MSE advice on how to get into Glasto for free

[airwaves]

I subscribe to Money Saving Expert Web site and get emails from them. This week after ticket day I got a regular update which included a link on '5 ways to get into Glastonbury for free', not surprisingly focusing on volunteering. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/team-blog/2018/10/missed-out-on-glastonbury-tickets--how-you-can-still-go-for-free/

Any comments? Valid? Though I saw elsewhere that most places /registrations were full/closed 

[incident]

20 minutes ago, airwaves said:

Any comments? Valid? Though I saw elsewhere that most places /registrations were full/closed 

Yeah, it's all valid and to be honest all pretty much standard stuff - they've listed most of the usual suspects / big hitters that accept applications from the wider public, and I didn't spot any obvious errors.

Most places won't start recruitment until the new year, so won't be full yet. The only one I believe is actively recruiting so far is the Recycling Crew who were previously reported as being full - though I suspect the information on the page is more accurate as it appears they've at least tried to confirm stuff.

[Lucy92]

I know oxfam a few years ago opened up volunteering after the April resale again (I’m guessing due to drop outs) so I would say they won’t be full yet. DC site services a few years ago were recruiting right up until the festival 

[funkychick2007]

Interesting suddenly how many people want to work at glastonbury this year!

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

1 hour ago, funkychick2007 said:

Interesting suddenly how many people want to work at glastonbury this year!

Have you come to any conclusions as to why you think this is?

[funkychick2007]

Possibly the high numbers of regular festival goers tht didnt get tickets! Lots of people have been asking who i work for who have not shown the slightest interest in working before! I would like to think it was because people want to raise funds for a charity! Without volunteers the festival may not happen!

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

32 minutes ago, funkychick2007 said:

Possibly the high numbers of regular festival goers tht didnt get tickets! Lots of people have been asking who i work for who have not shown the slightest interest in working before! I would like to think it was because people want to raise funds for a charity! Without volunteers the festival may not happen!

Hello funkychick2007,

Thanks for the answer. I'd kind of got the impression that a lot of efesters may have not got tickets, but haven't accessed the threads that would tell me as such. I know that a group of my friends didn't get tickets, and this is probably the first time that they haven't. I was meant to be on duty for someone on T Day, but it didn't happen. So, on the day, I tried to get a ticket for myself, complete in the knowledge that I had said, on here, that I wouldn't. I kind of left it in the hands of the Gods - and they, like the computer, said 'No'. 

 

[marathonsteve]

The recycling crew are not recruiting yet as all the others mentioned above

[Homer]

The only one of those I might vaguely consider is paying the extra money for checking wristbands where 90% of the shifts are done before the bands start.

[glasto-worker]

11 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

Hello funkychick2007,

Thanks for the answer. I'd kind of got the impression that a lot of efesters may have not got tickets, but haven't accessed the threads that would tell me as such. I know that a group of my friends didn't get tickets, and this is probably the first time that they haven't. I was meant to be on duty for someone on T Day, but it didn't happen. So, on the day, I tried to get a ticket for myself, complete in the knowledge that I had said, on here, that I wouldn't. I kind of left it in the hands of the Gods - and they, like the computer, said 'No'. 

 

I told you - I will dig a big hole just before the wall goes up - you slip in it and then pop out two months later - yes I know its not perfect but as I don't own a Helicopter its the best I can come up with

[tigger123]

3 hours ago, Homer said:

The only one of those I might vaguely consider is paying the extra money for checking wristbands where 90% of the shifts are done before the bands start.

Which company do that? Is it Festaff?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

50 minutes ago, glasto-worker said:

I told you - I will dig a big hole just before the wall goes up - you slip in it and then pop out two months later - yes I know its not perfect but as I don't own a Helicopter its the best I can come up with

That's a very kind offer, however I fear that living with the badgers may drive me feral - or even more feral, should I say.

[Sasperella]

18 hours ago, airwaves said:

I subscribe to Money Saving Expert Web site and get emails from them. This week after ticket day I got a regular update which included a link on '5 ways to get into Glastonbury for free', not surprisingly focusing on volunteering. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/team-blog/2018/10/missed-out-on-glastonbury-tickets--how-you-can-still-go-for-free/

Any comments? Valid? Though I saw elsewhere that most places /registrations were full/closed 

Hmm I would add about Oxfam though that everyone who volunteered for them at two festivals this year gets priority for volunteering at Glastonbury. They use it as a big selling point at all the training sessions etc. A few of the volunteers I met at Boomtown said they wouldn't volunteer at Glastonbury unless they couldn't get a ticket, but had it as a bit of a fall-back option - but others were deliberately doing two so they could do Glasto. So, it is possible to go that way, but I think the places go very very quickly!

