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Ticket Day related reflections...a few thoughts about the festival as it is now.


gooner1990
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48 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I agree with this tbh.  I know its there to help people who can't afford the full £250 in one go but also, like you say it encourages people who aren't that bothered to try knowing they'll only lose £15 if they don't like the line up (or heavily rumoured one).

Wonder what the reaction would be if it was scrapped? 

The wife said exactly the same thing. However, if you think how/where/why the festival started, I don’t think this will be allowed to happen. 

I for one am gutted. I’ve never been after 5/6 years of trying. One day, I WILL be a regular attendee!!!

Edited by lendan
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55 minutes ago, Ohinever said:

Add in the fact that the yoof of today have grown up with the internet, instinctively understand it and the digital world, then of course sales via the interweb have become highly competitive. 

This too, the game has changed.  

I know a lot used to stroll up to whatever music shop in their local town centre in the 80s/90s but those days are long gone as its so much more popular. 

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Agree, been going since 2000 always got through in the main sale, then in more recent years had to get some of the wider groups in the resale. Every year it gets noticeably harder, a few years ago we had a distinct advantage from reading here and learning ways to optimise chances, now we are almost equal. I still think if you read here your chances are improved over reading advice on the BBC or other mainstream media but only slightly.

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My mate has been asking about their being some sort of quota set up because he knew a few people from different countries getting them and seemed to get them easy enough and that's how he got his. Like do they section it out so so many tickets can go to say countries from this region, that region etc. No idea personally but I guess it could do, it is a very international festival  so having a wide variety of ethnicities does help the overall.atmosphere of the festival.

Anyway other than that the only other thing I could add is possibly how the other big festivals don't really offer a huge alternative. Of course they are different but not too long ago Leeds/Reading was mainly alternative rock, download metal, Isle of White like 60s/pyschedlic/mod etc they haven't completely changed but they do all incorporate a lot of a wider range of music types and they seemingly try to replicate a lot of what Glastonbury does on a smaller scale. It's like a lot of them have lost their identity to an extent and Glastonbury has there's nailed to the ground.

If your going to have them be so similar then you may as well try for Glastonbury first and have the rest as a backup plan. Maybes it's harsh on Download which is primarily is still metal and they do stuff like have WWE on but the others seem to offer a lesser alternative than before.

 

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2 hours ago, gooner1990 said:

I've been reading this forum and other social media platforms about this mornings sale and thought I'd jot a few of my thoughts that have gone on through the day as I eventually got on with life and went off for a family meal this afternoon to celebrate a birthday.

Context, I was trying to get tickets for my thirteenth Glastonbury in a row, and we had 8 people from my hometown trying to get tickets, plus I had another 20 or so mates (some of whom I usually camp with) dotted around the UK trying as well.

One group of six got sorted, the rest of us missed out, this is the 2nd time I've missed out in the main sale, the last time was in October 2014 for the 2015 festival when I then got tickets in the April coach resale.

1.  Groups and organisation.

EVERYONE is organised now, well pretty much, and even if you aren't someone you know already has put you into a group. Whatsapp groups, spreadsheets, facebook messenger etc everyone has caught onto that you need it and so thus theres no disorganisation when people get through and only book 1/2 tickets (unless an odd number in a group) even if you only need a small amount usually a mate of a mate has claime the other four in your pot in case you get through, which results in transastions of six happening a lot more now than before.

2. Technology.

EVERYONE now has either a smart phone, iPad, laptop etc lined up, and then multiple versions of them and getting friends and relatives who aren't going to help to maxmise chances of getting through.  Again, everyone has caught onto this being the best plan of attack and so everyone does it, so naurally tickets are going to sell faster.

3. Social Media 

Backdoor links (although not this year) are circulated around, tips, which brower to use etc spread like wildfire now thanks to efests, Twitter etc. The second someone shares something they've found then 20,000 people have usually seen it within a minute. This has worked for me as far back as my first G in 2004, and I recall the Oct 2012 hosts thing getting about 20 of us tickets.  

It also helps generate interest of the festival, you can go on YouTube and watch multiple vlogs of peoples festival to see what it like, something I didn't have back in 2004, I recall going to my first Reading in 1999 completly blind to what it would be like, ok I'd seen the ITV late night coverage before but all of the camping and assocated chaos I was completly blind to until I got there which was almost magical to me as it took me by suprise.

