Volunteering 2025

[balti-pie]

The training is 3 x videos of about twenty mins, and then some questions, all of which are common sense - you can definitely do em via your mobile phone from the oxfield if it really comes down to it. There’ll be a briefing when you get there too, which covers the majority of the same stuff. Won’t be anything happening today at the Oxfam offices but if they pop the links out tomorrow I wouldn’t worry too much about not being able to do them: you’ll be fine 👍 

[Crazyfool01]

A request from  volunteer onsite please put your high vis vests on ... I believe its a requirement and much better that than squatted 😞 

[Jay Pee]

8 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

A request from  volunteer onsite please put your high vis vests on ... I believe its a requirement and much better that than squatted 😞 

Yep, it's hardcore this year. I just had to go back to tent to collect it heading for lunch. Its still very much a construction site at mo and most people are still using build and break wristbands than festival one's.

 

To clarify, I was refused entry sans high Viz 

Edited June 22, 2025 by Jay Pee

[Johnnyseven]

On 21/06/2025 at 08:35, philipsteak said:

 

I think one of my friends has been TL on that one and yes it does.

 

I've just got a service gate on Worthy View so just security, contractors and traders. Potentially quite dull unfortunately.

Can only assume it's a fair way from any other WV gates as I wouldn't have thought it'd need it's own TL. Unless it is super busy? Dunno. First time at WV for me

 

VG5 is the busy performer/hospitality/delivery gate, I worked it for Oxfam in 2023.

[sedra]

Warning For anyone needing to get accreditation at Gate B there were very long queues at the cabin yesterday of 2-3 hours !! 

[sedra]

Also for Oxfam volunteers we only got 4 shower tokens this time. 

[TheBoz]

Had a nightmare with shift allocation! Looking to swap an Oxfam 'D' shift pattern to anything else. Send me a DM and we can meet up in Oxfield. ✌️ 

 

Thurs 6am-2pm

Fri 10pm-6am

Sun 2pm-10pm

Edited June 23, 2025 by TheBoz

[amfy]

D is horrible but you are likely to get stood down between 8-9pm on Sunday as Security take over by 9 on most gates. A decent chance of getting to a headliner depending where you are.

[SPW]

On 22/06/2025 at 15:50, Jay Pee said:

Yep, it's hardcore this year. I just had to go back to tent to collect it heading for lunch. Its still very much a construction site at mo and most people are still using build and break wristbands than festival one's.

 

To clarify, I was refused entry sans high Viz 

I too got warned yesterday evening (I hadn't realised as silly as it sounds but will retrieve one from the car for today). 

[JackP1994]

Hi everyone, does anyone know if any of the crew bars have any 0% beers available? 

[efcfanwirral]

2 minutes ago, JackP1994 said:

Hi everyone, does anyone know if any of the crew bars have any 0% beers available? 

I saw Brooklyn special effects (I think it's called?) and I think that was at most of them 

[JackP1994]

10 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

I saw Brooklyn special effects (I think it's called?) and I think that was at most of them 

Perfect, thank you 

[pawny86]

On 22/06/2025 at 09:28, glastoandy84 said:

Have you heard anything yet? We got spaces at the same time on Friday, got the confirmation email and a “Get Ready” one, all green ticks on the profile but not had the training/arrival emails yet.

 just saw this hope you got everything sorted, ended up phoning the oxfam number on the Monday and they got me sorted 

[StoneCircle]

I entered Gate C this afternoon using the queue for trolleys as I am in a mobility scooter. A young lad about 20 was behind me I spotted he had no wristband on. He started talking to me and offered me £200 to pretend I was his Gran and get him in as a child!!! (Fecking cheeky bugger!) I refused obviously. He upped it to £300. I still said no, and told him he looked at least 20 and said I wouldn't risk my own ticket for someone else.

 

What I did notice on the approach to the gate was the Oxfam stewards weren't asking for raised wrists like they usually do to check for wristbands like they usually do. Do any Oxfam Stewards know why? 

[FieldingGoodney]

is the clean up crew still a thing? like you're let in the Sunday as long as you help on the Monday, or is it a nonsense.

[Helsbels]

On 26/06/2025 at 18:52, StoneCircle said:

 

What I did notice on the approach to the gate was the Oxfam stewards weren't asking for raised wrists like they usually do to check for wristbands like they usually do. Do any Oxfam Stewards know why? 

