Ticket Price

[Craig_G]

The one thing that worries me most about Glasto is the price of the tickets. Sure, there's more expense for the festival now and so on (despite the amount of sponsership creeping in - before someone else says it!). particularly given the raises in ticket prices the last 5-10 years, I wondered how much it would cost in say another 5 years.....

[Alcatraz]

Someone predicted when it would get to a grand on a similar thread once.

I'd hope that it wont get much more expensive from where it currently is. Don't forget, the sharp rise seen in 07 was to cater for an increase in size. I don't think they will or should expand the site further

[Brizzle]

if it goes past 200 i wont go out of principle....probably, maybe...

[spikytom]

tis getting quite ridiculous, but you get so much for your money compared to, say, reading where you get about 5 stages and a few burger vans for only slightly less money

still, i do think £175 is more than enough!

[Craig_G]

I miss the £60 ticket days. I know it's not viable but still £150 is a fair price. When you're near £200 for a festival that's not even abroad - you really have to think twice.....

[Alcatraz]

I miss the £60 ticket days. I know it's not viable but still £150 is a fair price. When you're near £200 for a festival that's not even abroad - you really have to think twice.....

[norainplease]

I love that you have done a graph - I do like a good graph!!

Does it worry me? Not so much I'll just have to start saving earlier!! Really wouldn't miss it for the world to be honest!! It is my summer holiday after all so I suppose if you think about how much I would spend on a fortnight in Tenerife or somewhere it's not that bad?

[Kyelo]

I did some crude and rapid mathematics for another thread.....

I read somewhere Glastonbury costs £22,000,000 to run. Per paying customer(135,000)that works out at £163, round that up to £170 with fees. That would mean they are only making what, £10-£15 profit per person which works out as £1,350,000-£2,025,000 for the whole event, which they then give most of to charity.

For ticket prices to come down 3 things would need to happen, 1.stop giving to charity 2.make the festival smaller and 3.get some big sponsors. Those complaining about ticket prices, would you want that? To turn Glastonbury into a big T in the Park, V or Reading & Leeds? I think not. With sponsors things like the healing fields etc would be slowly pushed out, Glastonbury would then lose what makes it unique and special.

It's very good value and doesn't make much profit, the ticket prices are needed and when compared to the other big festivals you get a lot more for the same costs.

Ze end.

Edited May 13, 2009 by BenchBuddah

[Craig_G]

I'd rather be able to afford to go away once in a while and not have to miss out on the festival. As it is, I haven't been away for years because my funds all go on tickets!!! lol

[Pinhead]

Would pay anything to keep the sponsors out. At least a proportion of it is going to charity.

[Craig_G]

And oh yes - I love a good graph too!

[ramragon]

when you consider there is camping thrown in, the fact that you can take drink and your own cooking facilities in with you, the bonus that there will be probably around 90000 taking use of it being a 5 day festival, including music on many stages for at least 4 of those days i think its pretty good value for money compared to other festivals.

[The Nal]

They make loads from the stalls by the way, not just from ticket prices.

Problem is, if they reduce the ticket price, the wont be able to afford decent bands, (they nearly cant afford them already), and we'll end up with shite headliners like Neil Young, Springsteen and Blur.

Edited May 13, 2009 by The Nal

[Craig_G]

To be honest I don't care about 95% of the "headlining" bands. Give me the festival without any of them and I'll have just as good a time.

[Artie Fufkin]

This post comes with a level 2 geek alert:

I commend you on your graph (is it an order 2 polynomial fit?)

However purchasing power of the pound would need to be factored in to give a true picture of how prices have risen in real terms.

[glasto_freak]

wow. it just got a whole lot geekier. But i think an exponential line would give better fit and avoid the couple of years with a negative price (I wish). But that has worrying implications for future prices

[denno69]

I think compared to many other festivals it is reasonable. For example I have paid over £150 to V Festival again this year and it is tiny in comparison and is only over 2 days for the Music.

You can't take you own alcohol into the arena area and the vibe is just totally different.

[whatmidlifecrisis?]

Craig - this has been done on other threads in different ways but never with a graph!

I have to pay for four tickets plus spending for all and it does add up to an expensive week. Having said that I am sure Disneyland would be more expensive and nowhere near as much fun! I look at it as a holiday rather than just a festival and think it is amazing value for money. Take 5 days in Ibiza with a top class club (are there any anymore?) every night and it you'll burn through far more cash.

I do feel for students, those that are on low incomes and those that are now out of work and do hope that they do not price people out of it. It is possible (ticket aside) to be frugal when you are there with no restrictions (other than glass) on what you bring in.

I can see the £200 barrier being hit soon though but it is still only a fiver a week to save. They have gone a long way to helping out with the instalment thing - perhaps eFest should set up a Glato Club along the lines of a Christmas Club to help out.

With O2 tickets being at £50 a pop and camp sites charging around a tenner a night in the summer it puts the ticket price in to perspective.

I would also happily pay another few quid to keep the sponsors out!

Roll on June!

[Kyelo]

If and when they get to the £200-£250 mark I feel a lot of people will drop off. It's a mental thing. Same thing applies to cars, when they get near 100,000 miles people start having doubts about them although some modern cars(diesels especially)will easily go to 200,000+ miles. It's all in the head and that £200-£250 is where I think it lies.

Edited May 13, 2009 by BenchBuddah

[Wiggum]

I'd rather be able to afford to go away once in a while and not have to miss out on the festival. As it is, I haven't been away for years because my funds all go on tickets!!! lol

[glasto_freak]

I think that if it starts to get too expensive you're going to start seeing a more civilised glastonbury, more gazebos, battery powered minifridges and tipi camping, as students and and people who can't really afford/be bothered with the posh stuff can't afford it.

Who am i to say what people should do? But part of the whole glastonbury vibe if that it's a bit rough 'n' ready, a bit hippy. But luckily, i think Eavis understands this, and will probabaly opposed making glastonbury a middle aged / middle class festival. Hopefully.

[Craig_G]

It is indeed an order 2 polynomial fit. very well spotted. i think trying to show price/value for money on the same graph may prove difficult....

[Craig_G]

To be fair - being able to pay a deposit in october really did help. It's not the kind of expense now that you can just take the hit in a months wages.

But it is a shame I know most people do bulk at the price tag and has put off a lot of my younger friends. I don't care so much about the cost inside the festival as there are always ways - even if it is breakfast, lunch and dinner with the hare krishnas! I think I'm going to have to go back to working for my ticket in future years, although working 12 hour shifts probably wouldn't even cover it... lol

[ukslim]

I have all sorts of contradictory views on this.

The tickets could be cheaper if less of it went to charity. But that's one of the big things that sets Glastonbury apart. Plus perhaps without the charity angle, bands would charge GFL more for their appearances, making it counter-productive.

The tickets could be cheaper if the acts were less mainstream. But Glastonbury's scale is one of its key features. Without the big acts, there wouldn't be the big crowds. If that's what I want, why am I not at Bestival or EOTR instead?

If the tickets were cheaper, it would be much easier for me to justify the cost to my girlfriend (who knows I'm going every year, but always says "HOW MUCH?" and reminds me what else we could spent that on. But if it was cheaper it couldn't be the same festival.

[ShadyBlueBell]

They make loads from the stalls by the way, not just from ticket prices.

Problem is, if they reduce the ticket price, the wont be able to afford decent bands, (they nearly cant afford them already), and we'll end up with shite headliners like Neil Young, Springsteen and Blur.