4. Bucket Listers

I've said this elsewhere on here, a lot of people see Glastonbury as the daddy of festivals, so if they've going to do one before they're 30/40/50/60 etc then it will be this one. Its also the most diverse so attracts people from all ages so will always see steady popularity.

5. BBC coverage

The coverage is 2nd to none, even when I started watching it back in 1997 it was brillant as it gave you a real insight into what it was like and it was actually safe to go to.  They hype it up to keep the interest going and hope it will churn over a new generation of festival goers.

6. Weather and Fallow Year

2017 we had great weather and also we've now just had a fallow year which may explain the record numbers trying, 2007 was a complete mudbath so 2008 really struggled (combined with the Jay-Z thing) to sell.  

My own personal thoughts is that for the next few years at least we are going to see sales like this (maybe even quicker), i don't think its newbies taking all the slots or whatever I think its just retained its audence for year after year as its so well slick and organised its just massivly massivly popular now.  The numbers of people in their 'groups' getting mentioned are all really really high, look at the girl in the article linked below, 108 in her group?! May sound slightly OTT but i've seen big groups of 50/60 all together at the festival, i think the most we had was 35 in 2011. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-45733661

Has it become too poplular? Yes. Is that the organisers fault? No.  Could the system be fairer? Possibly?

Should I be assured of a ticket because i've been loads before or should that go to someone who's 22 who's not been before to see what its like, just as I did back in 2004. Its a hard one to call, smaller festivals need to look after their regulars because without them the festival would probably collapse, but Glastonbury is unique in that it doesn't need that anymore, it could sell 5 or 6 times over these days.

I'm gutted I don't have a ticket, but perhaps not as gutted as I would have been 5/6 years ago and with most of my other mates missing out its a slightly less bitter pill to swallow. I'm going to try for coach re-sale and main resale (if i don't get a coach one) and then if not just pick another festival to go to instead.

Glastonbury has given me some of my best memories, I've seen so many top acts, been on weird nights out there, seen relationships start there, and sadly one end. but its not my festival and its for all to enjoy so perhaps it just wasn't my turn this year.

Peace and love to you all. :)

Agree with every word. Our Glasto histories are very similar; 2004 was also my first and the memories of that year (12 hours hearing an engaged tone on the phone) remind me how wide of the mark people are complaining about the current system (it’s not perfect but hard to imagine how it could be significantly improved)

As you suggest the main factor is that demand has increased (significantly and maybe even to it’s highest ever level) while capacity has remained about the same. That means that while a few years back pretty much every efester who wanted a ticket got one, that doesn’t look likely to be the case for a fair while.

It’s an odd feeling - means festival is in rude health with its future secure (in 2008 it honestly felt like it might be approaching the end of the road) BUT there is now a very real chance of anyone, including those of us who have been for double figures consecutive years.

FWIW I fancy your chances in the resale, my guess is the line-up won’t be stellar with the 50th anniversary around the corner (T Day for that one ain’t going to be much fun). Best of luck.

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Great and well thought out post, thanks @gooner1990.  I totally agree the festival is for everyone, and it would be unfair to introduce a 'loyalty' scheme.  I'm really sad I lost out on a ticket today, but it's also been an absolute privilege to have gone 8 times, and made our nerdy kids the envy of their 'cool' classmates.

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1 hour ago, One Tonne Baby said:

I also feel like Glasto is so in demand so sought after, maybe the 50 quid deposit is encouraging people who may not be fully behind going. A bit of a middle ground between overhauling the whole ticket selling process and making sure the people going are the ones who really want to go is to reintroduce paying the full balance of your ticket in October. Just a thought.

I think your deposit idea is dead in the water.  Primarily because it would make it even harder for folks of different ages and budgets, who already may struggle to cover the outlay - and the festival does want to include a broad range of ages and classes.  Secondly, if you're concerned about those people who aren't serious and will just ditch it later in the year, then surely that helps the quantity that will go into the resale pot?
 

1 hour ago, gooner1990 said:

Another thing I forgot to mention is the camping options, now that you have Worthy View and multiple on site and offsite glamping options it attracts people who would usually not attend if they had to go into standard camping.

Bear in mind there have always been a broad selection of folks in the campervan fields, some of whom are clearly sleeping very comfortably.  Certainly the last couple of decades there have been folks who hire a motorhome from their part of the country and drive it down for the week and that's usually more expensive than WV.

I think one of  the favourite forms of accomodation I've seen, which was probably wandering through CV east 15-20 years ago, was seeing a geezer sat in the Jacuzzi on the bottom deck of his routemaster bus. 

