Overcrowding / Capacity (2022 vs 2023)

[moogster]

23 minutes ago, Justcalledtosay said:

Area through the Truth stage was dangerous this year. In areas there was no movement. People panicking and trying to turn around and go back. People from the truth stage trying to get out. Needs more thought before someone gets hurt. 

Yes I did a round late afternoon Thursday to check out the new Shangri-la theme (fun for 10 mn...), and from seeing how little flow there as there, and rightly anticipating how busy it would be later on with people like me in the mood for something loud and guitary, we decided to just not even try. Not to restart this discussion but read about people who went there in the evening with prams and had a terrible time... 

[HotChipWillBreakYourLegs]

5 minutes ago, moogster said:

Yes I did a round late afternoon Thursday to check out the new Shangri-la theme (fun for 10 mn...), and from seeing how little flow there as there, and rightly anticipating how busy it would be later on with people like me in the mood for something loud and guitary, we decided to just not even try. Not to restart this discussion but read about people who went there in the evening with prams and had a terrible time... 

Went there on the Thursday afternoon with our toddler just before 1pm to see the opening of the Truth stage, but the whole area was still fenced off.

They delayed the opening for an hour which contributed to the over crowding.  Ended up leaving shortly after 2 to find somewhere a bit quieter.

[Dreamingofsunnydays]

Last year wasn’t fun with some of the overcrowding. 
 

This year felt much more managed and safe. Didn’t fear there was going to be a major crush at any point unlike last year.

[moogster]

3 minutes ago, HotChipWillBreakYourLegs said:

Went there on the Thursday afternoon with our toddler just before 1pm to see the opening of the Truth stage, but the whole area was still fenced off.

They delayed the opening for an hour which contributed to the over crowding.  Ended up leaving shortly after 2 to find somewhere a bit quieter.

It's a pity indeed because I can imagine how magical the (daytime) SE corner must be to a child! 

 

[HotChipWillBreakYourLegs]

2 minutes ago, moogster said:

It's a pity indeed because I can imagine how magical the (daytime) SE corner must be to a child! 

 

Yeah we were hoping to take him for a wander all round there when it was quiet for his (and ours!) only chance to see it.

Nevermind, loads else to do!

[Ricci's Special Kebabs]

2 hours ago, 09matthewsw said:

I’ve always felt like with the SEC that about 50% of the people down there are just walking through looking for something to do. I think most people stay less than an hour. The festival are clearly trying really hard with the SH improvements to prevent this but late night people just seem to gravitate towards it still. 

Completely agree with this, moving between stages in Shangri-La is a real problem. The path that goes through it is far too narrow for the amount of people who want to be there.  If Silver Hayes area was able to remain open until the same time as the SE corner then the it would be a major help. 

[Skip997]

One thing I noticed this year; it's so much easier to move through a crowd that's dancing rather than standing still or swaying/shuffling about a bit.

I mean properly dancing.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Walking through any crowd is easy if you follow seams of space, tag behind other people moving the same way and generally use spatial awareness to snaky snaky your way forward.

[Justcalledtosay]

34 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

One thing I noticed this year; it's so much easier to move through a crowd that's dancing rather than standing still or swaying/shuffling about a bit.

I mean properly dancing.

That doesn't make any sense. If you've got the same amount of people in an area, one lot are swaying and the others are dancing, it's obviously going to be easier to get passed the people stood still. 

[incident]

5 minutes ago, Justcalledtosay said:

That doesn't make any sense. If you've got the same amount of people in an area, one lot are swaying and the others are dancing, it's obviously going to be easier to get passed the people stood still. 

It makes sense if the dancing isn't uniform - gaps open, dart through, then close.

[Skip997]

1 minute ago, incident said:

It makes sense if the dancing isn't uniform - gaps open, dart through, then close.

Exactly

[gfa]

43 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

One thing I noticed this year; it's so much easier to move through a crowd that's dancing rather than standing still or swaying/shuffling about a bit.

I mean properly dancing.

 

7 minutes ago, Justcalledtosay said:

That doesn't make any sense. If you've got the same amount of people in an area, one lot are swaying and the others are dancing, it's obviously going to be easier to get passed the people stood still. 

When people are dancing theres more space though - its less dense

when its standing still and properly crowded theres literally no space

Edited July 3, 2023 by gfa

[SouthbanKen]

On 6/27/2023 at 10:55 AM, NotAnInsider said:

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.

Not watching one of the bigger headliners is a tip I give if anyone asks - allows you to see the rest of the site in some semblance of calm for a couple hours. 

[goldfishboy]

On 7/2/2023 at 4:20 PM, Orange_rhyme said:

I agree.

Taylor Swift is obviously huge globally but wouldn't draw a huge crowd at Glasto. She's big enough to headline though obviously.

But she's not very popular with guys or older people or many types of girls also.

Elton had broad appeal and it was his last ever UK show so it's hard to beat.

 

Personally I think she has very broad appeal and would draw a massive crowd

[GrumpyRaver]

On 7/3/2023 at 3:00 PM, CaledonianGonzo said:

Walking through any crowd is easy if you follow seams of space, tag behind other people moving the same way and generally use spatial awareness to snaky snaky your way forward.

