Emily Eavis has addressed the spike in ticket price for next summer’s Glastonbury festival after fans described it as a ‘p*sstake’.
The enormous music event usually sells out in minutes, but a few fans have been disappointed to see that the cost of tickets has jumped up to £335, plus a £5 booking fee.
Emily, who organises the world-famous festival and is the daughter of its founder Michael, said that the Glastonbury team has tried ‘very hard’ to keep ticket prices low.
She cited the rising cost of basically everything when addressing the new price in a statement.
Glastonbury normally attracts the biggest names in the music industry, with headliners over the years including Coldplay, Kanye, Dolly Parton, Adele, Beyonce, Arctic Monkeys and Jay-Z.
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Glastonbury is one of the biggest festivals in the world. Credit: Unsplash
Rumours for this year’s festival, which will take place between 21 and 25 June 2023 at Worthy Farm, include Harry Styles, Roxy Music, Eminem, Elton John and Arctic Monkeys.
But despite such huge names, many are outraged at the ‘big leap’ of a price of a weekend at Glastonbury.
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One person said: “I’ve been to Glastonbury once. Was an brilliant experience. Incredible festival. That being said, given the current climate, £340 is an absolute p*sstake. What are you getting above an beyond 10-15 years ago when the prices were half that?”
Another said: “Glastonbury’s price increase from £270 to £340 is a 26% price increase. Part inevitable but further removing the festival from its radical roots & pricing it out of the reach of many music lovers.”
Someone else commented: “Glastonbury now costing £340 is unsurprising but also concerning. Don’t think this is the festival organisers fault, they are just another victim of the current climate, but this doesn’t help the idea that the music industry is increasingly closing itself off to the working class.”
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Emily said: “I wanted to post about the Glastonbury 2023 ticket price which was announced today.
“We have tried very hard to minimise the increase in price on the ticket but we’re facing enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show, whilst still recovering from the huge financial impact of two years without a festival because of COVID.
“The £50 deposit on ticket sales day in November will be the same as ever, with the balance not due until April. And, as always, there will be opportunities for many thousands of people to come as volunteers or as part of the crew.
“In these incredibly challenging times, we want to continue to bring you the best show in the world and provide our charities with funds which are more vital than ever. We are, as always, hugely appreciative of your ongoing support.”
Thankfully, many music fans have said they understand why Glastonbury tickets are suddenly costing so much more.
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A ticket for a stadium gig is pretty much £100 nowadays.
You could call the 3 Pyramid headliners stadium gigs and that’s the £300 equivalent. Leaving £40 extra to pay for The Other, West Holts, The Park, BYOB, 100+ stages
Someone wrote: “A Glastonbury ticket is worth well over £1000. The price hike is totally justified, especially in the current economical climate. It’s always been obscenely cheap for what you get imo. I’m surprised it wasn’t done sooner – it speaks volumes about what they stand for.”
Another said: “Never been to Glastonbury, but if I did, I’d probably think £330 was pretty decent value, especially when the likes of Chris Martin and his merry band of sustainable touring hypocrites are knocking out 2 hours at the Etihad for £500+.”
One commented: “I mean, it‘s still a bargain, but that’s a big leap. Goes to show how all the price increases over the last year cascade through. Their staff need paying after all, and there’s a fair few lights and speakers…”
get that glastonbury is a huge endeavour, that costs for everything are rising and that the festival industry as a whole is struggling after covid but with ticket prices up to £340pp (before food, travel, drink) it's clear the festival is now almost exclusively for the wealthy https://t.co/wVhzNAltvA
One person joked: “£340 for Glastonbury tickets… the first time I went, I paid a dodgy geezer £20 for a wristband and a lift over the fence.”
Someone else quipped: “£340 for Glastonbury next year ! Bloody Hell, you could have the heating on all morning for that.”
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And summing it all up, someone else wrote: “If you think I’m willing to spend £350 on a ticket to the greatest place and biggest party on the plant then your right, I am…”
Glastonbury 2023 is scheduled for 21 to 25 June at Worthy Farm in Somerset, with tickets on sale on 6 November.
