Overcrowding / Capacity (2022 vs 2023)

[FuzzyDunlop]

Whether it was just what I watched, it seemed easier this year. Very few acts I went to were mentally busy.

Elton & Foos being exceptions.

It was very busy as I left the Park following Leftfield. Thursday night at midnight ish I walked from the SE Corner back past the glade.. that wasnt fun.

Fri night in the Silver Hayes was on the quieter side

[Dreamingofsunnydays]

How busy was fatboy at greenpeace? Not seen much about it? 

[KnowingScooby]

11 minutes ago, Dreamingofsunnydays said:

How busy was fatboy at greenpeace? Not seen much about it? 

Sunday was fine, no issues around the pathways as far as I could see

 

[Alvoram]

On 6/23/2023 at 2:22 PM, Alvoram said:

They’d have to open on Tuesday if they do that, or they’d have another traffic sh*t show like Download… 

Would force lots of normal Friday arrivals to arrive on Thursday or before condensing arrivals down and making traffic worse. 

Feels much busier to me this year. I notice they’ve opened up some of last year’s pinch points more though, like Pyramid - San Remo path. And no issues yet, other than I can’t be arsed to queue for food 🙈😂

Just want to say this was a dumb, stupid statement, I was completely wrong. It only felt busier on Thursday this year than last year, because we moved around more this Thursday... Every other day seemed much smoother than last year (Elton excluded of course.) 

Dunno why I didn't think of that at the time. 🙈

[sjseabass]

5 hours ago, a6l6e6x said:

South east was absolutely rammed even until the early hours. Worse than last year 

the day stuff was more easy to navigate

needs to be more than south east running past 3 as it’s become a very very nocturnal festival

Were we at the same festival? Other than the Saturday night Shangri-La situation it was an absolute breeze getting around for me compared to some years - maybe it’s because I tend to get there a little later than others, more like 1am? Strolled into the Temple Friday and after Fred finished on Saturday, and the whole corner was probably the quietest I can remember it on Sunday night. IICON has done wonders for it (as has me getting a bit less wasted these days tbf).

Did they close entry to Shangri-La around Skindred time on Thursday? I wouldn’t have noticed it being busy anywhere other than Truth or the Rocket Lounge that evening and they were fine, could pop from stage to urinals and back no problem.

[Crazyfool01]

Only a couple of issues with how busy it was but both were being managed … Fatboy going out the Park was quite tight around the tree at the bottom . We gave it 20 mins but still got stuck for 30ish exiting . Also showhawk duo on the bandstand . That also seems to have been managed as they had shut off entry . We managed to get though as we had a couple of people with us with accessibility needs . But definately should have arrived earlier … we’d got the wrong bandstand and were waiting at croissant Neuf 

[ShuMart]

I'm glad to day I thought it was less busy this year, with the obvious exception of Elton.

I left last year a bit disillusioned with it all at how busy everything was, not just bands but just getting food or using toilets and moving about generally. 

I would say it was back to what feels normal to me, and I have left excited for next year.

[northernangel]

57 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

Only a couple of issues with how busy it was but both were being managed … Fatboy going out the Park was quite tight around the tree at the bottom . We gave it 20 mins but still got stuck for 30ish exiting . Also showhawk duo on the bandstand . That also seems to have been managed as they had shut off entry . We managed to get though as we had a couple of people with us with accessibility needs . But definately should have arrived earlier … we’d got the wrong bandstand and were waiting at croissant Neuf 

I did this same thing, but then was front row for their croissant nerf set later that day.

[northernangel]

On 6/24/2023 at 5:12 AM, Peroni said:

Massive crush at artics, WizKid didnt take as much of the crowd as expected.  The top path was rammed with people watching as overflow from the field extension...

Still there was space futher up the hill if people had just walked a little bit more....

Wizkid was never an act to take a crowd from Arctics, it was a mad decision. 

On 6/25/2023 at 12:07 AM, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

Crowd was absolutely fine at Guns and Roses tonight. We left after welcome to the jungle and all the paths were moving really smoothly

Passed loyle carner and was the same at West Holt's. Massive improvement this year

A lot of people did.

On 6/25/2023 at 9:57 AM, amongstit97 said:

Shangri La was ridiculous last night, could barely move anywhere at times. Putting big acts  on the truth stage like Erza and Basement Jaxx when the crowd went the whole way back blocking the walkways felt abit silly!

It was only a solo show too, not sure why you food for that. I was changing plans until I saw that and went to DJ Hixxy aa planned which was ace.

[1986]

My only issue was on Thursday when you couldn’t get into anything from about 8 onwards and walking anywhere was a slow shuffle. After that though the main weekend was near enough fine. I think they made some improvements on the pinch points and I also learned a bit from last year where not to go when an act finishes.

Even Elton being obviously the most crowded thing ever didn’t feel too claustrophobic. 

[Supermerv]

For me the biggest issue was camping space, arrived around 2 on Thursday and spent well over an hour looking for a space, we dont have a massive tent either. Other than that it was busy for Skindred as I think there was a pinch point between Nowhere and Truth stages. Elton was rammed obviously, but we were near the edge of the field so it wasn't really a problem.

[Hotchilidog]

Really pleased to see that things had improved on the 2022 situation and that some lessons had been learned. 

[Sack truck]

For me was much better than 2022, campsites there seemed to be space for 2 man tents all the way through (just down from Arcadia so fairly central), getting about was easier, the one way crowd control stuff, whilst a pain initially as took way out the way wanted to go, worked perfectly as stopped head on crowd collisions at key points. Getting back from pyramid was never a hassle unlike year before, even after Elton, it moved along at a decent shuffle pace. The Arcadia fiasco of last year seem well sorted out 
 

always going to be times things feel cramped but didn’t feel dangerous like it had before. Obviously everyone only experiences certain parts but that’s my tuppence worth. 

