? It couldn't - therefore you're wrong, unequivocally.