Not sure on this occasion but I was on Gate C on Friday morning and overnight Saturday and my job along with a few others was wristband checking

[StoneCircle]

21 minutes ago, Helsbels said:

Not sure on this occasion but I was on Gate C on Friday morning and overnight Saturday and my job along with a few others was wristband checking

 

Were these checks made before the physical ticket check and hand in of the Pass Out? I was in the wide load queue when I was approached.

[efcfanwirral]

How did everyone get on this year? We had some great shifts, met some great people and generally really enjoyed it. It being our second time helps, as we knew what to expect a bit more

[Pinhead]

Had 3 overnight shifts on Gate D Sun to Tues - was as dead as a dodo - the quiz was about the most exiting thing to happen.

[philipsteak]

How was everyone's experience? Both old hands and newbies. 

Initially disappointed with my shifts (Oxfam D shift) but it did mean I got to see Pulp which was the priority. It's never fun having that Sunday afternoon shift looming over you even with the carrot of a potentially early finish. It's also tricky as team leaders as that last shift is notorious for no shows. But no issue on that score for me. Couple of my friends had no shows but it wasn't much of a problem for them.

The early finish was super slick. Last time we had D must of us got released early but one friend was stuck on her gate for ages waiting. This year it was much better. This year one of my friends finished at 7.55 although she was furthest away from where we were meeting, the rest of us (all team leaders on different gates) were done by about 8.05 at the latest.

Shifts themselves were fine. A service gate so a bit dull but easy. Most of my stewards were fine, a couple genuinely great. Worked with decent security this year too both in terms of being good fun to spend 8 hours with and doing their jobs. It was my first year working with Gate Managers and I think it's a really positive development. Having said that I heard very different reports on how good some were. Both mine were good, but sounds like some definitely weren't. 

Just hope the new priority rules for Oxfam don't rule me out in the future. I've been doing it so long this way I kinda don't know what else to do.  

[AlanFish23]

12 minutes ago, philipsteak said:

How was everyone's experience? Both old hands and newbies. 

Initially disappointed with my shifts (Oxfam D shift) but it did mean I got to see Pulp which was the priority. It's never fun having that Sunday afternoon shift looming over you even with the carrot of a potentially early finish. It's also tricky as team leaders as that last shift is notorious for no shows. But no issue on that score for me. Couple of my friends had no shows but it wasn't much of a problem for them.

The early finish was super slick. Last time we had D must of us got released early but one friend was stuck on her gate for ages waiting. This year it was much better. This year one of my friends finished at 7.55 although she was furthest away from where we were meeting, the rest of us (all team leaders on different gates) were done by about 8.05 at the latest.

Shifts themselves were fine. A service gate so a bit dull but easy. Most of my stewards were fine, a couple genuinely great. Worked with decent security this year too both in terms of being good fun to spend 8 hours with and doing their jobs. It was my first year working with Gate Managers and I think it's a really positive development. Having said that I heard very different reports on how good some were. Both mine were good, but sounds like some definitely weren't. 

Just hope the new priority rules for Oxfam don't rule me out in the future. I've been doing it so long this way I kinda don't know what else to do.  

Interesting post. So how does it work regards no shows? I mean you could attend as a volunteer, turn up for first team briefing and then go AWOL for the next 5 days. Or call in sick every day. OK you lose your deposit, but the deposit is simply the ticket price. 

Edited July 1, 2025 by AlanFish23

[TheBoz]

Been to Glastonbury many times previously but this was my first time with Oxfam and went solo as none of my group got an oxfam place either. All things considered I had a fantastic experience. After being disappointed initially getting D-shift pattern I managed to swap with a massive Charli fan at the 11th hour on Tuesday, leaving me with a hybrid of A/B pattern.

 

Wednesday morning on Gate B was an experience i'll never forget. That shift was absolutely epic! Then with Thursday morning on Gate A I was 2/3rds down by Thursday afternoon. This meant I managed to everything I wanted to on Friday and Sunday, with a more relaxed Saturday conserving energy from the heat for the night shift which flew by on Gate D anyway. 

 

Campsite next to the car park and facilities were great. The walk back each day - not so much! I had no problems being solo, and met people on shifts and in the campsite to keep in touch with to go onto site. Vast majority of people were super-friendly, some groups maybe a little cliquey but as expected. Not sure if there was one and I missed it, but it would have been nice for Oxfam to formalise a meetup for a solo bar crawl on Monday/Tuesday, just to make the solo arrival and first days less intimidating especially for those who haven't been to Glastonbury before either.

[washwell]

58 minutes ago, TheBoz said:

Been to Glastonbury many times previously but this was my first time with Oxfam and went solo as none of my group got an oxfam place either. All things considered I had a fantastic experience. After being disappointed initially getting D-shift pattern I managed to swap with a massive Charli fan at the 11th hour on Tuesday, leaving me with a hybrid of A/B pattern.

