Anyone get the sense the end of Glastonbury is nigh?

[Trebor]

I'm sure Michael would like to go on till he drops but then what? Emily has no interest in the farm as a business and there's no guarantee that it will be left to just her anyway. It may well be that there won't be any land available at Worthy Farm to hold the festival on in say 10 years time. Maybe she and Nick have an eye to the future and are testing the waters so to speak.

Finally, someone on my wavelength!

[jackarmy]

It already has management in place. Michael just signs the cheques. Ok, that's a bit unfair, but he's not the day to day farm manager. Have you seen The Udder Side on iPlayer? That gives a good overview of the day to day operations.

 

I know a very dairy farmer who would give anything to work on the setup they've got at Worthy Farm. People seriously underestimate how good a job the Eavii do in both professional aspects of their life all year round...

[stuartbert two hats]

I know a very dairy farmer who would give anything to work on the setup they've got at Worthy Farm. People seriously underestimate how good a job the Eavii do in both professional aspects of their life all year round...

Indeed. He signs a LOT of cheques!

[NorthernScum]

I wrote in 2014:

I'd suggest saving money by not going for big headliners. It'll sell out anyway, and as the years go by, there'll be a stronger concentration of Glasto attendees who just wanna be there coz they love the place full-stop, which in turn will preserve the uniquely positive ambience, further ensuring long-term punter loyalty, ie ticket sales.

Now where do i collect my £20 fee for this utterly wonderful and flawless idea?

 

Similarly to ideas already expressed in this thread, I'd consider scrapping Silver Hayes (*) and maybe somehow bringing the John Peel idea into the Other Stage area. West Holts is a big stage itself and satisfies a good deal of big-name requirements. Give me the Healing Field over Kanye West any day.

 

*Despite what I say re Silver Hayes, I love trance/house rave and would keep the SE Corner as it offers so much weirdness. Anyway, there's always the Glade, and the best dance music I heard last weekend was at The Spike.

Edited July 3, 2015 by NorthernScum

[arcade fireman]

I think 2008 showed how big an impact headliners can have on ticket sales. They can't afford to have a festival not sell out really so getting at least 2 out of 3 high profile headliners is the safest option. 

[stuartbert two hats]

I have to agree that if I was put in charge of the festival and was forced to remove one of the major areas it would undoubtedly be Silver Hayes. It's never really been successful since they days of the large Dance Tent. Sure, it's better than it used to be, but has never really worked as well as pretty much any other part of the festival.

[arcade fireman]

Silver Hayes has too many arenas. I had some good times there this year but there's no need for quite so many stages there, especially when a fair percentage of people at any one time are so fucked they'll dance to the sound of a power drill. 

[Guest]

Worthy Farm is an award winning dairy farm for most of the year. Emily's personal interests may not lie in farming, but I find it difficult to think she won't be interested in keeping it as an asset. It won't take that much to have people in the know manage it. 

It's not much of an asset profit wise. Michael started the festival in the 70's with the aim to make ends meet and keep the farm going. Things are a lot worse in farming now.

 

He has more than 1 child he could leave the farm to. There's no guarantee control of the farm would lie with Emily.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Ommadawn

[WS_Jack_III]

Silver Hayes has too many arenas. I had some good times there this year but there's no need for quite so many stages there, especially when a fair percentage of people at any one time are so fucked they'll dance to the sound of a power drill.

i said the same to my brother, you could take 2 or 3 stages out of that area and it'd be better for it.

This thread is scaring me btw.

[jeffie]

It's not much of an asset profit wise. Michael started the festival in the 70's with the aim to make ends meet and keep the farm going. Things are a lot worse in farming now.

He has more than 1 child he could leave the farm to. There's no guarantee control of the farm would lie with Emily.

So you think the festival is to keep the farm going?

[Keithy]

The Blues should be an amazing area. Visually one of the best 'stages' but is a little lost in Silver Hayes. I certainly wouldn't mourn the loss of Silver Hayes and the SE Corner has completely overtaken it. 

