Glastonbury Festival chiefs have revealed a major overhaul of their ticketing process. Gone are the days of frantic page-refreshing when tickets go on sale; instead, prospective attendees will find themselves entering an online virtual queue, a move that’s stirred quite the debate among fans.
That’s not where the updates end—ticket prices have surged with this year’s passes going for a hefty £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, with £75 of the total acting as a deposit. The latest price sees an uplift of £13.50 from 2024’s £360 tickets.
Tracking back the last six years, ticket costs have soared by £100—the 2019 event had a more palatable price tag of £265 in addition to the £5 booking fee. Emily Eavis has previously addressed the ticket inflation, commenting: “We have tried very hard to minimise the increase in price on the ticket but we’re facing enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show, while still recovering from the huge financial impact of two years without a festival because of Covid.”
Additional costs will apply for coach bookings. Tickets inclusive of coach travel will be available from 6pm on November 14 this year.
Regular tickets, on the other hand, will go live at 9am on Sunday, November 17. If you’re planning to attend Glastonbury this year, remember that registration is required as part of the festival’s ongoing efforts to combat ticket touts who resell tickets at exorbitant prices, reports the Mirror.
Festival organisers have advised potential attendees to verify their registration status to avoid disappointment. Has the online queue deterred you from trying to secure tickets?
Registration for this year will close at 5pm on Monday, November 11, with no options to submit or re-submit a registration until after the November ticket sales. In an effort to ensure fair ticket availability, refreshing your browser as soon as tickets become available won’t give you any advantage.
Instead, upon landing on the page, you’ll be placed in a virtual queue and assigned a random number. However, if you log in after the sale has started, you’ll find yourself at the end of the queue.
Festival heads Michael and Emily Eavis have also cautioned against refreshing your browser as it could send you to the back of the queue. They’ve also advised against using multiple devices simultaneously as it could potentially hinder your chances.
Upon reaching the front of the dreaded queue, fans will be asked for their registration number and postcode associated with the lead booker to purchase tickets for themselves and five others. You will need to have the details of those you are attending with as the information cannot be changed at a later date.
Fans have expressed their disappointment in the new system, with one writing: “Really looking forward to an hour in the queue on Thursday and Sunday followed by abject disappointment.”
A second added: “Please make all ticket sales a ballot this year. I’m done with competing with bots.”
“@emilyeavis I thought you said you were against the idea of a ballot for @glastonbury because it benefited people that put less effort in but now by agreeing to a queue system, you’ve essentially agreed to a ballot system,” fumed a third. Meanwhile, a fourth commented: “Disastrous. Looks like it’s officially a queue system for Glastonbury then. Now it’s no better than Ticketmaster for ticket sales (I’ve NEVER got a ticket through a queue on there ever). This is not good.”
“Looking forward to this going off without a hitch and everyone complementing SeeTickets for a job well done,” said another.
Tickets will be sold at glastonbury. seetickets.com. The remaining balance will be due in the first week of April 2025.