economic changes meant no profit for this year's Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival 2009

Wednesday 24th to Sunday 28th June 2009
Worthy Farm, Pilton, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4AZ, England MAP
£175 - SOLD OUT

Daily capacity: 150,000

Glastonbury Festival organiser Michael Eavis has told Radio 6 that this year's Festival did not make any money. In an interview (here), the farmer said it was the first time in many years that the event didn't make any money.

Speaking about the Festival's finances, Eavis said in the interview, "We still made about a million pounds for the charities we work for, so we actually achieved a million but we didn't make any beyond that. There's no money to reinvest or anything. Having said that, it's the first year in 39 years that we didn't make anything out of it, so it's not bad really is it."

The Festival organiser is actually ten year's out, the 1979 Glastonbury Festival was also a financial loss, although then as now, the charities were still funded, which is why there was no festival in 1980, as explained in George McKay's book about the history of the Festival 'Glastonbury - A Very English Fair'.

Mr Eavis put the lack of profit down to rising costs throughout the summer, highlighting in particular fuel costs, "It was hard work making it work last year because costing had gone through the roof and the diesel costs had gone up by about £200,000. All the other costs had gone up as well."

He also revealed just how much it costs to stage the Festival, "Glastonbury costs £22 million now, it's a huge cost. The infrastructure, the fencing, the roads, the water and the loos, the marquees, the management, the security and the police, it goes on and on so we do have to sell out in order to make it work."

The farmer is confident that next year's event will sell out, adding, "I'm very confident with the bands that we've got next time that we will sell out." The article claims that 100,000 of around 137,000 weekend tickets have already been sold.

Next year's Glastonbury Festival runs for five full days from Wednesday 24th until Sunday 28th June 2009 at Worthy Farm, Somerset.

There are still tickets available to buy now for Glastonbury Festival 2009. All registered festival-goers who want to buy tickets have two options. They can either buy a full weekend ticket at a price of £175 (plus a booking fee of £5). Alternatively, tickets can be reserved at a cost of £50 per ticket. The balance must be paid by Sunday 1st February 2009.

To buy Glastonbury Festival tickets, click here.

With both these options, the number of tickets available per transaction for registered customers is now unlimited - as long as each purchase (or deposit) is matched with valid registration numbers.

Everyone who plans to buy a ticket for the Festival must already be registered, and that includes children aged 13, 14 and 15. Each ticket sold will feature a photograph of the person in whose name it is registered and will be non-transferable. So if you plan to buy tickets for friends or family you must make sure they are all registered.

Payment made for tickets by card for UK sales (both online and by telephone) will be by the following debit cards only - Visa Debit, Visa Electron, Switch/Maestro Domestic and Solo. Credit cards will not be accepted for UK sales. For the purpose of ticket sales the UK includes Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

Online registration is also available and can be carried out by clicking here. Those without internet access can apply for a registration form (enclosing an SAE) to Glastonbury, PO Box 2445, Glasgow G40 9AG.

The ticket price includes includes a FREE programme, a useful cloth bag, and small around the neck guide. Car parking tickets can be bought at the same time and are priced at £10 per vehicle, and campervan tickets are priced at £65 per van. Car parking and campervan tickets can only be bought when paying the balance of your tickets.

Postal orders and cheques raised by either a building society or a bank (as a Bankers Draft) will also be accepted as payment on the telephone ticket line. Please note personal cheques cannot be accepted. Orders will not be accepted by fax, email or personal callers. When you confirm your order you will be given a booking reference number. Cheques or postal orders, together with that reference number, must be received by the ticket agency within five working days of the sale.

The gates are likely to open at 8am on Wednesday 24th June 2009.

There are no acts confirmed by the Festival for 2009, although Rolf Harris has said he will be playing. To see who might be playing next year, take a look at the eFestivals' Glastonbury 2009 rumours >>.

For detailed information on all aspects of the festival, click here.

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