 

La Pussy Parlure could become a great jazz/blues venue too.

[Zoo Music Girl]

Presume its Oxlyers, Bushy Ground etc. A horrible part of the site. Stinks of piss and shit (both human and bovine), has awful toilets, a constant flock of seagulls circling like vermin, mass tent thefts, shit food stalls and is the first place to get muddy and the last place to recover.

Got to stick up for Bushy here. My first time camping there and easily the cleanest, safest feeling and nicest place I've camped. Toilets were spotless composters.

Oxlyers however...

[Zoo Music Girl]

The Blues should be an amazing area. Visually one of the best 'stages' but is a little lost in Silver Hayes. I certainly wouldn't mourn the loss of Silver Hayes and the SE Corner has completely overtaken it.

La Pussy Parlure could become a great jazz/blues venue too.

Agree with this. I think The Blues and The Gully are great and it's better for them but wouldn't miss the area.

I'm torn about the SE corner. It looks incredible and I enjoyed a wander early evening but I just can't face it when it's busy.

Terrified by this thread too. Ugh.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Didn't go The Gully once this year, and it's one of my favourite stages. It's just too inconvenientry located to swing by at odd moments.

[Hello... I'm Johnny Cash]

Terrified by this thread too. Ugh.

I don't think there's any need for that, Emily clearly chose to get involved with the festival - she wasn't forced into it.

It's what she wanted to do, it's what she does very well and probably the only thing that she has experience in. Plus she earns a very good living from it and the continuation of the festival ensures her and her family a very comfortable and secure future.

GFL is an extremely successful business, it's not just going to stop.

E2A - according to Wiki she left her studies to run the festival at the age of 20 so she isn't even qualified in any other field. She's not going anywhere.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Hello... I'm Johnny Cash

[eFestivals]

Worthy Farm is an award winning dairy farm for most of the year. Emily's personal interests may not lie in farming, but I find it difficult to think she won't be interested in keeping it as an asset. It won't take that much to have people in the know manage it. 

 

the problem with that idea is the assumption that it's Emily who will inherit the farm.

 

Michael has a number of other children, and while I've no idea how Michael might decide to do his will, it's very normal for all of the children to inherit from their parents.

[Spacey]

How many children does he have?

[eFestivals]

It's not much of an asset profit wise. Michael started the festival in the 70's with the aim to make ends meet and keep the farm going. Things are a lot worse in farming now.

 

over the years the festival has seemingly enabled Michael to better exploit the farming opportunities - such as buying up milk quotas, for example (so i've heard) - so I'm of the belief that the farm runs at a profit.

 

(it's certainly the case that Michael has said to me in the past that some of the grief he gets is related to jealousies of him being a successful farmer while some of his detractors are not).

 

It might be the case that the farm only really runs at a profit because of the land-use fee the festival pays it tho.

[O'Doyle Rules]

I miss the days of crazy-sized groups at the wine bars dancing - good times!

 

They used to be amongst my highlights - dancing like a mad man with hundreds of people in 2008. Even a few bands who were playing were there!

[stuartbert two hats]

over the years the festival has seemingly enabled Michael to better exploit the farming opportunities - such as buying up milk quotas, for example (so i've heard) - so I'm of the belief that the farm runs at a profit.

(it's certainly the case that Michael has said to me in the past that some of the grief he gets is related to jealousies of him being a successful farmer while some of his detractors are not).

It might be the case that the farm only really runs at a profit because of the land-use fee the festival pays it tho.

The infrastructure improvements, such as drainage, water points etc can't hurt the farm either.

Regarding the inheritance, one other aspect that may(or may not!)/be relevant is that Emily is the only child to both Michael AND Jean, all the other siblings are to Michael's first wife. I don't know if this changes things in his mind as to how things should be split, since some if the festival's success in the early days can be attributed to Emily's mother; arguably this may mean that Emily is due inheritance from both her parents on Michael's passing.

