More than 200,000 people will head for Worthy Farm in Somerset this weekend for the 2023 Glastonbury festival. Since 1970, when tickets cost £1 (including a pint of milk), it has grown to become the UK’s largest festival and a rite of passage for music lovers. Despite its sometimes otherworldly appearance, Glastonbury (of which the Guardian is a longstanding media partner) is not immune to the cost of living crisis. Since organisers put up a “super fence” in the early 2000s as a condition of keeping its licence, changing its nature but securing its future, it has faced ever-rising costs.
In pre-pandemic 2019, the last time tickets went on sale, they cost £265; this year they have risen to £335. The co-organiser Emily Eavis has cited the knock-on effects of cancelling two festivals during Covid. In contrast with other more corporate events, Glastonbury offers free tickets for children and works with food vendors on affordable options – but even so, there are fears that younger music lovers could end up priced out.
