So anyone adamant they are not going next year ?

[nikkic]

50 minutes ago, stuie said:

I haven't missed one since my first one in 2009 but I don't like the thought of it happening without me.  I'd have serious fomo and have to have a complete media blackout!

Did you watch any coverage on the years you missed?

Yeah I did. 

Not loads but snippets of the headliners. 

None of my mates went those years so made it easier. I think I’d only have FOMO if they’d done and I hadn’t. 

 

[Crazyfool01]

26 minutes ago, stuie said:

Yep... no FOMO to worry about then either! 

Not so much the FOMO that would be an issue … it’s the gap in my year . I tried beautiful days one year and it was far from the same for me 

[Havors]

1 hour ago, gooner1990 said:

I think once I miss one, it will make missing another a bit easier!

A fallow year is bad enough... never mind missing one because you just couldn't get there. The fomo is real. 

The only thing keeping me away is Death, illness or Family emergency. The MDMA will always keep me young 🙂

[Simsy]

1 hour ago, Crazyfool01 said:

Not so much the FOMO that would be an issue … it’s the gap in my year . I tried beautiful days one year and it was far from the same for me 

Yeah, I can't really think of other festivals as a replacement for glasto, regardless of how good they are, because there's nothing quite like it.

[gooner1990]

1 hour ago, Crazyfool01 said:

Not so much the FOMO that would be an issue … it’s the gap in my year . I tried beautiful days one year and it was far from the same for me 

You shouldn't really look at it as trying to be the same thing!

[Crazyfool01]

19 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

You shouldn't really look at it as trying to be the same thing!

I guess I didn’t but was just too small with Glastonbury I can mostly find something on I enjoy . With fewer choices that becomes more of a challenge 

[DeanoL]

5 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

I guess I didn’t but was just too small with Glastonbury I can mostly find something on I enjoy . With fewer choices that becomes more of a challenge 

Unless your tastes are really eclectic, I've found more focused, genre/style specific festivals work better. Like you say, there's far less choice, so what that means is the festival needs to have more of your sort of thing on.

[Crazyfool01]

Just now, DeanoL said:

Unless your tastes are really eclectic, I've found more focused, genre/style specific festivals work better. Like you say, there's far less choice, so what that means is the festival needs to have more of your sort of thing on.

My music taste is more mainstream than many on here it takes a fair bit of radio play for me to get into someone 

[gooner1990]

9 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

I guess I didn’t but was just too small with Glastonbury I can mostly find something on I enjoy . With fewer choices that becomes more of a challenge 

Depends what you're looking for I guess.  I went the same year as you and found myself enjoying just being at the campsite, wandering about or chilling as much as watching bands.

Looking to go back in 2024 as it happens!

[balti-pie]

I’ve had a couple of years off here n there since I started going in 2005, primarily because of big planned holidays and lack of money and annual leave: I haven’t minded it too much though, it makes it great when you come back after a couple of years away. Plus with the ticket fairy being quite so indecisive sometimes the decision is out of your hands innit? If you miss one, c’est la vie, there’s always great things to do that aren’t Glastonbury (sacrilege here I know, sorry 😆) 

[Quark]

4 hours ago, stuie said:

I haven't missed one since my first one in 2009 but I don't like the thought of it happening without me.  I'd have serious fomo and have to have a complete media blackout!

Did you watch any coverage on the years you missed?

I didn't. Once I'd made the call not to go it was easier just not to pay it any attention, certainly meant I didn't have any FOMO at the time. Can still be a wee bit gutting when you look back or hear people talking about the sets you missed, but def easier than doing it at the time

[Quark]

3 hours ago, Crazyfool01 said:

Not so much the FOMO that would be an issue … it’s the gap in my year . I tried beautiful days one year and it was far from the same for me 

See I love BDs. Realistically I might well end up doing that with my brother as a cheaper option and not having to book as far in advance. 

[Crazyfool01]

54 minutes ago, Quark said:

See I love BDs. Realistically I might well end up doing that with my brother as a cheaper option and not having to book as far in advance. 

Oh the issue was more me and my more mainstream tastes rather than the festival itself 

[Quark]

30 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

Oh the issue was more me and my more mainstream tastes rather than the festival itself 

Oh yeah, meant it as it suited my eclectic tastes rather than the fest.

[amfy]

3 hours ago, Crazyfool01 said:

I guess I didn’t but was just too small with Glastonbury I can mostly find something on I enjoy . With fewer choices that becomes more of a challenge 

I liked that at Beautiful Days there were times that there was nothing on I particularly wanted to see. It meant that I’d try something I hadn’t heard before, or just have a bit of a break with a beer and a chat ….……

……like I used to do at Glastonbury before it started filling every waking moment with sh*t I needed to be at! 