Edit: Would also add that if it is anything like Boomtown, shifts can be way away from the action manning gates where barely anything happens. It's an 8 hour exercise in tedium for the most part. I also heard (either from someone on here or at boomtown, can't remember) that the shifts at Glastonbury do tend to be more away from the action even than at Boomtown (although, not sure about the accuracy of that). To me, an eight hour bar shift with Shelter sounds far preferable - but then I much prefer most things in life to be hectic and crazy 

Edited October 11, 2018 by Sasperella

[paulshane]

32 minutes ago, Sasperella said:

 

Edit: Would also add that if it is anything like Boomtown, shifts can be way away from the action manning gates where barely anything happens. It's an 8 hour exercise in tedium for the most part. I also heard (either from someone on here or at boomtown, can't remember) that the shifts at Glastonbury do tend to be more away from the action even than at Boomtown (although, not sure about the accuracy of that). To me, an eight hour bar shift with Shelter sounds far preferable - but then I much prefer most things in life to be hectic and crazy 

This is true, the Glastonbury site is -big- , you may end up doing shifts up on one of the Fire lookouts in E19 caravan field, or one of the further flung car parks for example.

[philipsteak]

37 minutes ago, Sasperella said:

Hmm I would add about Oxfam though that everyone who volunteered for them at two festivals this year gets priority for volunteering at Glastonbury. They use it as a big selling point at all the training sessions etc. A few of the volunteers I met at Boomtown said they wouldn't volunteer at Glastonbury unless they couldn't get a ticket, but had it as a bit of a fall-back option - but others were deliberately doing two so they could do Glasto. So, it is possible to go that way, but I think the places go very very quickly!

Edit: Would also add that if it is anything like Boomtown, shifts can be way away from the action manning gates where barely anything happens. It's an 8 hour exercise in tedium for the most part. I also heard (either from someone on here or at boomtown, can't remember) that the shifts at Glastonbury do tend to be more away from the action even than at Boomtown (although, not sure about the accuracy of that). To me, an eight hour bar shift with Shelter sounds far preferable - but then I much prefer most things in life to be hectic and crazy 

Apart from a very few, nearly everyone with Oxfam will be on the gates. Shifts are either so manic you have no idea where the time went, or very very dull. Helps if you have a decent team. Plus the Oxfam campsite is outside the fence. It's not for everyone but for me the positives outweigh the negatives

Edited October 11, 2018 by philipsteak

[incident]

1 hour ago, tigger123 said:

Which company do that? Is it Festaff?

It has been in previous years.

[Sasperella]

14 minutes ago, philipsteak said:

Shifts are either so manic you have no idea where the time went, or very very dull. 

Aye - our midnight till 8am shift at boomtown was half manic (firstly a guy having some sort of k overdose and his understandably freaked out gf having to be carried to the medical tent through a load of ravers because neither Oxfam nor security could/would send a buggy/car to come get him, immediately followed by an incident of domestic violence and my friend and I having to sit with the girl while her dickhead of a bf kept intermittently running up to security cabin shouting abuse/confessions of love at her and then finally got carted away by the police - both are NOT the kind of manic I like!!!) and half complete monotony (on the Boomtown springs tent with literally nothing to do but check a very low amount of campers wristbands and laugh at the very occasional drunk person stumbling past).

The other two shifts were mostly boredom, apart from the one where I got put on a supervisor and basically had to walk between 6 gates to check on people for 8 hours. Knackering. 

Not for me I think. Especially not at Glastonbury. My friend is considering going back for more at Boomtown if we can't get tier 1 tickets though...although she did say ideally not with Oxfam.

 

 

[glasto-worker]

19 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

That's a very kind offer, however I fear that living with the badgers may drive me feral - or even more feral, should I say.

I do recall a post from a few years ago when someone was going to try and hide in a hedge and was wondering if that was possible - it is possible ' but not very practical '

take the Plunge and Volunteer 

[Homer]

22 hours ago, tigger123 said:

Which company do that? Is it Festaff?

Or volunteer to check wristbands and get into Glasto plus another festival for £45 

You can volunteer with Festaff, a company that provides casual workers to festivals, to check wristbands at the Glastonbury gates.

You'll be asked to pay a £200 deposit, of which £30 will be kept as an admin fee. 

In addition, you'll need to volunteer at another festival with Festaff. For this festival, you'll need to pay a £35 deposit, of which £15 will be kept as an admin fee. 

You'll get the two deposits back when you've completed work at both festivals, so if the next event isn't until August, for example, you won't get your £190 back until then. 

