Glastonbury Festival has been repeatedly pleading with punters to ‘leave no trace’ as the environmentally-conscious organisers try and do everything they can to mitigate the event’s effect on the environment. Situated in the heart of the Somerset Levels, hundreds of thousands of festival-goers descend on Worthy Farm every year from all corners of the UK and beyond, with many travelling by car.
This year’s train strikes meant that many people hoping to get to Glastonbury via the country’s railways had no choice but to make alternative arrangements. To reduce the environmental impact of the festival, organisers ask attendees to carshare where they can, although many also attend by bike and bus.
Since the festival was established back in 1970, transport has changed drastically, especially in terms of personal vehicles. From just a quick glance around the car park, Teslas and other electric vehicles can be found, although very, very few are actually being charged.
READ MORE: New online tool helps fed-up workers deal with colleagues' irritating workplace habits
Being in such a remote location, organisers informed electric vehicle owners before the festival that they have ‘very limited capacity’ to offer charging points on site. Instead, electric vehicle owners were advised to charge up before reaching Worthy Farm.
Yesterday, June 24, Bristol Live heard reports that drivers of electric vehicles were being charged £80 per hour to charge their cars. To verify this, we went down to the AA compound in the Bronze car park of Glastonbury to ask whether this was the case.
Prior to Glastonbury starting, organisers wrote on the website: “As a rural location, Worthy Farm has very limited capacity to offer electrical vehicle charging on site. Just as drivers of petrol or diesel cars need to make sure they have sufficient fuel for their journey, if you are travelling to the Festival in an electric or hybrid vehicle, it is important to make sure you have sufficient battery charge for your journey.
What do you think of the price? Tell us in the comments section.
“Please charge before you travel to site - if you have less than 50 miles charge on approach to the site, please recharge before you enter the Festival car parks, making sure you have sufficient charge to start your return journey after the Festival.”
The statement then continued: “The AA will offer a limited - first come first served - emergency recovering charging facility (to members and non-members) onsite at Bronze car park only, off the A361. Emergency charging is at a fixed cost of £50 for up to an hour’s charge/80% battery (whichever is soonest).
“Payment is by card only. Please note this service is for emergency use only and cannot be guaranteed, so please do charge before you arrive.”
Want the latest news delivered straight to your inbox? Click here to sign up for BristolLive's newsletters. .
According to an AA worker, the diesel generator which powers the electric charging points is present on the farm all year round, and is switched on as and when it is required. This system is thought to be better for the environment than installing a Tesla Supercharger, for instance.
As for the rumoured £80/hour charging cost, Bristol Live was informed that this was enforced earlier this week, but after receiving feedback from punters, Glastonbury organisers slashed the cost down to £50 for the whole weekend. The original price was apparently put in place as a ‘deterrent’.
This year, the Festival announced that it would be banning gazebos from its 2022 edition. In a statement issued by the Festival earlier this month, organisers said: “Please don’t bring gazebos to Glastonbury 2022. They take up valuable tent space and often get left behind.
“If any do appear people may be politely asked to take them down to free up space for others. We’d also ask that you don’t put tape around your tent enclosures, please. It makes it harder for others to get to their tents, can cause a hazard and creates unnecessary waste.”
Single-use plastic bottles are not sold on the site on environmental grounds, too. Instead, revellers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bottles, and make use of the 100 free drinking water taps scattered around Worthy Farm.
Bristol Live has contacted Glastonbury Festival for comment.
READ NEXT:
