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

[mufcok]

Really good/interesting post, a lot I agree with.

Clearly you can't get away from it now. As I said last night I've seen it banded about in local media this time, I don't recall every seeing that here with an explanation of how the ticketing system works. I don't think that much can be put down to BBC coverage. Yes there is more of it but that's inevitable as the years pass by and it's always been prominent on the BBC. I remember at 15/16 watching it on there and thinking it looked pretty special but never actually made it there until I was 22; mainly due to money/being a student prior to that. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to watch a few hours coverage and realise it's smashes all other festivals out of the park, and that's only with seeing the main stage coverage.

It's so hard with the ticket thing. As much as I'd like to sit here and say there should be a loyalty thing in place or a ballot I'm not sure it would be right to. I remember coming away from my first year being absolutely blown away and then having to wait two years until the next one due to the fallow year. I don't envy Michael/Emily, yes it's great to be able to sell it out so easily/quickly each year without an act announced but on the flip side so many people are left disappointed. I for one couldn't come up with a fairer system that would suit all involved, it's so tricky.

This is the first time I've not had a ticket in 7 years and it feels so bad (especially given it's my birthday today) but it really is luck of the draw, all you can do is get as many hands on deck and try your hardest. It's hit me hard this time with the McCartney rumours as someone who grew up with a Beatles obsessive dad and it would be a dream to see him headline the Pyramid. I'm not giving up hope yet as there are still options, albeit not nailed on/guarantee's but there's a chance I guess.

It's gonna be a long 6 months.

[Hugh Jass]

59 minutes ago, Sasperella said:

Great post! My god...ticket day 2020 is going to be an absolute cluster fuck isn't it?

It really is, I had always planned to take a few years off after 2020, but I'll be treating next year as if it's my last for a very long time.

[clarkete]

15 minutes ago, mufcok said:

 

It's gonna be a long 6 months.

Several of the papers today (including the mirror and the scum) have got articles saying "but here's how you can still get tickets" and are referring to the April resale, so that's gonna be fun too. 

Edited October 8, 2018 by clarkete

[mufcok]

I have no doubt it's gonna be the biggest resale demand yet

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

5 minutes ago, mufcok said:

I have no doubt it's gonna be the biggest resale demand yet

If the Cure are headlining, there might be quite a few extra tickets thrown back in to circulation, for those hoping for someone more pop based headline along the lines of Adele/Sheeran

[Hugh Jass]

36 minutes ago, clarkete said:

Several of the papers today (including the mirror and the scum) have got articles saying "but here's how you can still get tickets" and are referring to the April resale, so that's gonna be fun too. 

A lot of people will have long forgotten by then though, readers of the Sun aren't known for their long memories.

[The Red Telephone]

56 minutes ago, mufcok said:

Really good/interesting post, a lot I agree with.

Clearly you can't get away from it now. As I said last night I've seen it banded about in local media this time, I don't recall every seeing that here with an explanation of how the ticketing system works. I don't think that much can be put down to BBC coverage. Yes there is more of it but that's inevitable as the years pass by and it's always been prominent on the BBC. I remember at 15/16 watching it on there and thinking it looked pretty special but never actually made it there until I was 22; mainly due to money/being a student prior to that. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to watch a few hours coverage and realise it's smashes all other festivals out of the park, and that's only with seeing the main stage coverage.

It's so hard with the ticket thing. As much as I'd like to sit here and say there should be a loyalty thing in place or a ballot I'm not sure it would be right to. I remember coming away from my first year being absolutely blown away and then having to wait two years until the next one due to the fallow year. I don't envy Michael/Emily, yes it's great to be able to sell it out so easily/quickly each year without an act announced but on the flip side so many people are left disappointed. I for one couldn't come up with a fairer system that would suit all involved, it's so tricky.

This is the first time I've not had a ticket in 7 years and it feels so bad (especially given it's my birthday today) but it really is luck of the draw, all you can do is get as many hands on deck and try your hardest. It's hit me hard this time with the McCartney rumours as someone who grew up with a Beatles obsessive dad and it would be a dream to see him headline the Pyramid. I'm not giving up hope yet as there are still options, albeit not nailed on/guarantee's but there's a chance I guess.

It's gonna be a long 6 months.

Happy Birthday....and don’t give up hope yet!

[clarkete]

24 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

A lot of people will have long forgotten by then though, readers of the Sun aren't known for their long memories.

Unlike their non-readers?  JFT96

Hard to resist the opportunity to have a pop.

[briddj]

9 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?!

Rained a little the first two days and on late on Sunday night. During the festival it was dry and mostly warm but not anything out of the ordinary really. 

