Glastonbury 2024 review: fireworks, crowds and midnight exploring

Glastonbury Festival 2024 didn’t disappoint. As always, it had it all: big acts; secret sets; a range of entertainment; and crazy nightlife.

This year was my third time attending the festival and my second as a volunteer with Oxfam. Comparing all three years is a big challenge, considering my method of attendance was different each time, but in this review I’ll try to do just that!

About Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury is an overnight music festival held in Pilton, Somerset, every year. With a capacity of 210,000, it’s the UK’s largest music festival and has a big reputation to match.

Glastonbury is probably the UK’s best known festival and is always super popular, with tickets selling out ridiculously quickly.

And that’s for good reason. Its fame means that it attracts some of the biggest names in music, as well as BBC coverage across multiple stages and on radio. But its size also means there are over 100 stages, meaning the festival has areas covering a range of genres, with new and established artists both performing there.

What is Glastonbury like?

Glastonbury, on paper, is all about the music. There’s the big stages which have round-the-clock BBC coverage, like the Pyramid and Other Stages. And there are dozens of smaller stages dotted around the Site too.

But saying Glastonbury is just for music would be like having a market that only stocks tomatoes. There are just so many other things to do. There’s a circus field putting on indoor and outdoor performances. A cinema shows films, some of which have Q&As with the director or starring actors. Elsewhere there’s a craft field where you can try out new activities, and a healing field where you can receive massages. There’s space for talks and activism as well as DJ sets and kids activities.

All this means that getting a ticket is hotly contested, and many punters attend year after year.

What makes Glastonbury different to other festivals?

The most obvious difference between Glastonbury and its competitors is its sheer size. The site is so massive, as you’d expect for the number of people, and getting from one side to the other is a trek and a half. But that opens it up to containing a lot of new things you wouldn’t fit in otherwise.

Other things that come to mind are:

• It’s independent. No Festival Republic here – Michael and Emily Eavis, who run the show, are widely visible and have their hand in everything, and there aren’t many adverts or sponsorship.
• They have their own newspaper. The Glastonbury Free Press publishes a paper twice during the weekend. Meanwhile, there’s also a radio station to share the entertainment.
• Secret sets. There are normally a couple of ‘TBA’ acts where big acts perform at smaller stages. Likewise, many artists bring out a special guest to add a bit extra pzazz to their normal set.
• A vibrant nightlife. If you think things end when the music does, think again. Glastonbury contains a range of after-dark venues, such as the South-East Corner, Silver Hayes and Arcadia, which go on until 6 am and keep the party going.

New elements for 2024

Glastonbury’s been around since 1970. To keep things fresh for the regulars, every year there are some small changes.

2024 marked a change for Arcadia, one of the late-night DJ spots, as the stage morphed from a spider into a dragonfly. Yes, it is as crazy as it sounds! The staging is incredible, with lasers representing the wings going all over. I’m not one for electronic music but I could watch the effects all night.

Several new stages made their way into the festival. The Tree Stage joined the Woods, as a late-night spot for ambient music. As this was just open space before, I like the new set up, with more places to sit and a gorgeous canopy which moved gracefully in the wind: definitely a good addition.

Elsewhere, the Rabbit Hole was ditched in place of the Wishing Well. A queer bar, Scissors, appeared in the Park, whilst a South Asian stage, Arrivals, made its debut in the South-East Corner.

Weather at Glastonbury 2024

For me, every festival I go to is strongly defined by the weather. Whether it’s raining or shining, blustery or boiling, how the weather acts affects how I feel – and everyone else too.

In 2024, Glastonbury had changeable weather, which was somewhat confusing to the brain. Several days were freezing (for June), and I barely took my fleece off. Other days were sunny and hot, with people seeking out the shade and no morning sleep in the tent.

Even so, I am grateful that there weren’t any downpours to put a damper on the festivities!

My experience in 2024

2024 marked my third Glastonbury. It was a new experience for me, in that I had early shifts with Oxfam.

In 2022, I volunteered at the festival with Oxfam – this is where you work three shifts over the course of the festival, in return for having free entry. I’ve done this at several festivals, such as Reading, Boardmasters and Wilderness, but never had I such a poor shift schedule as I did in 2022 at Glastonbury.

It really put me off, so in 2023, I attended the festival as a punter. It was my first time buying a ticket to a festival rather than volunteering, so this was a novelty.

For 2024, I wasn’t really too concerned about whether I’d attend as a volunteer or punter; I’d seen enough of the festival that it didn’t matter whether I saw everything in one year. After (like many others) we didn’t get tickets, I signed up to volunteer.

Early shifts

My volunteering experience in 2024 was quite different to that in 2022, in that I got early shifts. For me, that meant shifts overnight on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, meaning I had finished all the shifts by the time the first punters got let into the arena.

Having early shifts was great as I could do and see everything as though I was a punter, with no restrictions. However, the three overnight shifts were exhausting. Two of the three days after the shifts, the weather was amazing, meaning that I’d go to bed at 7:30 am, knowing I’d be up in an hour or two because of the heat.