[DeanoL]

Mentioned Friday seemed much quieter than last year around T&C but Sat/Sun felt pretty busy there again. Probably not as much as last year but markedly more busy than the Friday.

[FuzzyDunlop]

12 minutes ago, Supermerv said:

For me the biggest issue was camping space, arrived around 2 on Thursday and spent well over an hour looking for a space, we dont have a massive tent either. Other than that it was busy for Skindred as I think there was a pinch point between Nowhere and Truth stages. Elton was rammed obviously, but we were near the edge of the field so it wasn't really a problem.

I went to the toilet 5 mins before they came on. Took me 40 mins to get out, toilet & back to my mates. The crowd wasnt that rammed, apart from at the pinch point towards the toilet.

[amongstit97]

The main issues seem to be the odd inconsiderate ar**holes who seem to think they have a divine right to storm their way through a shuffling but well managed queue away / into something. Everyone is moving in a calm but snail like pace, then you get someone who thinks they have a right to just storm their way through everyone!

[karlnuttall]

10 hours ago, LTT250 said:

Seemed better this year compared to last year for me. The botteneck/crowd after TLC last year was honestly the scariest crowd situation I’ve ever been in. Basically had to go with the direction of the crowd. Admittedly might have been due to Brixton being fresh in the mind. But I could feel the panic in me starting to rise for the first time ever in a crowd, and im healthy and can handle myself. All it would’ve taken was 1 impatient twat or group pushing or someone to have fallen over for there to have been mass panic or multiple injuries. 

We were caught up in that too last year, it was the sheer speed at which it got full which was frightening.

[The Nal]

5 minutes ago, amongstit97 said:

The main issues seem to be the odd inconsiderate ar**holes who seem to think they have a divine right to storm their way through a shuffling but well managed queue away / into something. Everyone is moving in a calm but snail like pace, then you get someone who thinks they have a right to just storm their way through everyone!

Thats what younger people do. The festival was getting old there for a while. 

Shite about the amount of coke about. Awful drug when abused.

[DesperateDad]

I last had the pleasure in 2019 but aspiring to be back in '24 with grown & growing kids and GF.

Crowdedness is of particular interest for a couple of reasons.

2nd born child has enjoyed 4 Glastos so far in their 15 years of life but acquired some crowd anxiety post lock downs and have been receiving counselling to help alleviate / manage panic attacks. They've got Lovejoy and They Might Be Giants gigs booked this year so we'll be able to gauge progress. 

GF enjoys gigs but has limited festival experience (All Points East & Re-Wind) and can find crowds overwhelming. 

By the sounds of it I'll be going back to the old days when I was wheeling the kids around in bike buggy where the week's strategy was all about chilled, pinch point avoidance and tactical field positioning 🤔

[Gashead86]

I am absolutely amazed to hear everyone saying how much calmer things were compared to last year. 

We have not been able to get tickets since 2017 (having also gone 13 & 14) and we all felt that the festival was way busier this year then any of our previous visits. 

If this was less crazy than last year then I dread to think how crazy last year must have been! 

Friday night in Shangri-La was particularly scary. I was honestly worried for a few minutes in there that we were about to see a really nasty incident. Just way too many people in there and due to the condition of a lot of them things very nearly got out of hand. 

Still the best place on earth, but my party and I did come away thinking maybe it is time for us to try another festival. As I say, still the very best place in the world, but I just fear I am a little too old to handle the crowds now sadly. 

[LoraMaze]

1 hour ago, Hotchilidog said:

Really pleased to see that things had improved on the 2022 situation and that some lessons had been learned. 

Me too, I needed this year off after last year, but this is exactly the feedback I wanted to hear. I’ll be trying in October for sure. Nice to have a year off and observe from afar though! It looked awesome ☺️

[NotAnInsider]

I skipped Elton on Sunday and it struck me how chilled the rest of the site was for those few hours. 

Walked straight up the Ribbon Tower with no queue and watched a bit of Alt-J from up there, went to Stonebridge for a Guinness, had loads of random chats with people. The crowed for QOTSA were such a good spirited bunch - none of the hard work or aggro I had seen at other points.

Whole weekend was, of course, amazing. But those few hours were the best I've had on the farm for years.

[Gacheezbo]

Definitely thought huge improvement on last year. Never found SE corner uncomfortable, though usually went sensation stage/Arcadia before so may have missed chaotic rush 

[Ricci's Special Kebabs]

Definitely better this year than last with one exception - Shangri La

[Nerraw2525]

3 hours ago, Crazyfool01 said:

Only a couple of issues with how busy it was but both were being managed … Fatboy going out the Park was quite tight around the tree at the bottom . We gave it 20 mins but still got stuck for 30ish exiting . Also showhawk duo on the bandstand . That also seems to have been managed as they had shut off entry . We managed to get though as we had a couple of people with us with accessibility needs . But definately should have arrived earlier … we’d got the wrong bandstand and were waiting at croissant Neuf 

Yeah Fatboy coming out of the Park was a bit sketchy. Didn't see any attempt at crowd control to manage the exit from Park and people heading to Arcadia with crowds going against each other. Got the sense that there's a bit of reactive rather than proactive approach to managing crowds over the week.

Only other issue was Thursday and the decision to keep the stages closed but put decent acts in tiny tents. Makes no sense whatsoever. Stonebridge had a great line up but sure no-one could get in.

Thursday at Glasto used to be great, a real highlight but with the crowds now arriving, the vibe is way off.