Edited by clarkete
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Sister got our tickets, I didn't even get close. Wife agreed to try to get tickets but didn't expect to, think she was a bit devo'd. Her first and only time was 2016 and out of the 7 I've done up to date that was the worst. Partly the weather, partly the fact I was in a hit and run a week and half before the festival. Not the best timing for it, inconsiderate drivers.. I'm excited but ambivalent too. I know how great that festival can be, but I won't be surprised to get divorce papers at the site.

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2 hours ago, briddj said:

Heatwave was 2010. 2009 was average with some rain. 

2010 was a heatwave, I remember 2009 as hot? Not 2010 hot but one of the better years? The years mix into one another so maybe wrong?!

Was 09 not Bruce? I remember the being hot as I was bare chested (sorry) till 3am?!

Edited by Baby On A Stick
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5 hours ago, Baby On A Stick said:

2010 was a heatwave, I remember 2009 as hot? Not 2010 hot but one of the better years? The years mix into one another so maybe wrong?!

Was 09 not Bruce? I remember the being hot as I was bare chested (sorry) till 3am?!

Yes it was Bruce.  My first festival.    And he didn't play born in the Usa

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8 hours ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

You need to get one mate. It's exactly the same as every other smartphone (all the fucking same like) but a lot cheaper.

We’ve got them for work, hundreds of them. I’ve got an e5 and it’s great, including a battery that lasts for days 

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Good post - agree with loads of it.

Deposit thing - needs to be low to keep students involved - half our group now have to save (a lot) ready for balance payment.
Lottery no. But now they've fixed the "back-button, re-book the next 6" issue, I really think they could let people pre-fill and even pre-pay before T-day so that all the madness is reduced to ticking a few confirmation boxes. The current system is massively unfair for anyone with web accessibility issues (especially since the tickets are not "yours" until the whole process is complete, i.e. you can lose them if you're too slow).
Bucket listers - I guess that might have been me in 2010 and I've been going ever since. The festival is simply that unique and good.

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9 hours ago, The Placid Casual said:

Macs worked best. 2 of us attempted the sale on macs, the rest on PCs, guess which 2 got through?

 

The sample size isn't the greatest but I've come to a conclusion.

Our group of 48 had 4 macs, and 6 laptops running, Only one person managed to get 6 tickets on a 4G mobile. I'm really starting to believe that it's just pot luck.

 

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2 minutes ago, wirralchris said:

Our group of 48 had 4 macs, and 6 laptops running, Only one person managed to get 6 tickets on a 4G mobile. I'm really starting to believe that it's just pot luck.

 

The group had macs, ipads, all going - only a samsung s8 using chrome on a 4G Vodafone connection got through.

It's luck, pure luck - and I'd argue that is like a ballot if in a ballot, someone goes 3 years on the bounce & someone else doesnt go at all - there would be cries of "fix".

Edited by FuzzyDunlop
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A really interesting and insightful original post, and I share your sentiments. 

I've been going since 2003 and missed a couple of festivals in that time.

At various times I've managed to secure tickets in the main sale, the resale and the secret resale (in 2016 when it lasted about 30 seconds by all account... I was just in the right place at the right time) I've been lucky at times (like 2016) but have also felt cheated/like I missed out when I wasn't lucky. This year, I got a booking page twice in relatively quick succession and so all of our group who were looking for tickets are going which is a great feeling, but I feel for those who weren't as lucky.

I've bought tickets over the years over the phone (2003), using backdoor links (posted on here), on PCs, Macs and iPads. I've used chrome, Firefox, IE and Safari. Sometimes it's worked, other times it hasn't. I've convinced myself at times that I benefited from trying to buy from a location in the countryside and at other times in a city. I've used wifi, VPNs onto my work network and 3G/4G, each of which have worked at times.

I guess that my point, and one that many other seem to be making at various points on this and other threads, is that it's all luck and randomness

I have no doubt that the next time I'm trying to get tickets, I'll try and recapture the exact setup I had this year, and do the exact same things, but I know it'll make no difference in the big scheme of things.

When we get the result we want, we convince ourselves we've cracked a winning formula. When we don't get what we want, we look for frailties or unfairness in the system, or for ways in which we could do things better. We look around us at the other people trying and blame them for not being worthy, deserving or somehow 'right' for Glasto, or try and find ways in which we believe the system could be better, fairer, more equitable, or which favours the results we want for ourselves. I know, and I've done this on many occasions over the years. It's human instinct it seems to me.

