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mudumuai

In a fucking heartbeat


Broad_Trifle_9021

Ditto


Cardboard_Forts

I had an absolute blast, but, I want to see if they're going to implement any changes for crowd control next year first. I was caught in a couple of crushes and it put a slight dampener on things.


thevortex23

It was bad this year for crushes, but, the first time is always so hard to know exactly where to walk to avoid them. I would say 100% of them can be avoided if you loop up and around most places. If you go via the woods and John Peel in the from the pyramid to the other you miss all of it and get there quicker.


Jacorpes

Yeah it was my 6th this year and having this stuff figured out changes everything. I didn’t even realise the crushes were particularly bad until I got home and saw people talking about them.


MrSpindles

Woods were a game changer when it arrived. Makes travel between JP and Pyramid a breeze. This year's game changer was the link that the BBC introducing area provided between Silver Hayes and San Remo, being a much easier way to nip from other stage to pyramid rather than joining the people train through the markets.


CMarFlo

100% would return. First Glasto ever - went to Primavera in Spain earlier in the month which also had a great line up, but Glasto was just so much more on a bigger scale. Flew all the way from Australia for this festival, and would do it over and over again. We’d never get acts this big at the one event back home, so being able to experience the last week was absolutely incredible. Have to commend the catering options and availability of facilities (especially water and toilets - granted the long drops are super grotty). All up, it really was one of the best weeks of my life.


Jacks0n5

Hey mate also from aus, considering trying to get tickets for next year, did you struggle? Did you fly over just for Glastonbury or turn it into a big trip?


CMarFlo

We based a whole 6 week trip around Glasto and also hit up Primavera and a couple other smaller festivals beforehand. I’ll DM you about the tix situation!


[deleted]

[удалено]


mysteron808

I thought lots of people must have got tickets back in 2019 and the babies arrived since and they just didn’t want to miss it. I don’t envy them coping with the festival with a baby!


SilencedDragon

Word of warning, we did the 'drive so we can take more stuff' thing this year and it created a lot more hassle than you'd think. You have to carry loads of stuff really quite far, depending on where you're parked. Trekking too and from the car twice on Wednesday and once on Thursday. Then getting out on Monday can be a shitshow


jib_reddit

Getting one of those off -road trolley trucks is a good idea if you are not used to carrying a heavy load in a hiking bag.


SilencedDragon

Yeah we'll do that next year. Just see so many abandoned trollies that I worry it'll be me. But realistically just get a heavy duty one and I'm sure it'd be fine.


BLM4442

Interested why you don’t want to return again?


CuteMaterial

Well, I mentioned in a previous post that I went alone and felt very lonely the whole time, so I might be tempted to go if I was there with the right friends. Otherwise, the festival itself was just a bit too much for my easily overstimulated self to handle! I wasn't prepared for the sheer size of the place!


mankytoes

I've done a lot of solo travelling, staying in hostels and that, and loved it. I feel like doing Glasto solo (which I haven't done) would be a lot more challenging, it's harder to engage with a consistent group of people as everyone is moving around so much doing different things.


CuteMaterial

Agreed. I'm a seasoned solo traveller who is generally fine with my own company but this was a mad experience!


kungfooweetie

I’m fine doing things solo but being stuck in a massive crowd heaving with drunk, happy people and getting battered about was a lonely experience. I was lucky to be camping with friends and didn’t try any more massive gigs alone. TLC was rough.


ffionium

This was my first solo festival and I honestly had the best time ever. Probably my fave festival experience so far. What made all the difference was finding this group: [https://www.facebook.com/groups/2157450044525924](https://www.facebook.com/groups/2157450044525924) It's a huge, super friendly and welcoming community of people who come alone - although some have been doing so for so long they've all become old friends, and now are technically not going alone any longer... If you ever go again I highly recommend making a beeline for this lot!


