Glastonbury 2024: 10 tips for getting tickets
- Published
Elton John headlined the festival in 2023
Tickets for the 2024 Glastonbury festival go on sale this week, prompting a bigger scramble than the UK's annual egg throwing championship., external
Last year, about 2.5 million people tried to get tickets to the event - and with capacity locked at 210,000, the odds weren't in their favour.
But there's a good reason to have a go: Glastonbury isn't just the UK's biggest music festival, hosting more than 3,000 acts, but it's also a 24-hour city of entertainment - with comedy, poetry, circus acts and cinema screens dotted around the site.
No artists have been confirmed for the 2024 instalment, but organiser Emily Eavis has hinted that "a really big American artist" will be among the headliners.
If you're brave enough to run the gauntlet of the online ticketing system, here are a few tips that might (might) help improve your chances.
1) Check your registration
As part of an ongoing (and successful) campaign to stop touts, anyone who wants to attend Glastonbury will need to have registered in advance.
The registration window closed on Monday, 13 November - so if you're not on the list already, it's too late.
Everyone else is urged to check their details in advance, external, to make sure everything is up-to-date.
You will need to have your registration number and postcode for each person you are buying a ticket for when the sale begins.
2) Decide between coach or general entry
Glastonbury tickets come in two flavours: standard weekend tickets and coach weekend tickets.
Weekend tickets mean you can arrive under your own steam by train or car - although beware of Glastonbury's legendary tailbacks, and how depleted your energy levels might be on the way home.
Coach tickets are more environmentally friendly and, according to some, increase your chances of success, depending on how remote your starting point is.
However, it's important to note that coach tickets are distributed on the coach itself, so you can't cheat the system.
Ticket and coach packages go on sale at 18:00 GMT on Thursday, 16 November.
General admission tickets go on sale at 09:00GMT on Sunday, 19 November.
Madonna is among the rumoured headliners for 2024
3) Form a syndicate
You will have more chance of success if you team up with your friends.
For general admission, you can book up to six tickets in one transaction - so make sure all six of you are trying to log on when tickets go on sale (NB: Not in the same house... see below for why).
Your syndicate doesn't have to be formed of people you're going to the festival with. It can be friends, colleagues, aunts, uncles, neighbours or Chris Martin from Coldplay. The point is that you're working together.
Make a group chat so you can co-ordinate your efforts and, most importantly of all, put all of your registration numbers and postcodes in a shared document, so that the first person to reach the front of the queue is ready and prepared.
4) Don't fall for scam websites
The demand for Glastonbury inevitably attracts scam artists and fraudsters, who prey on people's desperation to separate them from their money.
Tickets are sold exclusively at glastonbury.seetickets.com, external. Avoid the temptation of buying from elsewhere, as you'll only be disappointed.
5) Plan your morning
Look, 9am on Sunday morning is nobody's favourite time of the week. Set an alarm, brew a pot of coffee and try to power through the hangover.
If possible it's also worth considering (and I apologise for this in advance) going into your company's office.
No matter how good your wifi is at home, a work computer should have a more stable connection.
6) Don't use multiple devices
Using multiple devices and browser tabs can result in errors, and may even get you kicked out of the queue, which you definitely don't want.
Sticking to one device per household also makes the process more fair, according to the Glastonbury website, external.
"Running multiple devices simultaneously to attempt to access the website is a waste of valuable resources, and doesn't reflect the ethos of the festival.
"Please stick to one device and one tab, so that you can focus on entering your details without confusing your browser and help us make the ticket sale as quick and stress free as possible for all."
Emily Eavis (pictured) is the co-organiser of Glastonbury Festival alongside her father Michael
7) Familiarise yourself with the booking process
A limited number of people will be given access to the booking system at any one time. Before that, you will be directed to a holding page that refreshes every 20 seconds.
When (or if) you get through, you will be asked to enter the registration number and registered postcode for the lead booker and up to five other people. Copy and paste them, instead of entering manually, to avoid errors.
When you proceed, the next page will summarise the details you entered. Check them carefully, as they cannot be changed.
If you are booking a coach package, the next step will be to choose the time, date and place you will depart. It is only possible to book tickets from one departure town in a single transaction.
Once that's all confirmed, you will be asked to enter payment details.
8) Have your payment information ready
This year, Glastonbury tickets cost £355 each, plus a £5 booking fee - but at the check-out you only pay a deposit of £75, with the balance due in the first week of April.
Make sure you have enough money in your account (£450 if you're buying for six people) and, crucially, keep your card details to hand.
When the time comes, enter these details exactly as you see them because a mistake could result in the purchase being declined. In some cases, that could leave your registration details being frozen for up to 10 minutes.
Finally, make sure your phone is charged in case your bank contacts you for verification.
9) Check your email
Once you've made the booking, be sure to check your email for confirmation - including the junk folder.
If you don't receive an email within three hours, ticket-holders are urged to contact See Tickets on their customer service portal, external.
10) Don't give up hope
Last year, tickets for Glastonbury sold out in 61 minutes. If you're not one of the lucky ones, don't despair.
It's possible to get into the festival as a volunteer - typically working three eight-hour shifts in return for a ticket. The festival provides some details of how to apply, external on its website.
And in April, a number of returned or unwanted tickets will be put up for sale. At which point, you can go through the stress of applying all over again.
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