Anyone get the sense the end of Glastonbury is nigh?

[Respectfatfrog]

I hate arena's makes me feel like a sheep i tell everyone about the openess of glasto

[Stokesy10]

Michael never mentioned that there are serious talks in place about moving it.

I know. What I am asking is, why all of a sudden are people shitting themselves and talking about 'moves to Windsor' etc. Has there been any news in the past 24 hours which have generated this kind of talk on this thread, or is it just on the back of the rumours of the site moving that we knew about before the festival?

[The Placid Casual]

At least they're not planning on shooting it in the head and leaving it for dead. That is the news that I really feared to be hearing this morning.

 

If the festival is even moderately similar to how it is now, I can live with this. It's a bummer, a real bummer, but it could be worse.

[eFestivals]

So there's no 'new information' since the last comments in that interview that was ran before the festival? (The one where someone on here said Michael had said that was a Sky interview from ages ago?)

 

what I've posted today is new info, completely unrelated to Michael's two-years-old interview with Sky.

[Spindles]

Id rather they doubled the ticket price if it meant it would stay exactly as it is.

Why does everyone always suggest doubling ticket prices?  How does pricing a chunk of the audience out of going make for a better festival?

[stuartbert two hats]

My guess (just a guess) is that they'll put on a new festival elsewhere in the fallow year.  The following year will still see a festival in Worthy Farm, but a message will have been sent to the neighbours. We don't need you and your land.

[whisty]

Surely if Emily & Co retain the ethos of Glastonbury with another festival at a new site, it will quickly become popular. It won't be the end of the world, just a new beginning. Stop fretting folks. Makes sound business sense to build on or extend an already brilliant brand. 

[DeanoL]

She'll get a shit ton of abuse thrown her way when this surfaces.

Do you think? I sort of hope the people that really care about the location of glastonbury and the farm aren't the sort of people who troll Twitter...

[The Placid Casual]

Why does everyone always suggest doubling ticket prices?  How does pricing a chunk of the audience out of going make for a better festival?

You'll get a higher proportion of dickheads going if you up the price.

[st dan]

Why does everyone always suggest doubling ticket prices? How does pricing a chunk of the audience out of going make for a better festival?

Because money talks. Anybody who has the objections to it staying at Worthy would soon change their mind once they say the £££ in front of them. And the only way to do this would be to raise the ticket price ... It wouldn't be for greed of the festival organisers, it would be to make th festival continue as is, which is what we all want.

[The Placid Casual]

Do you think? I sort of hope the people that really care about the location of glastonbury and the farm aren't the sort of people who troll Twitter...

Yes. There are plenty out there who'll twist this to make it sound like Emily Eavis is killing Glastonbury, how Michael had kept it there all these years and now it's come into her control, she's destroyed it. First Kanye and now this, it's absurd!

 

That sort of thing.

[The Placid Casual]

Obviously it'll be worse than that, but I couldn't even pretend to throw abuse at Emily.

[stuartbert two hats]

I hate arena's makes me feel like a sheep i tell everyone about the openess of glasto

The space in front of the Pyramid where you stand and watch the bands is often referred to as the "Pyramid arena", even though there is no perimeter.  This can be confusing and has resulted in questions such as "can I take drink into the arena".  It might not be an arena as you might traditionally think of it, but I've heard many people, including Michael refer to it as such over the years.

 

Anyway, that's the bit you cannot move.  You might find some other hills somewhere that have a similar effect, but they're not going to find another site you can stand on, watch bands at believe you're actually at Glastonbury.

[Spindles]

Surely if Emily & Co retain the ethos of Glastonbury with another festival at a new site, it will quickly become popular. It won't be the end of the world, just a new beginning. Stop fretting folks. Makes sound business sense to build on or extend an already brilliant brand. 

This is what I think.

 

You'll get a higher proportion of dickheads going if you up the price.

Wasn't going to say it, but...

[The Placid Casual]

If the move did go ahead, would they be able to move the festival back to Worthy if it flopped?

[stuartbert two hats]

Surely if Emily & Co retain the ethos of Glastonbury with another festival at a new site, it will quickly become popular. It won't be the end of the world, just a new beginning. Stop fretting folks. Makes sound business sense to build on or extend an already brilliant brand. 

I cautiously share this optimism.  It's not as if there aren't other great festivals in the country.  You can put on a festival other places than Worthy Farm, it just won't be Glastonbury.  Hopefully the new festival will retain some of the cachet of the current Glastonbury that allows the festival to get substantially reduced rates compared to other festivals (allowing them to put on a better value festival, providing them with the cachet to get substantially reduced rates...). It's actually this virtuous circle of buying power that is one of Glastonbury's secret weapons.

[O'Doyle Rules]

I would say they should test it on a fallow year to see how well it goes and then work out the practical problems?

[Spindles]

Clutching at straws maybe, but ould this be done on the fallow years and Glastonbury still run 4 out of 5 years?

Seems to me it would be most logical to run in in addition to the main festival, thus as stuff is packed down it can be cleaned up and relocated for use later in the festival season.  The festival owns or already has contracts to hire loads of infrastructure equipment that could be repurposed at another location.

[stuartbert two hats]

If the move did go ahead, would they be able to move the festival back to Worthy if it flopped?

I would have thought so.  It's not as if anyone is trying to get the festival to stop, they're just trying to gouge the golden goose for as many eggs as possible.

[DeanoL]

My reaction to this is sort of "well, duh".

Nick is already in the industry, Emily has a tonne of experience in running festivals and a huge brand behind her. Michael always ran the festival part time and the farm the rest of the time, even if Emily picked up all his festival responsibilities at some point, if she's not interested in running a farm, she has a lot of spare time on her hands.

Running another festival is the obvious choice. I don't think it necessarily has to have any impact on Glastonbury as we know it.

This sort of feels like Apple announcing the iPad then everyone going "does this mean they're stopping the iPhone?!"

[Yokel Again]

Maybe I just don't like change, but sticking the Glastonbury badge on something (even if it is in addition) and putting it somewhere else doesn't sit easy with me. (??)

[Quark]

You'll get a higher proportion of dickheads going if you up the price.

Depends on your definition of dickhead I guess.  I've known plenty of utter bellends who can't pull a few quid together; being a cock seems to be an equal opportunities employer.

[The Placid Casual]

This sort of feels like Apple announcing the iPad then everyone going "does this mean they're stopping the iPhone?!"

They discontinued their best product last year.

[stuartbert two hats]

They discontinued their best product last year.

Yeah, using Apple as a comparison doesn't really strengthen that point.  Apple are famous for ruthlessly killing their old products to make way for the new.

[stuartbert two hats]

Seems to me it would be most logical to run in in addition to the main festival, thus as stuff is packed down it can be cleaned up and relocated for use later in the festival season.  The festival owns or already has contracts to hire loads of infrastructure equipment that could be repurposed at another location.

Good points, but I'd have thought planning a brand new festival site is going to take several years planning, including one year entirely focussed on the new festival.  At least if they want to do it well.