Glastonbury

Glastonbury Festival is a five-day music and performing arts festival held at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, England. Founded in 1970 by Michael Eavis, it has grown into the largest greenfield festival in the world, drawing over 210,000 attendees across 900 acres of farmland. The festival runs every summer except during scheduled fallow years, with the next edition set for June 23 to 27, 2027.

How Glastonbury Works

Glastonbury operates on a five-year cycle that includes one fallow year to let the farmland recover. The 2026 edition was cancelled as a fallow year, giving the farm, the village, and the festival team a traditional year off. The next festival runs Wednesday June 23 through Sunday June 27, 2027.

Key operational details:

1. Stages and Programming: The festival features over 100 stages across the site. The Pyramid Stage hosts the biggest headliners, while the Other Stage, West Holts, The Park, and John Peel Stage anchor the main music programming. Beyond music, the festival includes theatre, circus, cabaret, and spoken word. Areas like Arcadia, Block9, and Shangri-La host large-scale art installations and late-night electronic music.
2. Ticketing: Tickets are sold exclusively through See Tickets and require advance registration with a photo. General admission for the 2025 edition cost £378.50 plus booking fees. Tickets are personalized and non-transferable, with security checks at the gate. Ticket information for 2027 will be released in autumn 2026.
3. Camping and Accommodation: General camping is included in the ticket price across multiple fields. Upgraded options include Worthy View (pre-erected tents) and Sticklinch (pre-erected tents and campervan pitches). Campervan and caravan passes sell out quickly. The festival site covers 900 acres, so be prepared for long walks between camping areas and stages.
4. Fallow Years: Glastonbury takes a fallow year roughly every five years. Recent fallow years include 2006, 2012, 2018, and 2026. These breaks are built into the festival calendar to rest the land and the local community.

Real-World Example: Glastonbury 2025

The 2025 edition ran June 25 to 29 and drew an estimated 210,000 attendees. The 1975 headlined Friday night on the Pyramid Stage, Neil Young headlined Saturday, and Olivia Rodrigo closed the festival on Sunday. Other notable performers included Lewis Capaldi, Charli XCX, Pulp, Rod Stewart, Wolf Alice, and Gracie Abrams.

Tickets for 2025 sold out during the initial November 2024 sale, with a resale in April 2025 for any unpaid balances. A general admission ticket cost £378.50 plus £10.25 postage. The festival generated an estimated £100 million for the local economy and donated over £5 million to charitable causes including Oxfam, WaterAid, and Greenpeace.

For an independent artist, landing a Glastonbury slot can transform a career. The festival books across all stages and genres, from emerging folk acts on the Acoustic Stage to underground electronic producers in Arcadia and Block9. A single breakout performance on the John Peel Stage or West Holts has launched artists like Arctic Monkeys, Florence and the Machine, and Sam Fender to wider recognition.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

Glastonbury books hundreds of acts across its 100+ stages, and many of those slots go to independent and emerging artists. The festival's booking team actively seeks out new talent through recommendations from venue promoters, BBC Introducing, and artist management. If you are building a following in the UK, Glastonbury is the single most impactful festival slot you can land.

The strategy for getting booked:

1. Build a strong live reputation through UK venue and festival circuits. Glastonbury bookers track artists who sell out small venues and generate press coverage.
2. Get support from BBC Introducing, which has a direct pipeline to Glastonbury slots on the Pyramid Stage and other stages.
3. Work with a booking agent who has relationships with the festival's talent team. Most slots are filled through agent submissions rather than open applications.
4. Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to track your streaming growth, as festival bookers increasingly look at streaming data when evaluating emerging acts.

Read our music festival strategy guide for a deeper dive on getting booked at major festivals.

Related Resources

• Music Festivals Directory - Explore other major UK and international festivals
• Streaming Royalty Calculator - Track streaming growth that attracts festival bookings
• Tour Revenue Calculator - Plan your UK festival tour budget
• Music Festival Strategy: Get Booked and Make It Count
• Official Glastonbury Festival Website