I've no idea I'd Michael is thinking about his inheritance in these terms, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Finally, I wouldn't be surprised if his will contains some sort of provision for the festival's continuation.

[eFestivals]

The infrastructure improvements, such as drainage, water points etc can't hurt the farm either.

Regarding the inheritance, one other aspect that may(or may not!)/be relevant is that Emily is the only child to both Michael AND Jean, all the other siblings are to Michael's first wife. I don't know if this changes things in his mind as to how things should be split, since some if the festival's success in the early days can be attributed to Emily's mother; arguably this may mean that Emily is due inheritance from both her parents on Michael's passing.

I've no idea I'd Michael is thinking about his inheritance in these terms, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Finally, I wouldn't be surprised if his will contains some sort of provision for the festival's continuation.

I believe it's the case that all of the children have a share in in the parent company (GFL Ltd), tho I've never actually checked that. It's from some of the things said around the time Melvin became licencee and Mean Fiddler got a share in the operating company (GFL(year) Ltd).

Emily has already been gifted the farmhouse as her wedding present. Whether or not that means the farm itself will follow I've no idea.

 

About a decade ago I was told by one of the senior staff (who's likely to have known) that plans were afoot to guarantee the festie's future at Worthy Farm via putting the farm &/or the festival into the ownership of some sort of trust, but I've no idea if anything progressed with that.

 

---

 

Someone has messaged me today and said he's heard that Emily and Nick aren't particularly comfortable with some aspects of what goes on around their home and children as a result of the festival - tho I find that rather difficult to believe, given that Emily's own upbringing would have been similar but with a greater amount of those sorts of intrusions.

[stuartbert two hats]

Someone has messaged me today and said he's heard that Emily and Nick aren't particularly comfortable with some aspects of what goes on around their home and children as a result of the festival - tho I find that rather difficult to believe, given that Emily's own upbringing would have been similar but with a greater amount of those sorts of intrusions.

Makes sense to me. As a small child, she HATED the festival.

[eFestivals]

Makes sense to me. As a small child, she HATED the festival.

 

Hated is too strong from what I've read. Annoyed at those people invading her personal play-space would be closer, i'd say.

 

But that wasn't the angle the guy who messaged me today was coming from. It was about a perceived risk of 'strangers' being around their home, which I find hard to believe (to the extent that was being said).

 

And anyway, some of the rest that was said in the same message is different to things that I've got to hear of from sources closer to Emily than those that person appears to have.

Edited July 4, 2015 by eFestivals

[ICGenie]

Didn't go The Gully once this year, and it's one of my favourite stages. It's just too inconvenientry located to swing by at odd moments.

That's a bit of a problem with almost everywhere at the festival now - it's so big and busy pretty much everywhere is at least 15 minutes away.

Although I don't have much love for Silver Hayes either I think if you asked 1000 people what they'd remove to make Glastonbury a little smaller you'd get 1000 different answers.

[eFestivals]

The drugs today turn more people into more obnoxious twats than the weed and Es of those days though.

Plus just cos Emily grew up with it doesn't mean nick would be happy.

 

I'd say the festival is waaaaaaay calmer than it was in Emily's early years. Way, WAY calmer. Proportionally far fewer wacked-out people, and wacked-out to a much lesser extent now.

 

And yep, I realise Nick wouldn't have the same experiences, but I'd like to think that Emily has lived enough of it to calm those sorts of fears if he really has them.

 

 

However if they don't like it, they should move, not the festival.

The festival was there first and other such nonsense that will no doubt be rolled out if this happens.

 

I'd say you nail it with that first line. While Worthy Farm has been Emily's home for most of her life, there's little need for her to actually live there.

 

And further, would Emily have sanctioned 'the new generation' offices on the farm if strangers being around the farm bothered her to that extent, or the expense of it if she was feeling the festival needed to end or move? It would have been easy enough to keep renting office space somewhere nearby as the festival had been doing for decades until those new offices were built on the farm.

Edited July 4, 2015 by eFestivals