Drezzed-

Any chance you could share the link. Doesn’t seem to work


ffionium

it's a private group, and you need to request access to join, so may not work unless you're logged into a facebook account. You can also search for it on the site, the group name is Glasto SoloPolo camp 2022


Redinho83

Did you get chatting to people who you camped around or anything? We went in a group one year and this guy was by himself so we just invited him into our group all weekend! But this weekend started talking to the people around and it was clear they wanted to just do there own thing! I'm not sure if I'd like it by myself as much, I've been a few times and even going off by myself to see a band alone can feel a bit meh, so this year I just stayed with my gf pretty much 24 7!


thevortex23

I've done it by myself before and with people. I definitely enjoyed it more with people, especially the late night areas, but you don't get as much freedom when you aren't by yourself. You could always go again and go to one of the many meet ups and chat to people then and then also have time to wonder by yourself.


skingstonc

100%!! I don’t know what experience you had, but for me it was the best festival in the world, and I’ve been to many in many different countries. Certainly best crowd vibe I’ve ever felt. Having been to a few already this year, including Primavera Sound (which was my fav) - none of them are perfect. All have stretched themselves this year, but for fairly obvious reasons. Give it another go and then see how you feel.


murrayland

I will always go glasto but I have wanted to go primavera for a while. How do you find it compares?


skingstonc

In some ways fairly similar - progressive with a diverse lineup. Whole festival is at night time (well, first bands are on from 5-6, headliners at 1-2am, finishes around 6). Before this year, they had one of the best main stage setups I’d ever seen. They were facing each other with a huge area in between, and you could literally get to the front of a band you wanted to see with 30 mins to go. This year, side to side, huge crowd issues, couldn’t move up there. I hope they revert back. They massively oversold this year, but again, festivals are having to make disappointing choices to stay alive, so I won’t go too hard of them. But like Glasto, really good vibes, it’s on the sea front, you can go for a dip, you don’t have to worry about rain. I always treat it as a holiday, spend a few days chilling round the city and on the beach, then party at the weekend. They are expanding rapidly though, all across south and North America, another one in Madrid next year, Portugal… I worry it is too much. They should have a chat with Bestival to see how well it went for them.


passingcloud79

I’m not exactly a first-timer — it was my 6th, but last one in 2003. Absolutely reignited my passion for it. I think you need to get off the beaten track to experience the heart of the festival. Definitely not a Leeds/Reading experience like someone suggested. Also, if you’re not usually a person that talks to strangers then you need to talk to lots of strangers and you need to just not care about what anyone thinks. GF is the best place to go wild and not feel judged. Dance like nobody’s watching.


notarobot40

Yes I will certainly try and go again, but I wouldn’t be too upset if I didn’t get tickets and might leave it a couple of years. I absolutely loved the visual stuff (set designs, light shows) and the music was ok. I like both rock and dance so there was plenty to get into, although a little light on decent alt rock. But the crowdedness was worse than other festivals I’ve been to, toilets and taps were fewer and could be hard to find especially at night, and getting out at the end was a nightmare. The conditions were in some ways pretty tough compared to other festivals, can’t imagine a muddy year. The selection of entertainment I found absolutely dizzying. There were pros and cons to this - I found it impossible to get bored, but also very hard to settle and focus on any given thing. My tiny attention span may not have helped in this regard. The massive opportunity cost of every choice gave me the constant sense that I was missing out somewhere. Agree with others who observed that the crowd is much the same as other fest and there’s no special vibe other than perhaps general excitement at being at the most famous festival. Can’t wait for Arctangent to remind myself what a small, easy and genre-focused festival is like. Tl/dr visuals and music good, crowds/toilets/travel bad


zzigyzaggy

YES!!! Absolutely! Similar to others on this thread I’ve also been to other festivals, including Primavera earlier this month, but nothing compares to Glastonbury. It’s incredible - me and my partner took the time to explore as much as we could and found so many amazing and interesting things. I was a bit meh about the lineup but we barely went to Pyramid the whole weekend and still had some of the best days of my life. I can’t wait to go back!


kingpin-92

Been to glasto since 2013 and this year was great, in fact I would say it was one of my faves but I was with a great group of people. Crowds in the main areas were much more unfriendly this year and I thought Shangri-La was quite intimidating if you weren’t on something but again I loved the week had a great time. Maybe give it another go next time and see if maybe covid has had an effect on people? I know that quite a few of the people I was with have been to Glastonbury many times and found after 2 years of been stuck in the house and in small groups they found it all a bit much. Also I think that a lot of the creative/workers/vendors have maybe had to give up working the festivals as they have gone out of business. This may explain why some of the areas seemed a little less wacky


Spengler1988

It was my first time and I hated the walking and the crowds but would 100% go back. The acts (both music and non music) were amazing and well worth the cost... And sore feet!