 

Wednesday morning on Gate B was an experience i'll never forget. That shift was absolutely epic! Then with Thursday morning on Gate A I was 2/3rds down by Thursday afternoon. This meant I managed to everything I wanted to on Friday and Sunday, with a more relaxed Saturday conserving energy from the heat for the night shift which flew by on Gate D anyway. 

 

Campsite next to the car park and facilities were great. The walk back each day - not so much! I had no problems being solo, and met people on shifts and in the campsite to keep in touch with to go onto site. Vast majority of people were super-friendly, some groups maybe a little cliquey but as expected. Not sure if there was one and I missed it, but it would have been nice for Oxfam to formalise a meetup for a solo bar crawl on Monday/Tuesday, just to make the solo arrival and first days less intimidating especially for those who haven't been to Glastonbury before either.

Also a solo, first time volunteer with Oxfam but long term Glastonbury attendee. Thoroughly enjoyed the while experience and would welcome the chance to do it again. Very happy with the shifts I got as did overnight Weds/Thurs, early Sunday and day shift Friday. Left me free on Saturday which was always the day that I wanted off. Worked 2 shifts at Sticklinch and one on response/Gate D. Night shift was quiet but entertaining and co-workers on all shifts were great company. I found everyone really friendly, the Oxfield well set up and run, and access to and from site easy. Had great supervisors on all my shifts and met aome really interesting people. Clearly there were lots of volunteers who already knew each other and they tended to stick together outside shift. Understandable and didn't cause a problem. Overall it gave me a totally different slant on the festival and I think I enjoyed the experience just as much as being a punter. Will do it again

Edited July 1, 2025 by washwell

[philipsteak]

56 minutes ago, TheBoz said:

Been to Glastonbury many times previously but this was my first time with Oxfam and went solo as none of my group got an oxfam place either. All things considered I had a fantastic experience. After being disappointed initially getting D-shift pattern I managed to swap with a massive Charli fan at the 11th hour on Tuesday, leaving me with a hybrid of A/B pattern.

 

Wednesday morning on Gate B was an experience i'll never forget. That shift was absolutely epic! Then with Thursday morning on Gate A I was 2/3rds down by Thursday afternoon. This meant I managed to everything I wanted to on Friday and Sunday, with a more relaxed Saturday conserving energy from the heat for the night shift which flew by on Gate D anyway. 

 

Campsite next to the car park and facilities were great. The walk back each day - not so much! I had no problems being solo, and met people on shifts and in the campsite to keep in touch with to go onto site. Vast majority of people were super-friendly, some groups maybe a little cliquey but as expected. Not sure if there was one and I missed it, but it would have been nice for Oxfam to formalise a meetup for a solo bar crawl on Monday/Tuesday, just to make the solo arrival and first days less intimidating especially for those who haven't been to Glastonbury before either.

 

There used to be a formal informal bar crawl (as in not officially organised by Oxfam but it was a thing), not necessarily just for solos though. We never did them but they got a bit big and unwieldy in the end.

 

I know what you mean by the cliquey thing. My group mostly met doing festivals (a few have been introduced by friends or friends of friends) and we try to be as welcoming as we can, whether that's to new solos on shift or at camp. Most years we pick up a few extras, sometimes just for that year, sometimes that's it, they are now part of the gang whether they want to be or not! We've all been there so know what it's like. 

I do kinda understand why some groups might not be like ours. Often with festival friends that's literally the only time you see them. Like I say, not our style but I get it.

[philipsteak]

1 hour ago, AlanFish23 said:

Interesting post. So how does it work regards no shows? I mean you could attend as a volunteer, turn up for first team briefing and then go AWOL for the next 5 days. Or call in sick every day. OK you lose your deposit, but the deposit is simply the ticket price. 

 

If you go AWOL then yes, you lose your deposit (and get kicked out of caught) and are then blacklisted. 

Regarding calling in sick, you would possibly lose your wristband. Don't know the actual procedure. I've had that before where a couple of my stewards told Oxfam they couldn't complete their final shift on the Sunday and they then had to leave site.

It was last minute though so no time to update the shift sheets. 

It wasn't a problem. They weren't missed, they'd been a massive pain in the arse the previous shift, moaning for pretty much the whole 8 hours. I'm not the most naturally gregarious outgoing person but I really make an effort to keep my stewards happy and motivated, especially in a night shift, but Christ they made it tough