Bring a battery pack for charging your phone (there are Vodafone charging points on site, but it’s good to have one for emergencies), and take some cash in case the card machines at the bars fail—the queues for cash points are long.
Don’t bring lots of food and booze. Decant spirits into plastic water bottles (which are lighter), and buy soft drinks on site to use as mixers. Bring wine in paper boxes. The best drinks to get on site include the pear cider from Brothers Bar next to West Holts, or from the the famous Cider Bus in the Village Inn area—it’s been a fixture at Glastonbury since the 1970s. Head towards the Theatre and Circus fields for the Pimms Bus and co*cktail cage.
In terms of food, bring breakfast options and snacks only—most things are going to get hot and sweaty in your tent. The food options at Glastonbury are vast, and if you’re on a budget, many stalls take part in Glastonbury’s £5 meal initiative.
The toilet and shower situation…
Visiting one of the 5,000 toilets on site is one of the less enjoyable experiences. Opt for the open-air long drop toilets over the Portaloos, or seek out the compost ones. Sanitizer is available at most toilets, and free toilet paper and soap can be picked up from the complimentary property lock-ups around the site (I tend to take my own toilet paper). Showers are scarce, but there are a few in the Greenpeace field and at the bottom of the Kidzfield—head there in the early hours or in the evening when the big bands are on, or prepare to queue for over an hour. Failing that, use the soap and water at the sinks and water points for a wash. Wipes (even biodegradable ones) are not encouraged on site.
Keep track of your mates
Getting lost, losing your friends, and finding yourself without phone reception are all inevitable parts of the Glasto experience, so arrange your meeting spots well in advance. My friends and I have used “left of the sound desk” at most stages for years. Pick something that doesn’t move, like a food stall, or take a flag that your whole group will be easily able to spot. Alternatively, use the interactive map on the official Glastonbury 2024 app: you can drop pins on your meeting points ahead of time, or share your pin to let mates know where you are.
Decide who you really want to see…
The Glastonbury app lists every act on site and allows you to create your own personal line-up. But it’s impossible to see everything—especially given that some stages are almost an hour’s walk apart—so make a list of the top five or 10 acts you want to see most, and decide the rest as you go. This will eliminate the stress of marching around site the whole time. If you’re keen to explore music you’re not familiar with, link your Spotify account with the festival app to receive personalized recommendations from the music platform based on your listening history. Spotify also has playlists for all the major stages at the festival, so you can get a taste of what’s to come.
What about the clashes?
This is one of the biggest frustrations. You’ve established the top five acts you want to see most, and now it seems three of them are playing at the same time. In some instances, it is possible to double up if you plan it well. This year I’ll be watching Idles on Friday night from 10:15 p.m., from the back section of the Other Stage, and then making one of the shortest walks between stages to the Park Stage to see Fontaines DC, who start at 11 p.m. If you’re going to try something similar, take into account the distance between stages, the exact start and finish times, and work out where to stand to make the quickest exit to your next destination.
Find music and dancing away from the main stages
Don’t forget to scour the line-ups of the smaller tents, stages, and bars. This year the increasingly popular Stonebridge Bar, which services the Park Stage, has DJ sets from Idris Elba, Annie Mac, Jazz Supernova, Groove Armada, and Jarvis co*cker, to name a few. Over on the Greenpeace stage you can catch super hot acts like Yung Singh, Jayda G, Songer, and Lynks in a more intimate environment. One of my highlights is always the Glasto Latino tent (next to West Holts). For more dancing, head to Glastonbury-On-Sea (near the Park Stage) at 2 p.m. on Saturday for aNotting Hill Carnival takeover,or the Notting Hill Carnival block party at 9 p.m. that night.Get involved in this year’s festival flashmob dance, which is “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” choreographed in honor of Shania Twain, who has this year’s Legends slot. The first public flashmob is at 4 p.m. on Thursday in the Theatre and Circus fields.
There’s way more to Glastonbury than music…
Even if you didn’t see a single band at Glastonbury, you could be kept busy with everything else that is on offer: the festival is home to amazing and eccentric art and design installations, quirky set builds, circus and stage entertainment, a cinema, talks and debates, poetry, comedy, films, activism, spirituality, wellness…even fitness. For a slightly different journey around the site, join the Ravers 2 Runners5K at the Greenpeace field at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning. You can also hear about politics, social justice, the climate crisis, the housing crisis, trans rights, and more at talks across the site, including in the Greenpeace fields, at the Left Field tent, and at the NOMAD and Information stages. Guest speakers this year include legendary primatologist Jane Goodall, Angela Rayner MP, Grace Blakeley, Danny Price, Venetia La Manna, and Novara Media. Comedians including Nish Kumar and Luisa Omielan will appear in the Cabaret tent, and you can see trapeze artists, fire breathers, and more in the Theatre and Circus fields. One must-visit area is the Green Fields, which celebrates its 40th year of being the chill zone of the festival.
How to spot a celebrity
The easiest way is to keep an eye on the side of the stage when you’re watching acts: think David and Cruz Beckham watching Liam Gallagher; Florence Welch at The Maccabees; Andrew Garfield at Sophie Ellis-Bextor; Kate Hudson, Stella McCartney, and Rami Malek at Blondie; and Lewis Hamilton and Aaron Taylor-Johnson enjoying Elton John. But they can also be in the pit (remember Jay-Z and Gwyneth Paltrow watching Beyoncé?) or just in the crowd. I’ve seen Stormzy, Matt Smith, Billie Piper, Lily James, Kate Moss, and so many others enjoying a band or just wandering around. For more than a fleeting look, head to the West Holts signing tent to meet some of the artists playing this year, or go to one of the talks and debates at The Information or Pilton Palais Cinema, as there’s an incredible line-up of actors including Ambika Mod, Tilda Swinton, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott, Florence Pugh, and Cate Blanchett appearing to discuss their work this year.
There could be secret acts
There are always a few gaps left on the schedule, such as the ones on the BBC Introducing stage (Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 7 at p.m.), and Woodsies (Saturday at 6 p.m.). The Park Stage is infamous for its TBA slots, which have previously been filled with the likes of Radiohead, Pulp, and Foals. Or there could be a fake band name on the bill somewhere, such as last year’s The Churnups on the Pyramid Stage, who turned out to be The Foo Fighters. Rumors so far suggest a return for Pulp, because Jarvis is due to be on site already, and bookmakers have stopped taking bets on Kasabian because it’s so likely they’ll play. Keep an eye on X for tips. Also, activate your alerts on the Glastonbury app; keep an ear on Worthy FM (87.7FM), the on-site radio station; check chalk boards outside the stages and tents with TBA announcements; and have a chat with crew, stewards, and security at the various stages—they’re always the first people to know!