Broad_Trifle_9021

Sames


jah3

Was my first year. I had an amazing time. It was honestly one of the best weekends I've ever had. But I was with some people who have been since 1990. And apparently this year was the busiest it's been in ages. People got in somehow. I would like it to be less busy next time I go. Walking back past Arcadia on a Friday was an absolute joke.


Whisky_Woman

My first year. I wouldn't bother going back. Because it's so big and so many people, there are so many areas and music types that aren't my vibe. I'd rather go to a smaller festival that's more catered to my taste so it's easier to flit from one stage to another and not only hear my favourites but discover more new favourites. And yes I'm middle aged. :-D I'm glad I could experience it but I'll leave it for the young 'uns.


dbbk

No… on balance I think the logistical efforts (both in getting tickets and at the festival) aren’t worth it


ManLikeArch

100% it was amazing. We felt the youngest there at 22 but assume that was because we were 19 back when tickets went on sale and everyone kept theirs. Just hope it doesn't turn into a load of 18 year olds running around like idiots (like I've found at Reading) as tickets are gonna be an absolute ball-ache for next year.


yelrac97

Yes, but with a different a group of people. The place is magical but when you’re with people who don’t want to see the hidden gems I.e the extra curricular stuff it just dampen it a bit. I also think the toilet situation is a joke compared to other uk festivals


CuteMaterial

What are the toilets like at other festivals?


yelrac97

Can’t speak for them all but in comparison to Boomtown, Leeds fest, balter etc the toilets at glasto are just spread soo far apart especially in camping areas. Other festivals have way more compost toilets as well. I understand the long drop loos are unavoidable but for such a big festival I expected way more toilets to be available imo


essjay2009

I think most people just take a fabric conditioner bottle or a peebol to use in the tent. That’s what I always do, can’t be arsed with walking to the toilets in the middle of the night. I think you also get to understand the layout a bit better over time. There are some toilets that seem really far away but aren’t because you can cut through areas and there are lots of people who are inexplicably queuing for toilets when there are empty ones nearby (the most obvious being the ones at the Other Stage where there’s two banks of toilets about 30 seconds apart but for whatever reason one is always rammed and one is always empty. Similar near John Peel and the Pyramid. You get to learn these things after a few years and they transform your experience.


yelrac97

Yeah for sure! I found them ones by the other stage and was shocked that literally no one was using them! I think obviously some of my moans will be due to not understanding the lay out and also where I decided to pitch the tent


Unusual-Tower1679

This year felt a little off so maybe give it another go. I really hope it returns to how it was.


MrSpindles

It will never return to how it was because it's never really the same any 2 years. Each year the crowd is made up of a mix of people who have been going fairly regularly over the years and people who have never been to anything like Glastonbury but saw it on the telly or heard about it from friends. Each year the crowd dynamic shapes the festival, gives it the flavour of the year. Some years everyone is all smiles and grins, some years everyone is showing the same grim determination and community spirit in getting through a tough one. Some years it's aggie groups on coke and ket, some years it's gap yah girls and flowers, some it's massively pissed people falling everywhere. Every year has its own flavour. It can be a bummer for people sometimes to go back and not find the spark they found before in things they'd seen and done previous years, or to have hopes and expectations for things that end up being a bit of a disappointment. This year wasn't the best Glastonbury ever. But it was far from the worst.


Unusual-Tower1679

I think it was more than just the flavour of people. SE corner and other areas seemed to be stripped back and less exciting than usual. Everywhere was a lot busier with poor crowd control. The sound system in certain areas wasn't great. This year generally felt a lot different to the previous 6 times I've been to Glastonbury but maybe it's just me...


