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Glastonbury tickets 2025 live: Festival-goers hit out at ‘horrendous’ new system as general sale looms

Fans hoping to get tickets for next year’s Worthy Farm event are having to navigate new queuing system for first time

Jacob Stolworthy
Saturday 16 November 2024 13:30 EST
Comments
Avril Lavigne performs Sk8er Boi at Glastonbury 2024

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The Glastonbury Festival 2025 general sale is set to arrive days after coach tickets sold out in 30 minutes.

Festival organisers debuted a new system for ticket buyers on Thursday (14 November), but many disappointed hopefuls branded it “horrendous” after all the tickets were whipped up.

According to the Glastonbury website, fans were “randomly assigned a place in a queue” rather than having to refresh the holding page when the tickets went live.

The unlucky fans who did not bag a ticket took to social media to slam the new system, which was introduced for the first time this year and had already sparked concerns ahead of the sale at 6pm.

One addressed the festival’s organiser as they posted on social media: “@emilyeavis why oh why have have you input this system. Worse than before. Punters hate it being out of their control. It’s horrendous.”

No headliners have been announced for next year’s festival – but demand is expected to be higher than ever as Glastonbury, which is set for between Wednesday 25 June to Sunday 29 June, will be taking a year off in 2026.

The 22 greatest Glastonbury performances ever

Although no headliners have been confirmed for the 2024 edition of the festival, the rich history of the event has proven that even the most unlikely of acts can capture the hearts and imaginations of music fans.

These are just a few of the reasons why a gig playing out on the hallowed grounds of Worthy Farm might go down in Glastonbury folklore – one of those iconic moments that don’t just make the weekend, but mark out the evolution of pop culture. Glastonbury is where musical history is made and cultural colossi are crowned on a near-annual basis.

Looking back through the annuls of Glastonbury, Mark Beaumont names the 22 greatest ever performances at the festival.

Read the list below

The 22 greatest Glastonbury performances ever

Ahead of the festival’s return to Worthy Farm, Mark Beaumont picks some of Glastonbury’s greatest ever music moments

Jacob Stolworthy16 November 2024 18:30

How to get into Glastonbury Festival if you miss out on tickets

How to get into Glastonbury Festival if you miss out on tickets

The Independent has put together this handy guide of tips and tricks to give yourself the best odds at landing those coveted tickets; however, if you’re in the millions who didn’t manage to get their hands on one, there are some other ways to get into Glastonbury – and no, we’re not talking about jumping the fence.

Working for your ticket

Glastonbury has a whole section of its website dedicated to the jobs you can do in return for a festival ticket.

NB: “In some cases you would be required to pay for the ticket in advance, and would be reimbursed after completing the required hours.”

Every year a whole host of organisations ask for volunteers to join them at the festival in return for free access. Normally people are required to work three eight-hour shifts for their ticket; though, this may vary depending on the organisation.

Each year, Oxfam leads a 2000-strong team of volunteers to the festival. Their roles include stewarding, campaigning and volunteering at pop-up charity shops on-site. As well as your ticket, you’ll get secure camping, a meal voucher for every shift, hot showers, toilets, tea and coffee, and phone charging.

Festaff also employs a number of volunteers at Glastonbury (as well as festivals across the company).

According to their website, “Festaff positions usually involve working as part of a team of like-minded volunteers on some light & enjoyable tasks such as stewarding in the campsite, wristbanding and/or scanning tickets as patrons arrive at the event, front of house bar staff, campsite information point teams, or similar general assistance roles.”

Check the Glastonbury website to see what other charitable organisations are involved.

Being a first-aider

Dr Chris Howes leads a team of some 1,500 medical staff into the festival each year. If you have medical, paramedic or first-aid qualifications, you can apply to join his team here.

NB: The website notes that applications to join Festival Medical Services if accepted will not necessarily mean you will be selected to work at Glastonbury.

Read more below

How to get into Glastonbury Festival if you missed out on tickets

Charities and first aid organisations employ thousands of volunteers for Glastonbury each year

Jacob Stolworthy16 November 2024 17:30

Five tips and tricks to get tickets

All major ticket sales for gigs these days often end with disappointment so it’s good to be prepared for all circumstances.

Here are five tips to help you secure your tickets.

• A good internet connection. The last thing you need is your broadband failing at the precise moment the transaction is going through.

• The time. You need to be on the tickets page on the Glastonbury See Tickets website at precisely 6pm on 14 November, or 9am on 17 November for general sale. So set your alarms!

• Money at the ready. Make sure your correct bank details, including the right billing address, and know the answers to any additional security questions you might be asked by your card issuer (this is likely if you’re buying multiple tickets). Accept the terms and conditions and make sure you complete the check out within the allocated time slot. Once you reach the payment page you will have five minutes to submit your payment information, so make sure you enter all the information accurately. The time remaining will be shown on the right hand side of your screen.

• It’s not over until the SOLD OUT sign appears on the Glastonbury website. So don’t freak out if you see a message notifying fans that “all available tickets have now been allocated”. That means the orders are being processed, but at least a few people end up running out of time... meaning the tickets are up for grabs again. A word of caution: your registration numbers will be locked for up to five minutes if your details are entered incorrectly, an attempt to book is already held against your registration number, or your five minutes on the booking page ends. If the transaction fails and tickets are still available, your registration number will be released to give you the chance to try again.

• Avoid multiple tabs. As stated on the Glastonbury website, trying to buy tickets on multiple tabs could actually put you at risk of confusing the ticket sales process and result in a failed transaction. “We strongly advise that you use just one browser tab when trying to book tickets, in order to avoid possible problems with your transaction,” Glastonbury says.

Jacob Stolworthy16 November 2024 16:30

What time do tickets go on sale?