[philipsteak]

6 hours ago, stuie said:

I haven't missed one since my first one in 2009 but I don't like the thought of it happening without me.  I'd have serious fomo and have to have a complete media blackout!

Did you watch any coverage on the years you missed?

My first was in 1995, then didn't go again until 2003. Wasn't as big a deal to me then and my friends weren't in to it at all and I wasn't confident enough back then to do it solo. Watched it on TV, enjoyed it, but didn't think much more about it than that. Then I moved to NZ in late 2005 so didn't do one again until 2009 when I timed a visit home very well. Moved back in 2011 (didn't manage that year as life was a bit chaotic with the move) and haven't missed one since 2013. It would be harder to miss one now but I think having those early gaps would make it a little easier I reckon

[Crazyfool01]

5 minutes ago, amfy said:

I liked that at Beautiful Days there were times that there was nothing on I particularly wanted to see. It meant that I’d try something I hadn’t heard before, or just have a bit of a break with a beer and a chat ….……

……like I used to do at Glastonbury before it started filling every waking moment with sh*t I needed to be at! 

I guess because I went with mate and young daughter I’d kind of lost my wingman for some of the quieter moments . So felt a bit more at a loose end . Where at Glastonbury I’d find plenty of fill 

[Avalon_Fields]

I love smaller festivals but none are close to a Glastonbury experience. Beautiful Days & Bearded Theory - and others - offer some strong advantages (less hassle, less distances, easier to get in/out, more chilled) but they don’t come close for the vast range of quality of music and entertainment 

[Pinhead]

3 hours ago, Avalon_Fields said:

I love smaller festivals but none are close to a Glastonbury experience. Beautiful Days & Bearded Theory - and others - offer some strong advantages (less hassle, less distances, easier to get in/out, more chilled) but they don’t come close for the vast range of quality of music and entertainment 

Correct. Love both these festivals but its never glasto replacement.

[K2SO]

With the current pricetag, I'm not sure I'll ever go back. I want to go, but I can't justify that price, especially as the lineups seem to appeal to me less every year.

It kinda makes me sad whenever I think about it. I felt so much love for Glastonbury over the years, but now it feels like the end of a relationship.

[nikkic]

12 hours ago, Avalon_Fields said:

I love smaller festivals but none are close to a Glastonbury experience. Beautiful Days & Bearded Theory - and others - offer some strong advantages (less hassle, less distances, easier to get in/out, more chilled) but they don’t come close for the vast range of quality of music and entertainment 

Indeed.

The mistake would be to go another festival in the hope of finding something similar.

If you go and enjoy a smaller festival for what it is, it can be a lovely experience.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

6 hours ago, K2SO said:

With the current pricetag, I'm not sure I'll ever go back. I want to go, but I can't justify that price, especially as the lineups seem to appeal to me less every year.

It kinda makes me sad whenever I think about it. I felt so much love for Glastonbury over the years, but now it feels like the end of a relationship.

When you accumulate the time and total costs, more than ever it's become a comparison of value for money against other activities. This year, it's evident that more people are reviewing their options a lot more, whereas before 2020, for most it would be unthinkable to even consider an alternative. It was Glastonbury and nothing else. I'm not sure that's the case anymore, particularly for those who might be thinking they've experienced everything the festival has to offer. Hopefully those potential spaces give opportunities for new attendees to come in, experience the wonders of the Farm and the festival evolves alongside them.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Thing is though that the cost of all the Glastonbury alternatives- whether a different festival or a jaunt abroad - have also risen commensurately. Glastonbury is still, relatively speaking, a bargain.

[FuzzyDunlop]

Of our usual group of 8.. 5 have said no 

2 due to child care, 1 has said "getting old & the cost", 1 said that the "weather ruined it for him this year. Last few were too hot". He's not going.

So there are 3 of us. Im now thinking it might be time to leave it too now... still on for it at the minute.

[Mardy]

1 hour ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Thing is though that the cost of all the Glastonbury alternatives- whether a different festival or a jaunt abroad - have also risen commensurately. Glastonbury is still, relatively speaking, a bargain.

It's a bargain if you go and see (and enjoy) the big ticket acts. If you're wandering around the Avalon/hanging out at the 50p tea tent/sitting in the stone Circle, not so much. @Woodersonbought it into sharp relief for me the other week, with a superb observation "If scale isnt your thing (don't think it ever has been for you) then current iteration of Glasters ain't for you.". More than anything else, that's crystallised my thoughts on where I am with the big G.

Notwithstanding that, think I'll try for tickets next month, then see where we are after that.