Features

carol gunn
I loved it!! There is nothing in the world like Glastonbury. I am 53 and have been about 11 times. I go with my son and I feel the shared interest in the event makes our relationship as strong as it is!!! Roll on 2009, can't wait.

james remond
Michael I'm sorry to say that you got it wrong at Glastonbury 2008. I have the greatest respect for you and wish you well but Jay Z was a mistake. I'm also alarmed to read an interview where you reportedly attempted to justify his inclusion as a need to move towards encouraging a younger audience. As someone that attended the festival as a young man from 1987, right through the 90's, including both the wets, and still regard myself as a glasto goer though I'm now middle aged (whatever that means)this feels like a slap in the face though unfortunately seems to typify the decline in the ethos and philosophy of the festival. Good luck to you.

I Spy
I have been to Gbury many times, yet after seeing the 'great grey wall of denial'I fail to see how the festival ethos remains. Slack security used to enabled ppl from poorer backgorunds to share the experience and do something exciting. Yet, its clearly all about money and commerciality now. Shame than the modern way of life never waivers even here. PS i love music v much and ppl coming together.. I've great memories of the place;)

Chris Davis
I've been to 15 Glasto's now, my first in back in 84, I'll go to at least another 15 if I can, they've all been magical in their own way, keep up the good work Mr E. great value for money.

Kirgy
Reading festival was so much better than Glastonbury! If you dont like Glastonbury, go to Reading!

stucin t'mud
Disappointed with Micheals ageist comments, perhaps if he wasnt to book geriatric headliners he wouldnt get a geriatric crowd. Point taken Micheal if you dont want me to come I wont. Shame really only live 6 miles away. Hardly ever missed one

- I - N_ L - O - V - E _ W - I - T - H _ G - L -
i think glaso is brill! THERE IS SIMPLY SO MUCH TO DO YOU COUOLD NOT GET BORED!the sight is so h - u - g - e that it took two days to looks round only 10 of the fields! :D:D i am a teenager with a.s and i still loved every second of it! it is so very amazing i can not even describe how much i enjoyed the festival this year! EVEN THE MUD MADE IT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE! glasto is a must go!! people may think differently to me but i doubt i will ever dis like glasto!

Aseh Walter
i did enjoy the music;the way guys were playing in the mud;it was not untill the last day i notice the mud was not realy part of the festival but some people were still please. from cameroon

Robbie
I cant believe there is a huge majority of people complaining on this site. Please dont go again if you cant stop winging about the festival. £150 is incredible value for the diversity of music and arts entertainment available. It is a lot of money for anyone (especially a teenager (like myself)) but as long as i save wisely from my part time job then ill always make funds to afford a ticket. I had a mate who complained about the lack of diversity, only for him to tell me he spent the weekend at the pyramid stage. I think a lot of people need to realise 'edgier' music is elsewhere.

Robert Baggs
How about a Boycott Glastonbury campaign - Eavis has sold out. My first Glasto was in 1979 when I went on the spur of the moment having looked up the Worthy Farm telephone number in the yellow pages, ringing it and speaking to Michael Eavis. "Come on down" he said, "there will be no problem getting in". This year we were P***ing about registering, ringing up on April Fool's Day, my girlfriend had her bank account emptied by some bas*** who must have been associated with the fstival organisation (there were too many co-incidences for it not to have been!) and we took 8 hours to get out of the car park, not seeing one steward or any exit signs. The festival is too big, the organisers too greedy and there are many many more festivals that I would rather spend my hard earned money at. The Boycott Glastonbury campaign starts here!

Grandad Ian
No intention of growing up just yet mester eavis.Had a great time again despite the rain.As a Who fan who has passed this down to my sons 18 and 31 and grandaughter 10. I wept tears of joy dancing with them on your hill that sunday.change the date to school hols, drop the price and lose the extra punters but most of all keep it coming see you next year.xx

Keith - Warrington
I think he needs to concentrate more on making the festival a more enjoyable expeience for people. I went to glastonbury this year and it was far too over crowded. It needs to be dropped by 30k or so. As for his ageist comment, its a joke. Having a fast internet connection does not make your chances of getting a ticket any better. People with dial up get tickets. Its probably down to th fact that 30-50 year olds can afford the ticket. All in all it probably cost me around £500 in total this year. Can't see many 18 year old from working class backgrounds being able to afford it.

Graham
I'm 32 and have been to 5 glasto's. I don't have fast internet at home. I went to an internet cafe to get my tickets. I believe they allow under 18's in there too!

