Summer festivals, more specifically those in Europe, are widely known for their headline acts and attract hundreds of thousands of music fans. The lineups usually feature major international artists gathered over a few days; of course, the choice of artists is the most important factor in selling tickets. Except for Glastonbury, which sells out over 200,000 tickets in a matter of minutes, months before revealing its headliners.
Located in Somerset, in the southwest of England, it is not just another conventional music festival. Watching the footage taken by a drone flying over the Pyramid Stage during Coldplay’s Saturday night performance is truly impressive. “Glastonbury is the best city on Earth,” says Chris Martin. “This is our favourite place in the world”, “The best night of my life” and “This incredible place during the solstice, in this magical land” were other comments from major artists about the legendary festival this year. But, what makes Glastonbury the greatest festival in Britain (or possibly the world), and why do more than 200,000 tickets sell out within minutes without any artists being confirmed? One possible answer is the vast amount of artistic variety for all tastes and ages. The shows on the two main stages, Pyramid and Other, draw the biggest footfall. The West Holts stage focuses on World Music, The Park is the destination for indie and rock music lovers, and Woodsies hosts up-and-coming bands. The Left Field tent beside the live shows, also includes talks and debates on topics like the housing crisis and the UK’s general election.
Why is Glastonbury the only festival in the world that sells out over 200,000 tickets in a few hours, months before announcing its lineup?
Let’s start with its size. The festival takes place in Pilton, at Worthy Farm, which operates as a farm throughout the year, covering over 485 hectares. These dimensions are more akin to a town than a festival site.
Of course, such a vast space needs to be filled, and here lies one of the reasons that makes Glastonbury unique: its hundreds of themed areas. As its name indicates, Glastonbury is the Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts because, in addition to large stages where the most renowned artists perform, there are sections dedicated to other arts and hundreds of activities.
In the Theatre and Circus area, you can see extravagant things happen, with comedy shows, magic, music, poetry, cabaret, puppet shows, comedians from the UK and around the world, and even a cinema screening family-friendly films.
The Green Fields is a place for reflection, celebration, love, resistance, and protest. It’s the most spiritual side of Glastonbury, preserving the spirit of its beginnings in 1970. Within these fields is The Healing Field, an exclusive relaxation area where you can receive massages, and participate in group meditations, yoga, tai chi, and dance classes. Other activities in this section include crafts classes, astrology, African percussion, and a variety of options for children. Connecting with nature and the solstice is a classic at the Stone Circle, a sacred space where ceremonies around the bonfire begin at night and go on until sunrise.
When the music shows on the more than ten main stages end, Glastonbury’s nightlife begins in the southeast of the farm, the most popular area divided into five sections:
Arcadia: The new dragonfly-shaped structure weighs fifty tons, hosting DJs, shooting fire, and firing laser beams, all powered by renewable energy, utilising used cooking oil and recycled biofuels.
Shangri-La is a festival in itself, a radical area rooted in fringe art and underground culture. The festival’s farthest corner offers two stages, two halls, and a dozen outdoor art installations, an interdisciplinary space where the anarchic spirit inspires originality, and cultural revolution, and amplifies collective awareness.
Block 9 brings together The NYC Downlow, a club located within a full-sized replica set recreating 1980s New York warehouses, and IICON, a stage shaped like a colossal head where cutting-edge electronic music artists perform.
Unfairground, the field of subversive art and music. This distorted and immersive area is a fusion of strange amusements, sideshows, and late-night dance spots amid a field of street art and sculptures.
The Common is an amphitheatre inspired by ancient civilizations and tribal ceremonies where music, mysticism, and unity come together with the spirit of the rave.
Other spaces include:
Glasto Latino, where during the day, you can learn to dance samba, salsa, and reggaeton, and at night, listen to artists celebrating Latin music and partying.
The Kidzfield, is exclusively dedicated to entertaining children up to 12 years old, spreading honest values, and providing a safe place to play and explore.
Leftfield, where politics, protests, activism, and debates coexist in the most punk side of Glastonbury, featuring the musician and activist Billy Bragg every year.
As if all this wasn’t enough, Glastonbury also has its own newspaper, the Glastonbury Free Press, printed on the farm and circulated during the festival days.
Terminal 1 – ‘No Human is Illegal’
Terminal 1 is a new space offering an immersive art experience, a nightclub, a print shop, and a formal garden. An international cast of artists has reinterpreted the airport experience to reflect modern issues. Upon entering, visitors encounter two stern immigration officers who loudly interrogate them before passing through security control, offering a glimpse of the treatment some migrants receive at the British border. This new area was constructed from salvaged parts of London Heathrow airport’s demolished Terminal 1.
Throughout its history, Glastonbury festival has established a proud tradition of supporting travelling communities, finding space for marginalised people to meet, trade and forge new alliances. Following this spirit, Terminal 1 aims to honour this tradition by creating a space for another modern-day travelling community: migrants.
At a time when lines drawn on a map by our ancestors have come to define and divide our world as never before, Terminal 1 is a place without borders that celebrates our shared humanity, unified by the simple message “no human is illegal.”
Glastonbury and the Environment
“Love the Farm, leave no trace” is the request from Glastonbury’s creators and organisers, father and daughter Michael and Emily Eavis, since the festival’s inception. The commitment to the environment is not new at Glastonbury. “As a festival, we have been exploring new ideas on how to reduce our impact on the land for as long as I can remember. We have always tried to adopt an ecologically thoughtful approach to the way we do things, which we always hope will inspire people,” says Michael Eavis.
The festival’s scale is so vast that it’s easy to forget that, during the rest of the year, this land is home to roaming cows and thriving local wildlife. For Glastonbury to be sustainable, everyone must reduce the impact it has on the environment. This includes both the audience and the organisation, from logistics to the setup.
REUSE. REDUCE. RESPECT: Taking a stand against unnecessary pollution and avoidable contributions to climate change, Glastonbury banned the sale of any single-use plastic on site.
Glastonbury is a five-day oasis each year where there are no worries, and decisions are based on which artist to see next, which sector to visit at night, or what type of food to choose for lunch from the thousands of food stalls and bars from around the world. The lack of home comforts, sleeping in tents, and no showers are part of this unique experience where the sense of community and the intention of each attendee is simply to have one of the best times of their lives.
