In 1970, Glastonbury was a humble new festival for ‘free thinking people’. Entry cost £1 and you were given free milk for the duration.
Today Glastonbury attracts more than a quarter of a million people from all over the world. Tickets cost £335, reassuringly expensive enough to keep the riff-raff out. You’re more likely to pitch your tent next to a corporate lawyer than anyone devoted to the counter-culture. Glasto is the culture now — and in 2023 the culture is the exorbitant cost-of-living. A pint of beer at the festival costs £7; half a pint of Coca Cola is £3.
Most events at Left Field could easily be staged at the Tory party conference later this year
Glastonbury is still primarily about music, thank goodness. The festival continues to attract stratospheric talents — young and old. This year it will be Guns N Roses, Lana Del Rey, Arctic Monkeys, and Blondie, among many others.
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