In 2014 I made the most half-hearted effort to buy tickets, not really sure if I wanted to go, and got them with the least effort ever. In 2015 I returned them with a heavy heart since we were getting married and it felt like one expense too-much that year. I was devastated and convinced that in returning the tickets I had harmed my ticket-buying karma... a ridiculous notion and the most extreme interpretation of my theory above. It is of course, all RANDOM!

This has become the underlying thought process I take into the whole Glastonbury ticket process and it helps a lot. In future years as I have this year, I'll do everything I can, explore every possible hack/shortcut and opportunity that I can find in advance to give us the chance to attend. I don't think any of them really makes much difference in truth though (aside from basically being as prepared and having the same chance as everyone else who makes the same preparations as I do!)

If I get tickets, I'm delighted, if I don't, it sucks but life goes on. 

For all who got tickets, I'm as pleased for you as I am for me and mine.

For all who didn't, keep trying as you have just as much chance as everyone else who is still ticketless but wanting to go.

Good luck and keep on going!

 

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We had 10 trying in our group. I plugged two laptops directly into the router, one on a vpn, and one just using the normal internet... They didn’t even get close, all my friends are tech savvy, but didn’t get a sniff. However two of our iphones connected over the 4g network got through. I really believe it’s just a random lottery these days.

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46 minutes ago, hfuhruhurr said:

But now they've fixed the "back-button, re-book the next 6" issue, I really think they could let people pre-fill and even pre-pay before T-day so that all the madness is reduced to ticking a few confirmation boxes. The current system is massively unfair for anyone with web accessibility issues (especially since the tickets are not "yours" until the whole process is complete, i.e. you can lose them if you're too slow).

That’s a good point, it is hugely stressful to complete all the data required in next to no time, I can’t see why it can’t be made easier, all ticket websites enable card details to be stored, so simply requiring the security number to complete. The registration numbers are the worst, being random.

Doesn’t change the number of people who miss out...but would be more user-friendly.

 

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30 minutes ago, Avalon_Fields said:

That’s a good point, it is hugely stressful to complete all the data required in next to no time, I can’t see why it can’t be made easier, all ticket websites enable card details to be stored, so simply requiring the security number to complete. The registration numbers are the worst, being random.

Doesn’t change the number of people who miss out...but would be more user-friendly.

 

I did it on my phone, so it was slready saved on there - I didnt have to complete anything, it was pre populated for me.

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10 hours ago, The Placid Casual said:

Macs worked best. 2 of us attempted the sale on macs, the rest on PCs, guess which 2 got through?

  

The sample size isn't the greatest but I've come to a conclusion.

I had a number of devices running, including a mac (mini). It did no better in getting off the landing page than anything else. In the end I got through on a windows laptop. Its just luck of being able to get a connection at precisely the right time. 

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What surprised me reading Twitter was all the people talking about having multible tabs or windows open, and not refreshing automatically. No wonder they didn't get tickets.

One window on one device, and refresh it as often as possible to increase likelihood of hitting an open spot! What chance do you have if you only refresh every 20 seconds? And if you manage to get in, another tab/window auto-refreshing might ruin everything.

What also boggled my mind where all the people complaining on Twitter/Instagram about not getting tickets, whilst the sale was ongoing. How do you have time for that?

Got tickets for what will be my my sixth Glastonbury. Turned off Wifi, hooked my computer up to router via cable, one tab in Chrome and got lucky. Has worked for me every time.

Edited by Anarion
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I think where we will see a change that has an effect on tickets is that at some stage soonish Glastonbury will become a (dino-powered) car free festival. We'll all have to buy bus or train combo tickets, selecting day of arrival to spread the entry pressure. Now that's going to concentrate minds.

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We were trying for 20 tickets in 4 groups of 5. Everyone was trying on multiple devices from all over the country & 1 was in San Francisco so I reckon there were about 75 separate different computers, ipads, phones etc. 3 of the groups were successful & one missed out. The numbers increase each year as people who go tell others their stories about the uniqueness of the festival & more want to go & I am sure this is the case for many others. The simple fact is that every year there are more people trying for tickets so chances are reduced.

Glastonbury is the highlight of the year for me & a few others & for those that feel that way if you want to guarantee a ticket there is always the option to work. I have been doing it for a good few years now & there is a different vibe & camaraderie in the campsite which is more like it used to be back in the day. It is also a way of giving something back to the festival.

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