Overcrowding / Capacity (2022 vs 2023)

[st dan]

Sadly I’m not at the farm this year, but just wondering how the overcrowding / capacity / general ‘busy-ness’ feels this year compared to last - as i know this was an issue many of us commented on last year, and felt that it was a huge negative to the whole experience. 

Appreciate it’s still only Thursday and many more thousands still to arrive yet, but would be good to see if/how the new areas and layouts have had an impact. 

[august1]

That hill was mental busy last night 

[trust1878]

Looking forward to the inevitable 'too crowded/last Glastonbury for me' posts on this thread..😆

 

Anyone moaning should have been at Glastonbury 99 or especially 2000, those were busy....

[morph100]

Seems normal but more to come today 

[kemosabe]

56 minutes ago, trust1878 said:

Looking forward to the inevitable 'too crowded/last Glastonbury for me' posts on this thread..😆

 

Anyone moaning should have been at Glastonbury 99 or especially 2000, those were busy....

It was too crowded last year though. I think lots of people can admit that, and the changes to the site means that the organisers know it too. Just because it was even shitter 20 odd years ago doesn't change that. 

[ticketboy69]

I struggled last year, but this year feels quieter so far. 

[chemica]

On the whole feels spacious this year to me. But obviously more arrivals imminent. 

[LoraMaze]

4 hours ago, st dan said:

Sadly I’m not at the farm this year, but just wondering how the overcrowding / capacity / general ‘busy-ness’ feels this year compared to last - as i know this was an issue many of us commented on last year, and felt that it was a huge negative to the whole experience. 

Appreciate it’s still only Thursday and many more thousands still to arrive yet, but would be good to see if/how the new areas and layouts have had an impact. 

I am also waiting to see what everyone thinks of the crowds this year, it’s the only reason I’m not there.

[FloorFiller]

Scheduling wise it seems like they’ve done a better job this year of not sticking huge and/or nostalgia acts in small slots with little opposition, so don’t see any similar instances of TLC or Sugababes overcrowding from last year, but I think Foo Fighters and Fred Again tomorrow will be the real test of how mental it can get, albeit with stages/fields made to hold massive amounts of people, so should be fine. 

[Drinky]

The south of the site is ridiculously busy, worse than last year, but not unexpected on Weds/Thurs. First time I’ve seen the hill behind the tipis as full as the hill by Tricketts

[Suprefan]

3 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Scheduling wise it seems like they’ve done a better job this year of not sticking huge and/or nostalgia acts in small slots with little opposition, so don’t see any similar instances of TLC or Sugababes overcrowding from last year, but I think Foo Fighters and Fred Again tomorrow will be the real test of how mental it can get, albeit with stages/fields made to hold massive amounts of people, so should be fine. 

Rick Astley is the other one cause its so early in the day on Pyramid. Might feel bad for Raye cause so many people would leave that set.

 

I mean the capacity has not changed. As its been discussed theyve made a decent amount of site changes. But im sure there will be moments

[amfy]

4 hours ago, trust1878 said:

Looking forward to the inevitable 'too crowded/last Glastonbury for me' posts on this thread..😆

 

Anyone moaning should have been at Glastonbury 99 or especially 2000, those were busy....

I was at both of those and the camping fields were so packed that people were literally pitching tents in ditches. there is more camping space now.
Some of the paths and crossing points felt equally crowded and risky then & now, but last year it felt like all of them were

…….and the stages were nowhere near as busy in 99/2002 as they were last year.

[Fish Bulb]

10 minutes ago, Drinky said:

The south of the site is ridiculously busy, worse than last year, but not unexpected on Weds/Thurs. First time I’ve seen the hill behind the tipis as full as the hill by Tricketts

This was my experience last year. And for the first time since I've been going. We ended up behind the tipis as there was literally no way of getting to the "main" hill.

Edited June 22, 2023 by Fish Bulb

[dotdash79]

The park area is stupidly busy but that’s the only area with much going on. Expect the levels and and the south east corner to help to move people round. 
 

example at the glade tonight is going to be rammed. 7pm as well. 

[pandahands]

On par with last year, entry to bandstand for showhawk duo was cut off due to capacity. Crowd control improvements already visible, dedicated team in place to keep walkways clear and people moving. 

[Pinhead]

There seems to be a dedicated team of crowd management stewards out this year monitoring things.

[MJP]

4 minutes ago, Pinhead said:

There seems to be a dedicated team of crowd management stewards out this year monitoring things.

I was in event control earlier and there was a team called crowd management.

[prestonmike]

I'm seeing a few posts on Facebook about overcrowding, but that could just be because its Thursday and there's not a lot on so everyone is heading to the same places, I remember last year they had to close Williams Green on Thursday and the crossroads near the Glade getting ridiculously busy

[Neil]

3 minutes ago, MJP said:

I was in event control earlier and there was a team called crowd management.

Hardly a surprise that they manage the crowd.

[she bangs the drums]

Absolutely sh*t show so far. I've come on Thursday since 2010 with no issues. We arrived at 3pm. No space on Darble, Lime Kiln, wicket ground is now fully family camping. Loads more hospitality areas, and access camping too. We ended up having to plead with the access camping if we could actually camp on here as my wife has access wristbands. My friends ended up on a path way. The general camping areas are down to nothing unless you arrive on Wednesday. 

[she bangs the drums]

Also a sh*t show for access people not getting the bus having to walk all the way around over a tiny f**king bridge to get back to pedestrian gate A from the yellow car park. Then having to walk around the John Peel tent as it full of hospitality this year. 

Anyway rant over, I'm getting pissed and having a good time now and will deal with Glastonbury management next week. 

[MJP]

21 minutes ago, Neil said:

Hardly a surprise that they manage the crowd.

No, it’s not.

[Alcatraz]

For me, this is the same as I remember in 2019

Its hot, it's Thursday, people are just moving

[TravSC]

Back at camp for the day, was inside since about 11. Baggy Mondays at Stonebridge absolutely rammed, not sure why you literally can’t just play the tunes through speakers at The Park & let people breathe/dance. Tom A. Smith at Strummerville was great, lad is fantastic, they had folks stand up rather than sit to create more room, good move.

In general getting from one place to another is a giant pain in the ass, definitely picking our 3/4 acts per day and hanging at bars during downtime over the weekend, or camped in front of stage waiting for our act with cold drink in hand.

Exploring/seeing where day takes you….way too rammed to do that in my opinion. I’m also 47 not 27 so get it that folks have different thresholds. 

[musky]

32 minutes ago, TravSC said:

Baggy Mondays at Stonebridge absolutely rammed, not sure why you literally can’t just play the tunes through speakers at The Park & let people breathe/dance.

Because the licence specifically forbids it.

Edited June 22, 2023 by musky