Holly Willoughby and fellow stars anger locals with 'insane' Glastonbury choice
Glastonbury Festival regulars including Holly Willoughby have been accused of flying in the face of the event's eco-friendly message by taking helicopters to the Somerset site
The organisers of Glastonbury Festival have consistently expressed their dedication to reducing the event's environmental footprint. Various initiatives have been implemented, such as prohibiting single-use plastic bottles, utilising renewable energy sources, and encouraging sustainable transportation options.
However, Holly Willoughby, a regular attendee of the festival, appears to have disregarded this environmental focus. She faced criticism from Pilton villagers, who claimed they had "never seen" so many helicopters transporting VIPs between London's Battersea heliport and the festival site.
The 44-year-old former This Morning presenter was photographed boarding a £13,950 helicopter flight from London to the festival. A local resident expressed their discontent to the Daily Mail, stating that the numerous VIP flights were "not in the spirit of Glasto."
Meanwhile, several celebrities, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Scott, and Bella Ramsey, delivered passionate speeches on the Greenpeace Stage, highlighting the significance of climate activism in a rapidly warming world.
Greenpeace aims to establish a platform to urge the next government to take climate change seriously. The origins of the Glastonbury Festival date back to the 1970s, when Michael Eavis, the owner of the Worthy Farm site, sneakily attended the Bath Blues and Progressive Music Festival to watch Led Zeppelin perform,.
What began as a modest festival with only a £1 entry fee has evolved into an extravagant affair, where a basic ticket now costs nearly £400 and the high-end Tipi Tenthouse Suite package can skyrocket to over £30,000 for the entire weekend.
Local residents are up in arms about the influx of affluent attendees arriving by helicopter: "We've never seen this many coming into the festival," remarked one local. "It's insane. On Thursday there was a cluster of five, one after the other."
The growing disdain towards the airborne arrivals is palpable, with locals explaining: "It's getting ridiculous now and quite frankly the organisers need to get a handle on it – it's so anti-social and not in the spirit of Glasto."
This sentiment isn't new; frustration has been brewing for some time. Post 2024's festival, one resident complained: "I live on the flight path for the private helicopters shuttling between Glastonbury and London and my God last weekend was like Apocalypse Now."
They shared their exasperation, saying: "I was sat outside and kept shouting 'there's another one!' every few minutes. No doubt all full of virtue-signalling eco-warriors."
During a Somerset Council meeting, Pilton parish councillor Nick Hall broached the issue of overlooked noise disruption caused by helicopters. His concern was clear as he quizzed the council: "Why is there no reference to the noise nuisance (and risk) from the helicopters and the helicopter landing sites that serviced the festival?".
An irate local has counted a staggering 50 helicopters on a Monday morning, and it's been reported that an even higher number, 85 choppers, touched down the previous Saturday.
The community member is challenging the lack of dialogue with nearby parishes as airborne arrivals to the festival soar, asking: "I counted 50 helicopters on the morning of Monday, July 1, and it was reported that 85 helicopters landed on the Saturday. Why hasn't there been consultation with the parishes around the festival site ahead of the growth of this mode of transport to the festival?".
Meanwhile, Glastonbury's official line, according to their website, promotes more eco-friendly transit options: "The cleanest ways to travel to Glastonbury Festival is by bike and public transport, and over a third of ticket-holders travel to the Festival on coaches, trains or other forms of public transport."
Adding advice for festival-goers, they appeal: "We'd encourage you to join them, and reduce your carbon footprint. Glastonbury Festival does not endorse or facilitate travel by helicopter, except for operational purposes."
Yet, celebrity sightings and exclusive fly-ins persist.
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