Anon
Michael, no complaints mate, you can't control the weather. All I would say, and this is echoed by a lot of GLASTO stalwarts; do not forget those who have made the festival what it is. If you require evidence, may I suggest you visit V Festival and some of the other non-festivals taking place throughout the UK and elsewhere. GLASTO will always be the FESTIVAL, but don't forsake those who made it so. I'm 49 years old and attended in 2003/4/5 and 2007 and will continue until I can't make it any longer. I may not be 16 years old, but the festival needs the people who have supported music throughout the ages.

DI
Never been to the PILTON pop festival.Never want to go to the PILTON pop festival.Too busy looking for a supermarket that pays £8 an hour to people to stack their shelves.Maybe someone will pay me £8 an hour to dress up as a gnome and be a stand in for M. Eavis!

Neil Karlsson
Obviously the sound problems on the Pyramid stage were due to the poor hearing of all the oldie audience rather than the sound system!

Katie, Sheffield
Where was the straw to soak up the mud? Where were the extra fields to accomodate 25,500 extra people? (I could only see two) Where was the extra security/duck boards/paths that could have avoided the potentially dangerous crush after the Arctic Monkeys on Friday? And where, oh where was the decent sound system on the Pyramid Stage? I'm too old and posh to attend? You're getting too greedy. A different festival for me next year.

Chris East Sussex
Mr Eavis is misjudging the festival going market these days. There are a lot of people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s who love listening to the new bands. If you loved The Clash then of course you're going to like The View. If you liked The Jam then you'll also love the Arctic Monkeys and so on. I'm 45 I went this year and had a great time because I didn't feel at all old. I think Mr Eavis needs to drop the ageist comments and be proud of what he's done.

Steve jones, Bristol
so he wants more young people to attend? The ticket price has far more to do with who goes than anything else. For a 16 year old to go for 4 days would cost at least £250 after food and the ticket. If he really wants to encrouage more young people drop the price for under 18s to £65, I have two teenagers who would go at that price

Kev
In these days of Anti sexcism and Anti racism I think Michael Eavis is being Ageist. The age of the crowd doesn't matter. He should concentrate on getting bands that generate crowd atmosphere. I am 49 this year and was at the front for the Stooges who know how to work a crowd. Don't assume that anybody older than 30 is past it!!

Jane Klar
Prices prices prices! Most 16 to 18 year old's are still largely reliant on their middle aged parents for funds but get charged adult prices for everything so how about a family ticket!

Pip.
I remember Mr Eavis commenting that he would reducing the number of "Heavy" bands after the Tragedy at Roskilde in 2001 - however as i saw last week (my third visit!) the Danish Festival is probably one of the safest festivals in the world (with around 110,000 guests) and they still manage to put on an eclectic mix of music ranging from Folk to Punk & Metal - maybe he needs to borrow some of there crowd safety ideas and put on some bands that are big at the moment, even if they are a bit heavy for his taste!!

julia Bristol
What world is Mr Eavis living in? His comment that if young people shack a few shelves in Tesco’s et al for £8.00 an hour for a few weeks they be able to afford a ticket to Glastonbury 08. Maybe he needs to step into the real world now and then does he not know that the minimum wage for a 16 and 17 year old is £3.30 an hour. If he knows a supermarket that pays 8 quid an hour to a teenager for stacking shelves can he let me know and I’ll pass the details onto all the young people I know who are looking for a job that pays a decent wage.

Paul Hurst
I couldn't believe what Michael Eavis said! I thought it was a joke! What a load of rubbish. For a start, the 'kids' are far more up on t'internet stuff and everyone has broadband now so that's a load of rubbish. Secondly, if you're going to put Shirley Bassey and the Who on the main stage what do you expect! Phone sales are even more unfair and affected by differences in local exchanges. But then I don't really care as I've had enough of the mud after 10 years and I'm not going next year. Maybe cutting the ticket price now they are letting 40,000 more people cram into the festival would be a better way of attracting more young people. The ticket price has gone up almost 50% in about 5 years.

Trish
Michael has some neck, taking our money for years it's now oh so easy to say he doesn't want us. The telephone system is useless anyway - I haven't got through once in three years.

Bill Griggs
Eavis comes up with stuff about youngsters every year. The thing that puts them off is the massive cost, not being organised enough to register, and the fact that it is full of old people. Short of flogging tickets to schols and universities, not sure how he can get round this. I think most kids have just as good internet access at home as adults, not sure the phone thing will help - all it will do is make the process even more tortuous. If he really wanted to sort it, he could cut corporate tickets and all those posh "eco camp" fields on the edge of the festival that cost about £5k to stay in. It seems its OK for a 30 something BBC/Guardian/NME journalist to go but not an accountant who's been going since he was 16. The problem is, the generation that grew up going to glastonbury still goes, while the kids have never been and arn't too bothered.

