Glastonbury 2025: Hype apart, what’s it truly like as of late?

I’ve been trudging by the fields of Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset on and off, since 1987. I am right here proper now, on behalf of Artistic Growth, and I nonetheless completely bloody find it irresistible. There, I stated it.

However this is what drives me barmy. Individuals who have not been in years will let you know, with absolute certainty, that it is not so good as it was. They’re going to shake their heads sadly and mutter about the way it’s “too industrial now” or “misplaced its soul” or another nonsense, regardless of having zero private proof for that view.

Previous patterns repeat

The explanations for this Glasto-hate are normally fairly clear. There’s the (comprehensible) resentment in the direction of these fortunate sufficient to have navigated the ticket lottery. Or there’s the musical snobbery. “I do not know any of those bands,” they’re going to announce, as if the world stopped awarding cred factors in 1994, and something after that’s nugatory.

Then lastly, there are the rose-tinted spectacles that color the issues we did in our youth, after we had extra power, higher pores and skin and life was stuffed with promise. This routinely makes them higher in our minds, even when they weren’t in actuality.

And this can be a sample that retains repeating. After I first pitched up at Glastonbury in 1987, clutching my £21 ticket, the old-timers had been already lamenting the competition’s decline. “You need to have been right here in ’83,” they’d say, shaking their heads mournfully. “That is when it was actually particular.” I am keen to wager that in 1983, individuals had been banging on about how a lot better it was in ’79.

View from the Beeb

Those that’ve by no means been to Glastonbury, in the meantime, are likely to base their view on the BBC protection. Now, do not get me improper: the Beeb does a good job, and I am grateful individuals can watch Pyramid Stage headliners from their sofas. However forming a robust opinion from that’s like judging London primarily based on the view from the highest of a double-decker bus. You are lacking about 96.7% of what is truly taking place.

The BBC focuses on the massive phases, as a result of that is what interprets greatest to TV. However the competition is gigantic, sprawling throughout 900 acres with extra phases, tents and random efficiency areas than you may presumably think about.

There are lots of of tiny music phases, tucked away in a nook the place somebody’s doing one thing intimate and exquisite that might by no means work on a large out of doors set. Then there’s the Theatre & Circus space the place you will come across a kaleidoscope of world-class performances, by artists from throughout the globe.

There’s Shangri-La, a radical playground that means a distinct option to organise the world. There’s the Left Area, the place individuals can actually dive deep into political debate. There’s the cinema, the place A-list stars like Ncuti Gatwa, Andrew Garfield and Tilda Swinton introduce the movies in individual. There are dozens of night time golf equipment and dance areas, enjoying all the pieces from Latino classics to soiled drum & bass. Truthfully, there is not room to listing all the pieces right here: the article can be countless.

So what’s it truly prefer to go to Glastonbury as of late? Nicely, it is sophisticated.

The good things

The good things continues to be completely magic. There’s an power at Glastonbury that you just cannot replicate anyplace else; this sense of countless chance round each nook.

You may be wandering between phases, attempting to catch the tip of 1 band earlier than speeding to see one other, once you’ll come across one thing utterly surprising. Like a bunch of individuals attempting to throw tennis balls into the mouth of an infinite frog statue. Or a large billboard telling the private story of a household of travellers.

Final night time, I by chance found a Ghanaian musician referred to as Ok.O.G at Shangri-La that I am now utterly obsessive about. Then I walked right into a knot of people that spontaneously broke right into a rendition of Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Membership. That is what Glastonbury does: it throws random encounters at you continually.

It is all fairly overwhelming. There’s at all times one thing taking place someplace, and the worry of lacking out is actual, but in addition a part of the joy. You may make snap selections primarily based on overheard conversations, comply with crowds down muddy paths, and end up in areas you by no means deliberate to go to. The serendipity is intoxicating.

It is not good

However let’s be trustworthy: anybody who claims Glastonbury is uniformly fantastic is both mendacity or on some critical medicine.

The loos grow to be horrific, fairly shortly: a particular sort of hell that no quantity of chemical blue can masks. I can actually smelll them from my tent as I write this, and it is threatening to harsh my morning buzz. Strolling in and utilizing them is a matter of holding your nostril and shielding your eyes. And God forbid for those who overlook to convey sufficient rest room roll.

The crowds may be suffocating, particularly when everybody’s attempting to maneuver between the identical in style phases on the similar time. In case you have any type of incapacity, you most likely will not cope. Heck, most individuals basically will wrestle with the bodily effort.

That is to not point out the countless, deafening noise. I am camped close to Shangri-La and the thunderous bass does not cease until 4am. I’ve realized to sleep by it, however I am unsure what number of others might.

As superb because the lineup is, the stage clashes are heartbreaking. Inevitably, your two must-see acts might be enjoying concurrently at reverse ends of the location. That is truly an excellent factor relating to crowd management; individuals have actually been crushed to loss of life at different festivals. However it’s nonetheless a bummer attempting to decide on between Doechii and Charli xcx, Alanis Morissette vs Gracie Abrams vs Blossoms, Lola Younger vs English Instructor vs Moist Leg…

The mud, when it comes, is famous for good purpose. It is not only a bit damp underfoot; it is a malevolent, sucking pressure that may declare your wellies and presumably your soul. I’ve seen grown adults diminished to tears attempting to extract themselves from notably treacherous patches close to the principle phases.

Alternatively, if the solar is powerful then good luck discovering any shade, or getting faucet water with out queuing for an age. Fortunately we have had probably the most stunning in-between climate for 2025 to date, however do not anticipate that each time.

Unchanged spirit

However the concept this not-for-profit competition, which raises a ton for charity, is now too “industrial”? I do not purchase it. The value of tickets may be very cheap in comparison with the price of a five-day vacation anyplace else. And whereas the involvement of the BBC has definitely made the occasion really feel extra mainstream, for the overwhelming majority of punters the important spirit of Glastonbury stays unchanged.

It is nonetheless a spot the place bizarre, fantastic issues occur once you least anticipate them. It is nonetheless an unlimited non permanent metropolis constructed on music, creativity, and the peculiarly British capacity to have an excellent time regardless of unpredictable climate and questionable sanitation.

The competition has advanced as a result of the world has advanced. Music modifications, audiences change and industrial realities change. However the magic, that indefinable one thing that makes Glastonbury particular? That is nonetheless there, as robust as ever.

To those that insist it is not so good as it was, I might say: you are most likely proper about some issues, and utterly improper about others. However till you’ve got truly skilled it your self, you are actually simply guessing.

So for these fortunate sufficient to attain a 2027 ticket, put together for one thing concurrently fantastic and horrible; exhausting and exhilarating. Simply convey lavatory roll, correct wellies and a constructive perspective, and you will not go far improper.