Glastonbury 2005 - for Mud and Glory ...

Glastonbury 2005 - a festival that this year was shaped by a mixture of joy and desolation. Despite the media hype and attempts to hijack the festival by the celeb circuit - Glastonbury remains as it always has been and always will be - the people's festival. It is without doubt the best festival in the world and it is made so because of the people who attend and the people who put their hearts and souls into making this festival the phenomenon that it so obviously is.

"there are no cows here ..." came the reply
Shuffling through the crowds, all sharing the same patch of slithery, slippery muddy walkway - how much time did you spend crushed in the crowd?
If only the college that created this fabulous structure knew just how accurate this would be this year as well ...

Having said that the weather did undoubtedly adversly affect this years festival and it was a complete mare trying to negotiate a site that was sodden and muddy with vehicles constantly moving around. Whilst Michael Eavis and Mean Fiddler can't be blamed for the bad weather conditions one has to question why more wasn't done this year to make things a little better for the paying public. The storms were predicted well in advance of the public being allowed on site and from previous experience the organisers are well aware of just how the site would be affected by such weather - thus the well sodden hotspots around the site were in exactly the same places as they were in previous years - obviously no attempts had been made to alleviate these areas and thus make conditions a little better. Michael Eavis told the BBC that:

The sun makes people lethargic and rain stimulates the character

Of course Michael Eavis was able to retreat into his warm and dry home whenever he felt like it - a luxury not possible for the thousands of fans who lost their tents and their possessions during the predicted storms and predictable conditions. Whilst we admire Michael Eavis greatly we can't help feeling that this was an insensitive, crass and irresponsible comment truly unworthy of the great man. Those who organise this great event seem to revel in the frenzy of publicity that the bad weather generates - but Glastonbury doesn't need it - what it does need is a little more attention to detail in terms of crowd safety issues - particularly the issues that such bad weather highlights.

We noted that security seemed friendlier and more helpful this year - a real positive improvement - aside from the TX teams who will insist on wandering around trying to look hard - it really does make them look silly as opposed to professional, still a big well done to those stewarding and security personnel who did it right - it matters, it makes a difference and people appreciate it.

The constant movement of vehicles amongst the heaving crowds is undoubtedly hazardous - this year it was more so given the dodgy conditions underfoot - it really was hard to remain upright whilst trying to avoid a multitude of vehicles (some of which were undoubtedly travelling a little too fast for the prevailing conditions)

Crowd movement from one area to another was the usual chaotic and at times downright dangerous undertaking it always is and one has to question how much attention is given to the safe movement of congested crowds around the site. It doesn't appear that this is even on the agenda for consideration by the festival organisers - we think it should be. Sadly and as is usual at all these events there was a noticeable lack of crowd safety information, we saw no discouragement or information regarding crowd surfing - as usual several acts decided it would be cool to dive into the crowd thus giving the action a legitimacy it doesn't deserve.

Despite these few gripes Glastonbury retains its crown as being the best, most innovative, friendliest and magical festival ever and whilst he does do a great job the success of this festival isn't just down to Michael Eavis - its also down to the wonderful stoic public who make the whole thing the remarkable phenomena it truly is - because underneath all that hype there is something very special and magical about the whole thing - one of those experiences everyone should have before they die.

So what were the great things about Glastonbury 2005? Without doubt the wealth of entertainment, Leftfield, the mind boggling array of food and the astonishing displays of artwork scattered all around. How amazing that people make so much effort to ensure that there is such a beautiful and wondrous environment for us all to enjoy. Wasn't Brian Wilson just the biz? had to be the hit of the festival and should have been a headliner! We loved the Proclaimers too....but we were really disappointed by the White Stripes. Basement Jaxx stormed it..Kaiser Chiefs wow! the Beat were a treat! Jools Holland, Elvis Costello, Razorlight..just too many to go on about, but as always wall to wall entertainment - but what was happening with Primal Scream???.

So many things make Glastonbury unique and unequalled - we love the opportunity to learn more about real issues that affect the world around us, the cows and the robot that made us laugh when the sun came out to play on Sunday! we love the atmosphere and the magic that never fails no matter what is thrown at people and we hope that the ever growing media hype that the organisers are buying into doesn't overtake and spoil something that in essence belongs to the paying public. 2006 will be poorer without Glastonbury - roll on 2007 and lets hope that the organisers learn a thing or two from 2005.