You’ll have to already be registered with Glastonbury in order to buy a ticket although the deadline has already passed.

General tickets, those without coach travel included, will go on sale on Sunday 17 November at 9 am GMT.

Resale tickets will also go on sale in April but no date for that sale is yet to be released.

Jacob Stolworthy16 November 2024 15:30

How much are Glastonbury 2025 tickets?

Ticket prices to Glastonbury 2025 have increased by £13.50 on last year, with a general admission full weeken ticket now costing £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee. General admission tickets to the 2024 event cost £360.

This means that the cost of a Glastonbury ticket has risen by more than £100 (£108.50) in the last six years, as tickets in 2019 cost £265 plus a £5 booking fee.

Defending the price hike for tickets to the 2023 festival, which went from £265 in 2019 to £335, Emily Eavis said: “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.”

What’s included in the ticket price?

Tickets to Glastonbury Festival include entry to the festival with access to the site’s 100+ stages, five nights camping with no entry fees, a programme, mobile phone charging, an on-site newspaper, mobile app, firewood and children’s entertainment.

Some proceeds from ticket sales also go towards the festival’s charity partners, including Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid, as well as towards supporting the festival’s infrastructure and environmental impact, the Glastonbury website states.

More information below

Glastonbury 2025 ticket announcement reveals significant price increase

New price shows an increase of more than £100 for general admission tickets in the last six years

Jacob Stolworthy16 November 2024 14:30

How to use the new queue system

Once people are in the queue, a progress bar will indicate how close they are to reaching the booking page.

Glastonbury fans are asked not to refresh the page or use multiple devices or tabs, or they risk losing their place in the queue.

Once they reach the front of the queue, they will be asked to enter the registration number and postcode for the lead booker and up to five other people for whom they are attempting to book tickets.

Ticket-buyers are given 10 minutes to complete the page before their session expires, however, tickets are not allocated at this point.

They will then be asked to check the names of the people they’re booking tickets for, as these cannot be changed once they proceed with the booking.

Once all the information is confirmed, fans will be asked to proceed to the payment page, which will ask them to confirm a billing address and payment information, along with accepting the terms and conditions before completing checkout within the allotted time.

Fans are also warned not to minimise or click away from the tab at this point. Tickets will not be allocated until payment has been processed.

Ticket and coach travel options will go on sale at 6pm (GMT) on Thursday 14 November, while the general admissions tickets sale will take place at 9am (GMT) on Sunday 17 November.

Glastonbury Festival announces major change to ticket-buying process

Change requires fans to be ready and online before the sale opens or risk being added to the back of a queue

Jacob Stolworthy16 November 2024 13:30

Explained: The new Glastonbury ticket system as fans prepare to try their luck again on Sunday

Festival-goers had to navigate a new booking process when the sale for coach travel tickets opened at 6pm on Thursday.

Fans were “randomly assigned a place in a queue” rather than having to refresh the holding page when the tickets went live.

“The booking process itself for 2025 will be the same as in previous years, however, the way in which you join the booking process is changing,” a statement on the Glastonbury website said.

“Rather than refreshing the holding page to attempt to access the booking page, this year, when the ticket sale begins (at 6pm or 9am respectively) everyone who is already on the glastonbury.seetickets.com page will randomly be assigned a place in a queue to access the booking process.”

The statement said that anyone who logs on once the sale has started will automatically be added to the back of the queue, “so it’s important to make sure you are online and ready at least a few minutes before the sale opens”.

Tara Cobham15 November 2024 07:00

How to get into Glastonbury Festival if you missed out on tickets

Sunday (17 November) morning will end in jubilation for some and heartbreak for many more as general sale tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2025 go on sale.

No headliners have been confirmed as of yet, but Eminem, Rihanna, and Bruce Springsteen are rumoured to be among them.

Demand is expected to be higher than ever as the event takes a year off in 2026.

The Independent has put together this handy guide of tips and tricks to give yourself the best odds at landing those coveted tickets; however, if you’re in the millions who don’t end up managing to get their hands on one, here are some other ways to get into Glastonbury – and no, we’re not talking about jumping the fence.

How to get into Glastonbury Festival if you missed out on tickets

Charities and first aid organisations employ thousands of volunteers for Glastonbury each year

Tara Cobham15 November 2024 06:00

Around 2.5 million people competed for 210,000 Glastonbury tickets overall last year

Around 2.5 million people competed for 210,000 Glastonbury tickets overall last year.

Coach tickets sold out within 25 minutes for Glastonbury 2024, while standard tickets were all bought within an hour, with the usual rush for tickets and ensuing website crash.

The lineup included SZA, Charli XCX, Coldplay, and Dua Lipa.

Meanwhile, the first group of tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2025 sold out in 30 minutes, organisers have confirmed, with general admission tickets going on sale on Sunday.

Tara Cobham15 November 2024 04:00

Cost of Glastonbury ticket rises by more than £100 in last six years

The cost of a Glastonbury ticket has risen by more than £100 in the last six years.

The festival, which takes place between Wednesday 25 June to Sunday 29 June 2025, has revealed that ticket prices to Glastonbury 2025 have increased by £13.50 on last year, with a general admission full weekend ticket now costing £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee. General admission tickets to the 2024 event cost £360.

This means that the cost of a Glastonbury ticket has risen by £108.50 in the last six years, as tickets in 2019 cost £265 plus a £5 booking fee.

The change was confirmed on Tuesday 5 November, ahead of the sales on 14 and 17 November.

Tickets to Glastonbury 2024 were £13.50 cheaper
Tickets to Glastonbury 2024 were £13.50 cheaper (Getty Images)
Tara Cobham15 November 2024 02:00

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