Getting from top of Pyramid field to final set of speakers at 7:30pm on Sunday was far from easy.

[FuzzyDunlop]

It's probably been mentioned on here, but the Stonebridge queue worked really well. I was only in it for 5 mins before getting in 20 mins before DJ Yoda started.

I needed a piss during it... they wrote on my arm so I could just go back in without queuing too.

Really good system. Plus when in the queue you were on the edge of the tent so could hear really well.

[Crazyfool01]

13 minutes ago, FuzzyDunlop said:

It's probably been mentioned on here, but the Stonebridge queue worked really well. I was only in it for 5 mins before getting in 20 mins before DJ Yoda started.

I needed a piss during it... they wrote on my arm so I could just go back in without queuing too.

Really good system. Plus when in the queue you were on the edge of the tent so could hear really well.

ok baggy mondays next year it is then 🙂 

[jow95]

On 7/3/2023 at 11:40 AM, Skip997 said:

Seems to be the general attitude.

IMO we've been very fortunate to have escaped a major crush with substantial injuries or worse, esp last year.

Which instances?

[philipsteak]

1 hour ago, goldfishboy said:

Personally I think she has very broad appeal and would draw a massive crowd

Not a fan and I'd be elsewhere myself, but I agree.

A really wide range of my friends would love to see her. All different ages, different tastes.

Edited July 4, 2023 by philipsteak

[Mand3]

The festival definitely made improvements this year. Making areas bigger and good checks on wristbands on exit and entry. 

However the late night areas are mostly becoming unenjoyable with the exception of Sunday night (people had already left after the headliners or people are just shattered from the partying!) Sunday night felt more like it did previously. Busy but room to move and walk about without the stomping and getting caught in seas of people. 

I don't even attempt the park on a weds. And they need to stop putting big acts on small stages. I used to love the secret sets but that's becoming more of a hassle than it's worth.

It's a shame because you can see the work the different teams put into these areas and they do a great job! Just too many people are interested. 

 

 

[midnight]

On 7/1/2023 at 2:27 PM, FuzzyDunlop said:

The great Fri mystery. Going to assume the SE corner was rammed

Yes. This.

We went to see Sparks at the Park, and then (slowly, tent stop over, drinks, toilet etc) meandered over to SE corner, thinking we'd beat the post head liner rush. We got in no problem, well before midnight, no queue - but the place was rammed already. Not in a bad or unsafe way, but really full. Block 9, Unfairground... we never made it to the Truth stage (that had been the original plan), but took a side path to the Stone Circle, just to get out, thinking that it would get even more rammed within the next hour or 2.

[amfy]

On 7/4/2023 at 6:38 PM, jow95 said:

Which instances?

Coming out of The Park after Fatboy Slim was incredibly slow. Everyone knew it was funnelling to a small exit and there was a really good sense of patience in the crowd, but on a wet year, that section of the site does become very slippy and I worry that this volume of people, with people falling over, could become really dangerous.

It could have been managed better. There were still people coming in and I think entry needed to be blocked until the crowd had cleared. When we got to the bottom, there were 6 security basically hiding behind the tree and doing nothing to manage the crowd.

If the Park has big attractions, the crowd management needs to be better.

This time around, it was fine, people took their time and shuffled their way out eventually. Overall though, it relies too much on people being sensible (it can only take one group of idiots to start a panic, or to start others thinking they’ll push through too) and the weather. 

[AdrianH]

The area around the truth stage was awful this year for congestion, this needs to be wider or the Truth Stage needs a separate area so that people passing through don't get caught up in the crowd watching the stage.

They need to do more to draw people into the IICON arena area which is huge and highly impressive. Whenever I've been there, it's been completely dead though with very niche music.

[tarw]

On 7/3/2023 at 10:33 AM, FuzzyDunlop said:

Elton has a "young & old" appeal that very very few other acts can compete with. 

Over 35 males, which I am 1 (& there are lot of at Glastonbury) - a decent percentage of them would have no interest in T Swift. 

I'd be there, on my own from my friends group.

Obviously her crowd would still be massive, just not close to Elton's.

I cant really see anyone matching that. Even the TV audience was huge.

Oasis reunion? Nah. Unless it was their first show... which it wouldnt be. 

 

A bold statement. 
I am a 61 year old man and I would definitely be watching “Tay Tay”   
It might be due to the fact that I have a 23 year old daughter who used to listen to her continuously and I got to quite like her stuff and her evolution has been quite amazing to listen to over the years. 
 

It would have to be someone very special on another stage to lure me away 

[FuzzyDunlop]

26 minutes ago, tarw said:

A bold statement. 
I am a 61 year old man and I would definitely be watching “Tay Tay”   
It might be due to the fact that I have a 23 year old daughter who used to listen to her continuously and I got to quite like her stuff and her evolution has been quite amazing to listen to over the years. 
 

It would have to be someone very special on another stage to lure me away 

I am definitely not saying no one would care (Ive already said that I would be there) - I'm only saying a noticeable percentage wouldnt be. Even if that percentage is only 30%. It's still large enough to make a difference in a way it didnt for Elton.