Andy, Manchester
I agree with Sarah, Swindon. The band line up was very safe & MOR - the most conservative for years; dare I say boring. Where were the cutting edge bands ? Young people I know now prefer festivals such as Download for the music. There was no real rock; mainly light weight pop bands on the main stages. It takes the biscuit to criticise the paying public for being too old @ 20 odd who were forced to listen to pensioners (ie the Who) singing 40 year old songs about youth rebellion !

Marek
I think its a brilliant idea to aim for more late teens to attend the festival. Fair enough many older people have attended for years and they enjoy it but the magic of the festival gets lost on a lot of teenagers who can only sit and watch it on TV. And I bet many of the older generation used to sneak in when they were younger - another part of the festivals magic - which is something that is denied to kids over the past 7 years what with the security measures, including the way tickets are sold. The point is it isnt about age or music, its about the atmosphere of enjoyment. And a kid that has never been is bound to enjoy the festival more than a seasoned veteran. And because the kid is so much more excited, then it makes for a greater atmosphere for the older folk too! The harsh thing is that many young people now have to work there to attend. Almost like endentured festival servitude.Let the kids enjoy it for once rather than having to work.

Kerrie
Wow, I cant get over the number of negative comments here! I've been going to the fest for many years, regardless of the weather I have always had a wonderful time. I think its super value for money (1 gig would set you back £40 yet for £180 you can see many many performers), the organisation is fatastic, anyone who thinks otherwise should try organising the BIGGEST festival in the world!!! The atmosphere, the attitude of the festival goers, the diversity of entertainment and one of my favs, the wonderful array of food :-) are all amazing! Chill out, dont get so stressed and enjoy it for what it is! Roll on next year, i'll be there!!

Sarah Wells, Swindon
RUBBSIH! The younger kids ARE the ones with the faster connections – plus the way it worked was the cookies that made it – once you got in to buy a ticket, you were guaranteed to get in over and over again. We proved that…… Our friends got 12 tickets using the same page refreshed, my boyfriend and I had to get coach tickets - 4 hours it took from Swindon!It’s more likely the fact the bands were very middle of the road, on the main stages, they were predominantly older bands, the tickets are expensive, the kids have to take time of school - more resons than 'they don't have the fast connection'. It was a great Glasto, but you have to remember the teenagers don't want the hippy aspect, or the chilling out and mooching around the caberet/circus fields. Leave that for the young families, young adults and older Glastonbury regular attendees. I think Michael needs to rethink about who he's aiming the festival at. I say keep it as it is, we're 'spunky' enough as it is!

Neil
I like Michael Eavis, he does a great job for Glasonbury and seems like an all round good bloke. But his latest comments about too many middle class, middle aged people are bang out of order. These are the same people going to the festival since their teens, most likely enouraging their own teenage children to go. Once you hit 30, you don't forget how to party, or have a good time. I thought that is what the spirit of Glastonbury was all about? Old and young people partying together having a great time brought together my music, age not an issue....

Ken Driver
Don't confuse growing up and getting older with the ability to enjoy good music - you don't stop going to see bands and buying music just because you hit say 30, 40 or even 50 - if you enjoy good music you don't just stop because you hit a certain age. Can you imagine John Peel being told he can't go because he was 'too old'!

Ben
Hmmmm.....Nice one Michael Eavis, you've got the money in, you've worked out your expenses, now it's time to slag-off & attempt to alienate a majority of your paying customers....Bit of a slap in the face really.....

rob parr, Shrops
With regard to wanting to attract younger people to the festival, surely it's the ticket price that puts people off rather than the way tickets are sold. How many 16-18 year old can afford the tickets of top of three days f spending!

S Smith
I agree its got nothing to do with the internet - its the huge cost of the ticket + travel that stops the teenagers/students going

Sam Albrow
re: the tickets to young people yes it's a good idea, but you aren't going to get them ringing the 0871 and 0870 numbers from their mobile phone that cost a fortune, a call back service or at least an 01 number is essential, and in general surely young people have decent web access as well.

Paul Bate
I am one of the older 40 something Glastonbury goers.This was my 18th!And my last.Every year Eavis says it was the best ever but this year there were too many old people. I went to the IOW festival too where there were alot of young people because the line up was good. Glastonbury needs a new organiser because the present one is far to old to make it the festival it was.It has become dull and it took 14 hours to get out of the car park.Organised? Goodbye Eavis.

