The best of the festival can often be found on smaller stages away from the headliners that attract TV audiences
More than 200,000 people will head for Worthy Farm in Somerset this weekend for the 2023 Glastonbury festival. Since 1970, when tickets cost £1 (including a pint of milk), it has grown to become the UK’s largest festival and a rite of passage for music lovers. Despite its sometimes otherworldly appearance, Glastonbury (of which the Guardian is a longstanding media partner) is not immune to the cost of living crisis. Since organisers put up a “super fence” in the early 2000s as a condition of keeping its licence, changing its nature but securing its future, it has faced ever-rising costs.
In pre-pandemic 2019, the last time tickets went on sale, they cost £265; this year they have risen to £335. The co-organiser Emily Eavis has cited the knock-on effects of cancelling two festivals during Covid. In contrast with other more corporate events, Glastonbury offers free tickets for children and works with food vendors on affordable options – but even so, there are fears that younger music lovers could end up priced out.
