Glastonbury Festival Scrutiny Report 2023

[Drinky]

I imagine it won’t be at the pit but up the hill - nothing more complex than a ‘no chairs in front of this line’ policy I’m guessing.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Hopefully. Good luck with enforcing it I guess...

[Hugh Jass II]

Yeah the chairs thing won't be any more than a few signs and the odd message flashing up on the screens asking not to go too close with them.

Said before that I'd like to see the area that was Row Mead kept free of camping and used as an area for chairs/families/buggies/etc. They would need to fix the sound up there though as it was often pretty hard to hear anything that far back.

[Hugh Jass II]

19 hours ago, The Nal said:

Councillor Gwilym Wren, who chaired the committee meeting, praised the council’s licensing team for ensuring that there were relatively few issues with the running of the festival but later added "Carhenge was f**king sh*t"

Gwilym loves his smaller indie bands.

[fullfathom5]

12 hours ago, stuie said:

 

but that’s all about to change soon - all companies will have to file full accounts including p&l and balance sheet 

When's that happening, mate? Could do with knowing for work.

[Popsider75]

Some festivals its nice to take a camping chair and chill for the day. I would cite the likes of Bearded Theory and Beautiful Days as perfect examples of this and where space is relatively plentiful and you can do this for most of the day without causing annoyance. Even then I pack up when the headliners come around.

The big stages at Glastonbury are simply too busy for this unless you sit on the fringes. 

The people with huge banks of chairs and / or sectioned off with big blankets when the headliners were on was quite ridiculous and when its dark a bit dangerous too its easy to trip or fall over people in the dark. 

A full day at Glastonbury can be hard work and totally get why people want to take the weight off their feet for a period (Im now late 50's and it is tiring!)

A sensible ruling my be no chairs forward of the mixing desk. It relies on co operation though and the selfish will always please themselves.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Popsider75

[Avalon_Fields]

Develop a procedure for people bringing and removing chairs to watch acts at the Pyramid stage

.....Depends what they wish to achieve by this, without a stated aim it seems a bit pointless.

 

[stuie]

40 minutes ago, fullfathom5 said:

When's that happening, mate? Could do with knowing for work.

The bill passed through gov in October but I don't think they've set a timescale yet. 

[Suprefan]

3 hours ago, Crazyfool01 said:

Never really noticed the toilet numbers increase … some areas of the site are still lacking … the park is poor in my opinion for loos … but I guess at least the portaloos and turd mountains are a thing of the past 

Well theyre at the choke point for Arcadia so its in a bad spot to even get to. I mean if they had though of adding more instead of having build a fake pier that wouldve been an improvement.

[Suprefan]

1 hour ago, Avalon_Fields said:

Develop a procedure for people bringing and removing chairs to watch acts at the Pyramid stage

.....Depends what they wish to achieve by this, without a stated aim it seems a bit pointless.

 

They dont want people snapping their ankles trying to manuever in the dark. 
 

I think they should start with setting a boundary on where you can and cannot have chairs and have stewards patrol and regulate. Just make the signage clear, well lit and such. Austin City Limits does this and its worked out alright. Stagecoach is similar where theres areas marked for standing only and chairs only without too much pushback.

[Crazyfool01]

3 minutes ago, Suprefan said:

Well theyre at the choke point for Arcadia so its in a bad spot to even get to. I mean if they had though of adding more instead of having build a fake pier that wouldve been an improvement.

was thinking more at the top end of the Park ..... but yeah those at the bottom are at a choke point I agree and might be better moved .... as for the pier thats not really relevant as they could put them anywhere 

[stuie]

54 minutes ago, Suprefan said:

Well theyre at the choke point for Arcadia so its in a bad spot to even get to. I mean if they had though of adding more instead of having build a fake pier that wouldve been an improvement.

You mean these ones, right by the fake pier?

[Alex DeLarge]

The camping chairs were a lot better this year I thought than 2022. In 2022 it was people coming back to festivals post lockdown and thinking they were in their living rooms.

It still is dangerous, selfish and stupid having a camp chair right up to the stage if it's even mildly busy. We don't need stewards kicking people off them, but screen reminders, and a campaign in the same way there was with the "don't pee on the land" thing would suffice. 

I was walking round Edinburgh during the Fringe this year and people had camping chairs out on the pavement during busy walking periods - and this is in a major city during the busiest period of the year. There are a group of people (and I'm gonna be honest, mostly middle aged and middle class) who seem to have come out of lockdown and the past few years with a massive sense of entitlement. I think a lot of them may be the "laptop class" that's often referred to - and they've forgotten the entire world isn't there to serve them. 

[Ayrshire Chris]

22 hours ago, moogster said:

Develop a procedure for people bringing and removing chairs to watch acts at the Pyramid stage

Please. Yes. Finally. Do include Other as well.