The overnight shifts themselves were a different experience to what I’m used to with Oxfam festivals. I was on a staff gate, and as you might expect before Glastonbury Festival actually began, it was absolutely dead!

Still, it cleared up the weekend so I could fully experience the actual festival. It also had added benefits, like exploring South-East Corner at 3 am whilst no one else was there, or walking around the back of Pyramid before security had completely closed it off.

Glastonbury 2024 ratings

I can’t resist adding a quantitative rating to any review, so it won’t surprise you I’ve also done that here. My ratings are below, and I’ve summarised why I gave these scores in the next few paragraphs:

• Music: 5/5
• Activities: 5/5
• Audience and atmosphere: 5/5
• Site: 2/5
• Accessibility: 5/5
• Facilities: 4/5
• Value for money: 5/5
• Volunteer experience: 4/5

Overall score: 4.5/5 (excluding volunteer experience)

If you attended Glastonbury in 2024, let me know if you agree with these ratings!

Music: 5/5

Glastonbury is known for its fantastic lineup. 2024 was no exception, with a wide range of musical acts to entertain us.

This year, the headliners were Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA. I watched all three and they were pretty good. Whilst SZA didn’t draw a massive crowd, her set was stunning and I enjoyed her performance.

I have to say – I preferred the 2022 lineup, which felt tailored to my musical tastes. Unlike that year, I had no desire to run between stages as there just wasn’t that much that appealed compared to the previous years.

But given the full range of music on offer, I really can’t complain.

Activities: 5/5

Glastonbury has a lot of activities. There’s so much to do, so it’s difficult to ever get bored.

Compared to the first few years, I didn’t actually do that much. However, it was fun to wander around and see what was going on.

Audience and atmosphere: 5/5

One thing I like about Glastonbury Festival is that the audience is generally well-versed in gig etiquette. It’s not normally someone’s first festival and isn’t popular with teens, so punters generally act respectfully in crowds and you don’t need to worry about getting pee (or equivalent) thrown into your face.

This translates to a great atmosphere. A particular highlight for this was during Coldplay; it was magical to stand in such a big, happy crowd, everyone singing along, and with our LED wristbands lit up.

Something to note for 2024 was it felt like there were more kids than normal – or perhaps I just never noticed…

Site: 2/5

In the past I’ve liked Glastonbury’s arena. It’s so varied and, with the campsites within the main arena, it’s easy to get around.

However, this year it felt incredibly crowded. It was the first year I’ve noticed the security having to shut off big areas, like West Holts or the Other Stage, as they’d reached capacity. It’s incredible that this happened and I do feel like someone on the Glastonbury team failed their crowd management course this year.

The crampedness of the arena pushed the rating down for me, as it distracted from basically everything else and made the festival uncomfortable at times.

Accessibility: 5/5

As far as accessibility goes, Glastonbury is a good festival, as far as I’m able to tell without experiencing it firsthand.

Facilities: 4/5

It’s harder for me to rate the facilities at Glastonbury with an unbiased head. Staying in the Oxfam campsite (known as the Oxfield) is a much more pleasant experience – we’ve got showers, composting toilets and a marquee. The facilities in the main arena are not so good.

I hate but reluctantly accept the long-drop toilet, which is the main toilet block type in the Glastonbury arena. Sure, they smell and the doors are too short – but at least they are available, which has to count for something.

On the plus side, there were even more composting toilets and female urinals dotted about this year, which always make for a more pleasant experience.

Value for money: 5/5

This year, Glastonbury tickets cost £355 per person. That puts it as one of the most expensive music festivals in the UK – although it is offset somewhat by the variety of performances and activities on offer.

Having not paid for my ticket, the value for money this year was great for me. That being said, when looking at tickets, the price was somewhat off putting, albeit something I’d have to accept to attend.

Volunteer experience: 4/5

Given that I attended Glastonbury with Oxfam Festivals, I’ve also rated the volunteering experience. This was my seventh festival with Oxfam so I have a few festivals to compare it to.

As far as campsites go, the Oxfield at Glastonbury is a good one. There’s plenty of loos, a large shower block and an on-site caterer. The marquee is massive – although, with so many volunteers, that’s what you’d expect.

For me, the best thing about being crew at Glastonbury is the number of crew bars dotted around the site. This year I sought most of them out (there’s still a few left for me to find next time). Our favourite had to be Maceo’s in Block 9; it had a good atmosphere.

Having early shifts (albeit not the best ones) was also pretty good.

Overall: 4.5/5

Glastonbury 2024: summarising the experience

Glastonbury Festival was fun in 2024. Having early shifts with Oxfam meant I got to watch a lot of music and see much more than I was expecting. I just wish the festival wasn’t so crowded and there was a bit more breathing space in the arena.

Overall, I’m glad I got to go; it was definitely a good way to spend a week.

Will I make it back next year? Only time will tell…