DorsetGiant
I think the background to Michael Eavis's comments is that he is realising the shine is going off the festival and wants to get some PR for it. Several people I've spoken to this year said it was pretty grim. I love it, but the irony is that when loads of kids and scallies were getting in, he panicked, put up that security fence and raised ticket prices. He can't have it both ways.

Mike A
A fast internet connection didn't favour anyone this year due to the way the online ordering was set up, the flaws in the online ordering system only favoured the friends of those who managed to get through, as they could order as many tickets as they wanted!Of all the registered teenagers i knew who intended to get tickets, half couldn't be bothered to get out of bed early enough on ticket ordering sunday (after a party the night before), the others tried for 20 mins, then gave up ! The 15 folks in our camp (age ranging from 31 - 59) all got our tickets on the phone! (again)

dom
PLEASE do not do this with the tickets. Surely the fairest way to do tickets is to a lottery like alot of other large events (live aid/ earth etc) Phone selling just makes it impossible and frustrating to buy tickets for everybody both young and old . I have been to the festival 5 times and have never even got through on a phone line let alone been able to buy a ticket. The result will be lots of people wasting alot of time hearing engaged tones.

Alistair London
Has he considered the fact that the Price of the Glasto experience, inclusive of travel and camping equipment is roughly £300-£400 per person going for the first time. Teens don't have that kind of money unless their Parents stump up the cash!

S. Dalton
Maybe Michael Eavis should consider reducing the prices of the tickets if he wants teenagers to go. It's a bit obvious innit?!?!!

Astaire
I think two of the main points have already been mentioned. The cost at what, £140?Also, the music may be eclectic, but that is not the same as diverse. Other festivals such as Download and Reading have an edgier sound.Glastonbury music is like Radio 1 really. All nice as pie but claiming to be something it is not. I compared the line up at Glastonbury to my 5,000 song iPod. Not alot in common and I go to gigs alot. Not been to Glastonbury now for 7 years and I don't really feel I've lost anything!

Faye Goldsmith
I find Michael's comments a little hurtful and unnecessary. I am 27 and don't consider myself past it, or my behaviour degrading to the atmosphere of the festival. The spirit of Glastonbury is something that is kept alive by regular goers like myself who know how to act and treat others rather than the fashionistas in their trendy wellies treating glastonbury like the latest cool place to be seen!

Laura Pelling
I have a 16-year old daughter, yet Glastonbury holds far more appeal for me than it does for her. It's too expensive, too muddy and doesn't have the bands she likes. Nothing to do with internet access, she has high speed access in two homes. In fact, I don't know of a teenager without access to the internet.

James Somerset
Has Micheal Eavis ever been to any other festivals? I've been to other festivals where there is a large teenage presence and i've had my tent nicked and seen toilet blocks set on fire, Mr Eavis should be happy with who gets!

Sonia, Oxford
After reading about the intention of reducing the number of people in their 30s or 40s, just because they're "old", is akin to age discrimination; therefore I would deem the intention as unlawful and disrespectful of genuine fans who come to the festival every year. And it's not like younger generations have the money either, so the festival will loose a lot of money in taking this decision. Please revise the statement!

Greg, Bristol
I'm not sure where this idea about fast internet connections increasing the chance of getting tickets has come from? The bottleneck is entirely at the ticket agency server side of things.As long as the connection is stable, the speed of it makes no difference at all.

Gary Boyd bristol
There is a thriving metal, punk and hardcore scene at the moment that is largely made up of a teenage audience. Maybe its about time Michael Eavis invited some of the heavier bands onto the Glastonbury bill and he would see more young people. Most of the bands at Glastonbury recently would be classified as "Dad Rock" ie Kasabian, Oasis, The Killers, Arctic monkeys. You know something is wrong when leading politicians (cameron, brown) are name checking these bands!!!!!

sarah
a great time was had by all,even the ones left at home watching it on tv!!

Forbes, Bristol
The reason hardly young people go is the exhorbitant ticket prices, I first went in 82..I think and it was about a tenner then it was alot more political then as well

a genuine fan
M davies - please do not boast about sneaking in - you people ruin festivals and make it hard for genuine fans to attend

Sandy Davies
Great festival as always but I think Micheal is wrong thinking that young people couldn't go because of their slow internet connection, surely its more likely to be because they can't afford the tickets.

Christine
From my experience of the people who go to Glastonbury - it is full of old folk who don't know how to become adults.....

M Davies
If Micheal Evis reckons only 15 people sneaked in we were 4 of them!

Michael Tooting
Great festival, great bbc coverage too! Cant wait for next year, fingers crossed I get a ticket!

Rudiger Rockafella
I loved Glastonbury, but I wish I didn't lose my voice when I was there.