I think the wording is developing a procedure for the use of chairs in high capacity crowds. That’s a sensible approach. Maybe chairs allowed at the rear of the fields. It is annoying to see groups with chairs, blow up loungers etc camped near the front of the pyramid when headliners are due on. It causes crushing further back, difficulty for others moving around and can’t reduce the amount of folk who get to see the act.   It’s a bit selfish. We’ve got small fold up chairs that fit in a small rucksack,  but only for taking a rest between bands, eating or relaxing in a quiet area. 
policing it will  be a challenge though.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Ayrshire Chris

[chuckles07]

3 hours ago, Popsider75 said:

 

A sensible ruling may be no chairs forward of the mixing desk. It relies on co operation though and the selfish will always please themselves.

I think the issue is not just at the front near the pyramid, it really impacts crowd movement up the hill, it reinforces the ‘outer crust’ that builds up on most crowds. There are gaps further in the field but you cannot get through the ring of aluminium chairs, trolleys and blankets. It was really, really bad for EJ albeit that was an extra large crowd. It’s still an issue to manage. I think that they need to inform people about it before hand and when necessary request people to pack up the chairs and blankets. Can’t be that difficult. Individuals with mobility issues are not the problem, it’s the gang of 10 people in a line……..

[clarkete]

Pfft so they're still got giving me a green light to throw a bottle of pish at half a dozen people clustered together with radio x flags? 

[Ayrshire Chris]

3 minutes ago, chuckles07 said:

I think the issue is not just at the front near the pyramid, it really impacts crowd movement up the hill, it reinforces the ‘outer crust’ that builds up on most crowds. There are gaps further in the field but you cannot get through the ring of aluminium chairs, trolleys and blankets. It was really, really bad for EJ albeit that was an extra large crowd. It’s still an issue to manage. I think that they need to inform people about it before hand and when necessary request people to pack up the chairs and blankets. Can’t be that difficult. Individuals with mobility issues are not the problem, it’s the gang of 10 people in a line……..

I’d agree with that, the outer crust of chairs picnic blankets, loungers can give the impression that the field is rammed, whilst there is reasonable space closer to the stage. Problem is trying to reach it. Big screen warnings and stewarding would need to be used, and pre festival warnings just like the peeing on the land message. I think most reasonable folk would conform. When the message went up  before Elton folk did pack up the chairs. 

[chuckles07]

18 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Big screen warnings and stewarding would need to be used, and pre festival warnings just like the peeing on the land message. I think most reasonable folk would conform.

When the message went up  before Elton folk did pack up the chairs. 

Yep agreed. Not sure about that last bit though…..

 

“The warm weather contributed to an increased number of people bringing chairs and
blankets to sit down and view artists, particularly on the Pyramid stage. This has an
impact on crowd densities and capacities of venues and may increase people’s
perception that the venue is overcrowded. Although there was an audio message to
remove/pack up chairs from the field, this had very little impact on the
crowd. Glastonbury should develop a procedure for the use of chairs in high-capacity
crowds and how this is communicated to the public.”

[Hugh Jass II]

1 hour ago, stuie said:

You mean these ones, right by the fake pier?

Trying to get into those toilets after a busy Park set is a f**king nightmare.

[kalifire]

1 minute ago, Hugh Jass II said:

Trying to get into those toilets after a busy Park set is a f**king nightmare.

But using them in the morning before breakfast is great. They're not at all bad when things aren't busy.

[dotdash79]

There is only 1 trackway on the pyramid which goes to the mixing desk from the back of the field, maybe they should put a couple more as people tend to leave these free which helps access in quite deep.

[Ayrshire Chris]

45 minutes ago, chuckles07 said:

Yep agreed. Not sure about that last bit though…..

 

“The warm weather contributed to an increased number of people bringing chairs and
blankets to sit down and view artists, particularly on the Pyramid stage. This has an
impact on crowd densities and capacities of venues and may increase people’s
perception that the venue is overcrowded. Although there was an audio message to
remove/pack up chairs from the field, this had very little impact on the
crowd. Glastonbury should develop a procedure for the use of chairs in high-capacity
crowds and how this is communicated to the public.”

Didn’t see that bit, I was just going from my own experience watching the response on the field after it was announced. We must have  been standing amongst a very obedient, although drunk and/or stoned crowd! 

[Ayrshire Chris]

1 minute ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Didn’t see that bit, I was just going from my own experience watching the response on the field after it was announced. We must have  been standing amongst a very obedient, although drunk and/or stoned section of the crowd! Up close to the path near a viewing platform 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Ayrshire Chris

[moogster]

I vote for a rule that says "how close are people to your chair? Do you have someone's arse in your face? Someone's knee against your back, then it's time to pack up"

[Ayrshire Chris]

3 minutes ago, moogster said:

I vote for a rule that says "how close are people to your chair? Do you have someone's arse in your face? Someone's knee against your back, then it's time to pack up"

Arse in your face? If they’ve had a goat curry washed down with cider I reckon you would soon pack up the chair