[hannahlmoore]

Feel really sad today, yesterday I tried to look at the positive angle of trying a different festival but I've looked up a load and come to the conculusion that they just aren't Glastonbury!

[matt2007]

1 hour ago, Giraffe Man said:

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.

I agree been going since the 80's and volunteering for the last 6 I knew a couple of weeks ago my tem had their tickets. 20 hours of work over 4 days, wouldn't change it for the world. Ps sorry the team is full.

[Amy Lawn]

1 hour ago, clarkete said:

Several of the papers today (including the mirror and the scum) have got articles saying "but here's how you can still get tickets" and are referring to the April resale, so that's gonna be fun too. 

Thing is, by April most people have made plans for their summer, and there's the issue of having to pay the full whack in one go. I don't see the resale ever really getting that bombed out. Even with the papers reporting it the week before and stuff like that, I doubt many people can have the spare cash at any point to be able to drop £200+ with only a week's notice. You need that determination to have not paid out for a holiday or another festival, and saved up the ticket money and be confident you've got enough saved for travel/other festival spends that the three paydays between the resale and the festival will top up your savings enough. April really is a smaller pool the determined.

[Peter_Quaife]

13 hours ago, Ohinever said:

Today I got the holding screen, but it never "felt" like it was going to progress to a booking page. I suspect some are sent to a load balancer that is a dead end in fact. 

I felt the exact same yesterday tbh. Was actually a little confident that 1 out of our party would strike it lucky. We'd planned well, plenty of devices across 3/4g, vpn, wi-fi etc (same as a lot of others), but just had that feeling around 9:05am that the holding page was as good as it gonna get....looks like a big percentage didn't even get to see the holding page.

 

Fingers crossed for April !!

[Frenger]

2 hours ago, mufcok said:

Really good/interesting post, a lot I agree with.

Clearly you can't get away from it now. As I said last night I've seen it banded about in local media this time, I don't recall every seeing that here with an explanation of how the ticketing system works. I don't think that much can be put down to BBC coverage. Yes there is more of it but that's inevitable as the years pass by and it's always been prominent on the BBC. I remember at 15/16 watching it on there and thinking it looked pretty special but never actually made it there until I was 22; mainly due to money/being a student prior to that. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to watch a few hours coverage and realise it's smashes all other festivals out of the park, and that's only with seeing the main stage coverage.

It's so hard with the ticket thing. As much as I'd like to sit here and say there should be a loyalty thing in place or a ballot I'm not sure it would be right to. I remember coming away from my first year being absolutely blown away and then having to wait two years until the next one due to the fallow year. I don't envy Michael/Emily, yes it's great to be able to sell it out so easily/quickly each year without an act announced but on the flip side so many people are left disappointed. I for one couldn't come up with a fairer system that would suit all involved, it's so tricky.

This is the first time I've not had a ticket in 7 years and it feels so bad (especially given it's my birthday today) but it really is luck of the draw, all you can do is get as many hands on deck and try your hardest. It's hit me hard this time with the McCartney rumours as someone who grew up with a Beatles obsessive dad and it would be a dream to see him headline the Pyramid. I'm not giving up hope yet as there are still options, albeit not nailed on/guarantee's but there's a chance I guess.

It's gonna be a long 6 months.

Happy birthday!

[Lycra]

It has always been hard to secure a ticket and with each passing year it seems to get harder. Personally I think this year's exceptional demand is the result of a perfect storm of consequence.

Glasto promotes itself with no need for official advertising. The media does it automatically because the festival is big news and demand is driven by images of sun basking revellers enjoying mainstream superstar musicians of the moment such as Ed Sheeran. We muppets then feed that by returning from the festival gushing with our stories and urgings for others to get involved. And because we're nice people we set up forums and tell them all the tricks and short cuts.... we create our own competition. Two excellent summer's including this fallow year certainly didn't help too.

I like others also think the system of acquiring a ticket both creates competition and also clogs it up. Being able to put down a relatively low deposit in October has enticed many 50/50 uncertain attendees to chance their arm: only £20 is actually lost if the booking is forfeit. Still this gives us ticketless hope in April. 

Going beyond 2019 I can't see demand for tickets falling to the levels we saw a decade ago unless the weather gods intervene big style. High demand is probably here to stay and I believe the organisers should be encouraged to increase fairness in the system.

I wouldn't want to do anything which reduced the equality and opportunity to attend but I do think the time is coming for the deposit to be increased in order to screen out the reluctant who are cajoled by friends to participating.