While this is a more expensive option than those listed above, Festaff claims 90% of shifts are completed in the first few days, before the bands hit the stages. 

• When does registration open? Sign up to the Festaff newsletter to get a heads-up on when applications open, which is likely to be anytime from February. It's worth noting Festaff has a priority list for people who've volunteered with it at other events in 2018, but is expecting there to be plenty of spaces for newbies. 
• How many shifts? Three eight-hour shifts over five days (Wed-Sun). 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

4 hours ago, glasto-worker said:

I do recall a post from a few years ago when someone was going to try and hide in a hedge and was wondering if that was possible - it is possible ' but not very practical '

take the Plunge and Volunteer 

I do know someone who has a group of volunteers working for her (they person one of the lock ups) so could make enquiries that way. However, my main reason for ever going to Glastonbury has always been to be with my mates, who are dispersed around the country. It's one of the few venues where we all meet up. Anyway, none of them got tickets this T Day.

[glasto-worker]

1 hour ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

I do know someone who has a group of volunteers working for her (they person one of the lock ups) so could make enquiries that way. However, my main reason for ever going to Glastonbury has always been to be with my mates, who are dispersed around the country. It's one of the few venues where we all meet up. Anyway, none of them got tickets this T Day.

But the good thing about being a Volunteer is you will meet tons of new friends - some of them are still talking to me 30 years later !!!

if its a well organised Company they will have a Crew Mess tent that is open 24 hours - I have even seen people stay up all night - god knows how they do their shift but they do.

since the first stroke my sleep pattern is all over the shop so I only sleep in short bursts - I have left a table say at 02.00 - had a kip - got back up at 05.00 walked back to the table and the people were so out of it - they had not even spotted I was away for 3 hours.   

and just because you are slowing down in your old age - you may in fact enjoy it.

+ on many occasions you get to see stuff that normal tickets holders don't see such as the pratt who drove a very new looking Bentley into the back stage compound as if he was Jackie Stewart splashing mud all over his car and then trying to complain that there was no hard track down - a Right Pratt 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

4 minutes ago, glasto-worker said:

But the good thing about being a Volunteer is you will meet tons of new friends - some of them are still talking to me 30 years later !!!

if its a well organised Company they will have a Crew Mess tent that is open 24 hours - I have even seen people stay up all night - god knows how they do their shift but they do.

since the first stroke my sleep pattern is all over the shop so I only sleep in short bursts - I have left a table say at 02.00 - had a kip - got back up at 05.00 walked back to the table and the people were so out of it - they had not even spotted I was away for 3 hours.   

and just because you are slowing down in your old age - you may in fact enjoy it.

+ on many occasions you get to see stuff that normal tickets holders don't see such as the pratt who drove a very new looking Bentley into the back stage compound as if he was Jackie Stewart splashing mud all over his car and then trying to complain that there was no hard track down - a Right Pratt 

I just don't think that I have the zeal to go, especially as most of my mates wont be there. They'll be a few friends who I know manning one of the lock ups though. That said, I guess my other mates will be trying in the resales / secret sales etc. I don't know because I haven't asked them yet. If they do get tickets, then my view point on volunteering might alter. In any case I would need to 'demand'  the need to have the Wednesday night off / Thursday morning off, because I'd want to be going to the efests meet up.

[funkychick2007]

Got to say i love volunteering its a completely different experience but by no means an easy way to see the festival! Its worth the hard work though! 

[Smeble]

I suggested to my wife that we should volunteer and she seemed up for it, my one hesitation is that not only would I/we be working during bands we wanted to see but we would also get different shifts from each other so never see each other. We are currently still discussing it. Plus it would also require taking more time off work, which may be an issue.

[incident]

2 hours ago, Smeble said:

I suggested to my wife that we should volunteer and she seemed up for it, my one hesitation is that not only would I/we be working during bands we wanted to see but we would also get different shifts from each other so never see each other. We are currently still discussing it.

With Oxfam, and I belive this is fairly common if not universal across most places (specific implementations may vary of course), you can trade shift patterns. So if you're desperate to see Band X but are working that night, you can trade with someone who's desperate to see Band Y the following evening. You can also specify a shift partner so you ensure that yourself and your wife are on the same pattern (and usually but not guaranteed, the same location).

The obstacle to this is that needing to trade shifts for 2 people may be more difficult to find than trading for 1. And sometimes it seems like everyone wants the same night off - when Flo headlined a few years ago being an example of that, it felt like nearly everyone was trying to get rid of Friday night shifts and as seemingly the only steward that didn't want to see her I was able to find a swap that worked for me really easily.