OVERVIEW

Glastonbury Festival 2002

Friday 28th to Sunday 30th June 2002
Worthy Farm, Pilton, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4AZ, England MAP
£97 plus £3 booking fee - all tickets SOLD OUT

Daily capacity: 140,000

Security
We told you that there'd be no fence jumping this year; many just didn't believe it to be true, and decided that they selfishly had a right to free entry. Ha!
As far as we've been able to find out, only one person was seen to evade security personnel and scramble themselves over the fence .... as they landed they broke their leg.
We met two people inside who'd been planning to jump. The first (on Thursday) claimed to be one of the determined types - you know, "nothing is going to stop me" - admitted to spending 8 hours trying to find a way in, then gave up and spent £185 on a ticket from a tout. He was certain no one was going to get in that way.
At eight o'clock on Sunday evening we met a guy who had only just got in, having spent 3 days outside trying and failing - even then, he only got in due to someone leaving giving him a wristband and passout ticket. He told us stories (were they true?) of "yardie" security personnel who were beating up and robbing anyone approaching the fence from across the fields (whether they had a ticket or not). He also told of ticket scams working at the gates, though the way he described them they wouldn't have worked unless the gate security were in on it; and he told of gangs armed with bricks and stones trying and failing to force their way through the gates.
Due to continuous assaults on the gates, they had to be closed at times to ensure the mobs didn't break through.

So was security over the top, or just what was necessary? Judging on the things I've heard happening outside the fence it sounds as through the measures were fully justified.

And we all benefited from the success. Not only was moving around the site much easier than the last few years, but crime levels inside were much reduced too.

Atmosphere
This has got to class as one of the friendliest Glastonbury's yet. With the noticeable absence of a criminal element, the vibe was very relaxed. What was lacking was the madcap element - simple examples of its absence was the few drummers in the Sacred Space at night-time, and the failure of a "bollocks" chant to carry itself for more than a few people; in past years it would carry around the site for hours.

Entertainment
We encountered lots of disappointment at the quality of the line-up - but this we think was unfair. Some of the line-up had a rather boring predictability, but there was lots of superb entertainment at all the stages, with enough space to enjoy it. Even for the Turntable Tag Team of Norman Cook, Timo Maas & Darren Emerson it was possible to get near the Dance Tent, and the addition of the The Experience helped take some of the pressure off.

Sunday on the Pyramid Stage was all about the old R's - Rolf, Roger and Rod. Rolf (at midday Sunday - loads of people were still in bed!) certainly succeeded in drawing a bigger crowd than Rod, and why not - as ever, this Glastonbury legend was superb. Can we have him at about 5pm on Friday next time please - he really lifted the atmosphere!
Roger Waters played a superb 2 hour set full of Floyd classics, just perfect. And Rod? Well, I'd been told it was all irony, but he seemed pretty serious to me. And after 3 days where it was the music that counted, this - all about the man - just seemed shallow. Driven away when he dedicated a song to "our boys in Afghanistan" ... I stumbled across St. Germain at Jazzworld, and I knew I'd made the right choice.

What's New?
The Lost Vagueness area did have a small amount of the madness of old, and should be expanded next time. Left Field held successful debates involving Billy Bragg, Mark Thomas, Tony Benn and others, helping raise awareness of various campaigns for a better world. There are already plans to expand this area next time around.

And What's Next?
Hopefully, this year will be judged a success by all those who matter. From reported comments, Michael Eavis is pleased how things went and believes the Festival has a future. The police sound as though they are reasonably pleased with how things went (but they've been known to change their minds before now), and hopefully Mendip Council will have seen the dedicated efforts to the nth degree that were gone to, to satisfy their concerns. It's still a bit early to be certain, but it's looking good for 2003.

Thank you Michael and everyone else concerned - your efforts really are appreciated.

review by: Neil Greenway

photos by: Neil Greenway