I would also like to see the introduction of a system whereby those unsuccessful in the ticket buying process are immediately after given the opportunity to record their lack of success and be given preferential treatment for the proceeding festival. Such a scheme would give hope of attending at some point to many who fail year after year. I for one could live with such a system even if it curtailed a year after year attendence, such as I have previously enjoyed.

Think postive folks.....and believe in April redemption.

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2018 by Lycra
typo

[pentura]

22 minutes ago, Peter_Quaife said:

I felt the exact same yesterday tbh. Was actually a little confident that 1 out of our party would strike it lucky. We'd planned well, plenty of devices across 3/4g, vpn, wi-fi etc (same as a lot of others), but just had that feeling around 9:05am that the holding page was as good as it gonna get....looks like a big percentage didn't even get to see the holding page.

 

Fingers crossed for April !!

Same here - one thing I have noticed across all forms of sales - (coach, general, coach resale, general resale, secret resale) is that I have generally gotten past the holding page within the first 10 mins. After that, no luck. Maybe I'm looking too much into it but I can only predict based on past success rates, all of which have been successful within the first few minutes. So once that 10 / 15 minute mark hits and we've had no luck, I get seriously worried.

Obviously there's still tickets available but those first few minutes seem to be crucial in getting them

 

P.S. - Great username! 

 

Edited October 8, 2018 by pentura

[smudger]

So, this is the first time in 17 attempts I failed. It still hurts. We had two extremely well organised groups of 6, with another 9 who we got tickets for in the coach sale trying for us. We all know how to do this, but other than one person getting the reg page, that wouldn't proceed and another getting to the payment page that again wouldn't proceed, we all were stuck on the holding page. 

I see that there is speculation that this could have been a 'ghost' page, triggered by excessive refreshing. Do we really think this is the case? I know i was pressing f5 on one page that refreshed immediately, but surely this would be really unfair? 60 hits per minute is hardly excessive. We had another 4 devices in the house but all with different IP addresses so it could only have been from my refreshing.

It is slightly easier that so many failed in my two groups, but of course that means we will be trying for two groups in April which doubles the odds. 

I know I've been lucky in the past and have zero right to complain this time. Its a lottery after all with more losers than winners. I was feeling very pessimistic before the sale that this time my luck would finally run out. Still doesn't make it any easier. I'll be back in April trying my hardest, but its going to be a long 6 months. There is also comfort in knowing e-fests is here and so many of you know the pain, either this time around or from previous years, so thanks!

[gooner1990]

6 minutes ago, Lycra said:

I like others also think the system of acquiring a ticket both creates competition and also clogs it up. Being able to put down a relatively low deposit in October has enticed many 50/50 uncertain attendees to chance their arm: only £20 is actually lost if the booking is forfeit. Still this gives us ticketless hope in April. 

 

Maybe time to put it up to £100?

[gooner1990]

Even if only half of the 2 million registered tried for a ticket its still only a 13% chance of getting one!

[mufcok]

Would it be unrealistic for a full balance payment in October with a certain amount back in April if you decide not to go?

 

[pentura]

3 minutes ago, mufcok said:

Would it be unrealistic for a full balance payment in October with a certain amount back in April if you decide not to go?

 

I think it would - me, personally, I would certainly made sure we had enough to cover the full cost of the ticket

But to ask for a group of 6, £250 each plus the possible price of a coach, from say, Glasgow, would be way too much to ask in my opinion

[Keithy]

3 minutes ago, mufcok said:

Would it be unrealistic for a full balance payment in October with a certain amount back in April if you decide not to go?

 

Yes. Then attendance at glastonbury is absolutely linked to wealth. ie, whoever can afford it in October. It would put off so many people.

[mufcok]

I get it's a lot for people to stump up in 1 go but if it's something you want to go to that much like most on here and, it's the same month every year, surely you'd save towards it?

It's a lot for me to pay in 1 go for my football season ticket every year, 3 times the Glastonbury cost to be precise, but I pay it because along with music it's my main hobby.

[UEF]

In the early days of the deposit scheme, for at least one year (possibly longer), you had the option of paying full whack in October. 

 

I seem to recall the split between October and April was enforced as a tax dodge. 

Edited October 8, 2018 by UEF

[incident]

5 minutes ago, mufcok said:

Would it be unrealistic for a full balance payment in October with a certain amount back in April if you decide not to go?

Aside from the problems on the customers side that have mentioned already, it wouldn't work well for the Festival either. Reportedly one of the reasons that the balance payment, and up until 10 years ago the main ticket sale, are at the start of April is that for accounting/VAT purposes it's desirable to have the bulk of the income in the same quarter as the Festival itself when the bulk of the outgoings happen.