Questioning the lack of diversity at Glastonbury

‘It’s not being a mixed-race couple that puts us off Glastonbury, but the fact that we don’t want to share a portable toilet with thousands of others.’ Photograph: Dave J Hogan/Getty

I have often made the same observation as Stephanie Phillips about Glastonbury (Why are big festivals like Glastonbury so white?, 20 June), but it’s naive to gloss over the fact that festivals are largely still defined by genre, and that certain genres are more white than others.

Traditionally, Glastonbury has been defined by alternative music and culture. Plenty of white people feel excluded from Glastonbury. Tickets are hard to get hold of and the price is prohibitive for anyone but the comfortable middle classes. Travellers and people with alternative lifestyles who once helped define the atmosphere of Glastonbury are no longer a presence, which is sad.