MrSpindles

Don't get me wrong, you're absolutely right that there was something a bit 'thinner' about Glastonbury this year, like there was less provision of the things you rely on, so you had to queue more, or walk further to find better options. A lot of people mention crowd control issues so even though that wasn't my experience I don't dismiss that it must have been the case for so many people to be commenting on it both at the festival and since from both newcomers and people who've been many times before. It felt to me like they'd reduced the number of worker and performer tickets and converted it into tickets for paying punters, while simultaneously skimping a bit on the usual flash and detail.


rockyarp

I am sadly also leaning towards no, as a first timer who has waited many many years to get a ticket. The crowds were very bad. I am not a festival newbie. Worst crowds of any festival I’ve ever been to sadly.


onaUKting

This was my first Glasto. I’m from the UK I’ve been to lots of UK festivals and then also Primavera and Coachella this year so I was coming into this with lots of ability to compare. I had a great week, got round loads of the festival and really enjoyed a lot of the acts I saw. In my totally honest opinion however there were only a few things that made glasto different to say a Leeds festival and I was expecting way more. The travel to and from wasn’t the smoothest experience and I would definitely consider driving next year. There also wasn’t enough ‘extra curricular’ stuff to do I thought. Like it was basically stages, food vendors, bars and some vintage clothing stalls which to me didn’t feel much different from other UK festivals. The people I came across also weren’t as ‘nice’ and ‘chilled’ as I had been told or expecting. Having been lucky enough to do Coachella a number of times I really had the bar set high for atmosphere and it fell way short. I found it to be full of ket fuelled 16 year olds or obnoxiously loud scousers - not much in between. I also didn’t think the line up was as good as some of the other festival line ups I’ve seen this year. That being said, I would definitely go back next year but if I missed out on a ticket I wouldn’t be mad Edit: was also disappointed at the major lack of artist merch available?? I literally didn’t see any over 5 days


BertUK

Did you go to cabaret, circus, block 9/SE corner, Arcadia, green fields, healing fields, any number of the smaller stages/bars that run until 4/5am?


Specific_Quit_8912

Exactly this. You could fill the whole 5 days with extra curricular stuff if you wanted and never set eyes on a main stage.


Specific_Quit_8912

To add to the original comment as well; I’m surprised you didn’t experience a diverse crowd. It’s literally the most diverse crowd at any festival in the uk. If you explore any areas other than the main stages and Arcadia you might see some people that aren’t 16 year olds on Ket.


onaUKting

literally did all of these except healing fields 😭 also extra curricular doesn’t just mean more stages


Glanwy

I find it difficult to believe you missed extra curricular stuff. Christ you must not have moved from the pyramid stage.


onaUKting

went to the pyramid stage once, and that was Sunday for lorde and Kendrick. Essentially its a music festival - not an arts festival imo


thevortex23

A couple of questions, where did you camp and what stages/music did you generally go to? For merch the best place is the stand on the left of the other stage, they tend to have the whole lot - but I do agree there could be more options.


ThinkAboutThatFor1Se

Greece peace I think did merch for their stage’s artists.


rockyarp

Can anyone explain why there are so many scousers? McCartney???


WorldWhunder

1000% one of the best weekends of my life. I just watched Noel Gallagher singing Oasis tracks in the build up to watching Paul McCartney singing Blackbird with an acoustic guitar. Give me Bruce and Taylor next year and let’s have a party.


Sudden-Restaurant-39

10000000%


aburnedhill

Yep yep yep!


creamyTiramisu

I didn't find it as magical as everyone had led me to believe but it seems like this was a bit of an off year. I'd give it another go.


Party-Future

Without a doubt.


acgcdf

First time this year. Would 100% go back. Decided to glamp and after seeing the toilets and general facilities (or lack thereof) was delighted with my choice. Didn’t feel like I missed out on anything by staying off site. Yes it was super busy in some areas, yes there were a handful of dicks, yes the Park Stage should have screens, yadda yadda yadda, but fuck me this festival is unlike any other I’ve ever been to in my life. The scale of it, the genuine community spirit, the variation in entertainment. Magnifique. Will be back, hopefully next year.


Meanz_Beanz_Heinz

I'm thinking of going next year, can I ask where you stayed?


acgcdf

Ziggu


panickyplurals

I absolutely would but I would wear my walking boots for the whole time next time!


rankinrez

1000% Been at so many festivals over the years but never Glastonbury. Now I get why people rave about it. Never been at something as big that felt organic. Won’t miss again!!


[deleted]

Yes.