'Glastonbury's efforts to stop overcrowding ignore its huge remaining problem'

Daily Mirror

6 days ago

With its killer headliners, never-ending line-up and intense community spirit, it's easy to see why thousands of music lovers from across the world are currently descending on Somerset for Glastonbury Festival. There's nowhere else you take a Tai Chi class, watch a drag show, visit a fake airport terminal created by Banksy - all before making it to the front row of Charli XCX.
I'll be driving down for my third stint at the five-day event and while it continues to be my favourite place on the planet, Glastonbury's constant issue of overcrowding continues to read its potentially dangerous head. Over 200,000 people attend the festival on average and gatecrashers have frequently been a problem.
Just last year, hundreds of trespassers were spotted sneaking onto the grounds while inside the festival, I found myself uncomfortably squished against others who hadn't showered in days while trying to watch Avril Lavigne on The Other Stage.
Glastonbury organise Emily Eavis recently revealed that the festival has taken action by selling "a few thousand less tickets" this year in a bid to reduce the big crowds. But making it harder for people to legitimately buy tickets isn't the solution here.
While roaming the festival last year, I came across a number of gate-crashes who had snuck their way in - whether it was by paying to be smuggled in through a staff entrance or scaling the 7.8km fence. I spotted one Glastonbury intruder who was walking around with just an old wristband for Boomtown and wasn't being stopped.
Beefing up security around the festival would be the ideal way of reducing the over-crowding problem - however, there's another much simpler solution. Stop putting artists on stages that are far too small.
Last year, those hoping to watch the Sugababes with enough room to literally spin Round Round were left disappointed, when their West Holts performance became much busier than expected. Similarly, overcrowding at Avril Lavigne reached a dangerous level when 70,000 people turned up for the set - while Janelle Monae sadly drew handfuls of fans in comparison to her clashing performance on the Pyramid Stage.
Unfortunately, Glastonbury don't seem to have learnt their lesson with one of the world's biggest pop stars Charli XCX taking to The Other Stage while Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts take to the Pyramid. Neil may be a legend, but Charli is an ever-rising star with triple his monthly Spotify listeners (37.8m). BBC One is even planning on broadcasting Charli's set over his, although his may be down to his battle with the broadcaster as insiders say that he doesn't want his set shown in full.
As a big Brat fan, I can't wait to party 4 Charli, but I'm preparing for the inevitable squish in a choppy sea of lime green.