8 million Brits are predicted to write their Christmas cards using AI this year, new research finds
Emily Sergeant
Millions of Brits are predicted to use AI to help them write their Christmas cards this year.
According to some new Royal Mail research, AI is most likely to be used for researching gifts (19%), festive party ideas (13%), and decoration inspiration (13%) throughout this festive season, but in what is a revelation many will find surprising – and even alarming – it’ll even be used for the timeless tradition of sending Christmas cards.
2,000 UK adults who celebrate Christmas were surveyed by the postal service early last month on how they plan to make use of technology this festive season.
The new research found that 11% of respondents will be using AI to help write the messages for their Christmas cards, which works out to be around eight million people.
It’s the under-55s who are driving the trend, as you can probably imagine – with 57% of this age group planning to lean on AI for guidance, compared to just 14% of those over 55.
Oh, and you’ll want to keep an extra eye on the Christmas cards that come from the men in your life too, as men are 67% more likely than women to use AI to help them.
Eight million Brits are predicted to write their Christmas cards using AI this year / Credit: KoolShooters
Although it may be largely frowned upon, it’s fairly easy to see why people are turning to tech to find the right words, as the Royal Mail’s research found that nearly one in five (19%) Brits say they don’t know what to write in cards, and this figure rises even further to 31% when it comes to 18-24-year-olds.
Despite the use of AI as a helping hand, three quarters of Brits (74%) do still think it’s important to keep the tradition of sending handwritten Christmas cards alive.
“AI is becoming part of everyday life for many people,” says technology journalist and broadcaster, Georgie Barrat. “So it’s natural we’ll see it used during the festive season. When it comes to writing cards, it can help you go beyond a simple ‘Merry Christmas’ and choose words that feel more unique.
“Often, people know what they want to say – they just need a little help expressing it.”
Richard Travers, who is the Managing Director of Letters at Royal Mail, concluded: “No matter what you include in your card, or how you choose to write your message, cards are truly a way of spreading festive cheer.”
Featured Image – Richard Bell (via Unsplash)
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Manchester’s 2025 Christmas Parade in pictures as tens of thousands turn out for festive event
Emily Sergeant
Tens of thousands of residents flocked to the city centre this past weekend for Manchester’s annual Christmas Parade.
Over the past few years since it first took place in 2022, Manchester Christmas Parade has become a festive favourite with both locals and visitors alike, and with more than 400 participants and performers gracing the city’s main shopping streets this year, it’s really not hard to see why it’s a much-loved fixture in the city’s countdown to Christmas.
Seen by many as the heartwarming event of the festive season, Manchester Christmas Parade was even ‘bigger and better’ than last year’s fantastic crowdpleaser.
Even a drop of the classic Manchester rain didn’t stop play on the day, as the fabulous festive Parade made its way through the packed city streets to the smiles and cheers of all those watching.
Despite the Manchester weather, tens of thousands of you turned out to make Sunday’s Christmas Parade truly magical. 🎅 👼 🥁
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the heart-warming event of the season.
“I remember thinking at the end of our fabulous Manchester Christmas Parade last year that we would never be able to top it,” commented Cllr Pat Karney, Manchester City Council’s Christmas spokesperson. “But this year’s parade has been off-the-scale brilliant – it was so much fun and you could see how much all the children loved it.
“The city centre was heaving, it felt like millions of Mancs had turned out for the parade, and what a performance we put on for them.”
The streets were filled with music and laughter this year, as well as the return of Manchester’s very-own Elf Express, complete with VIP passenger Santa hitching a ride on his way to the North Pole, together with his trusty team of elves.
Tens of thousands of people turned out for Manchester Christmas Parade 2025 this past weekend / Credit: Manchester City Council
Not only that, but Nutcracker-inspired toy soldiers also sweept their way through the Parade on segways, alongside a roaming Christmas tree, a pair of gentle giant-sized reindeer, a stunning arctic fox, and Jack Frost himself.
Brand-new for this year will be the fantastic Festive Fantasy Candyland Castle, which stood over three-meters tall and truly was the stuff of fairytales.
“Manchester once again helped make the magic and the memories for a whole generation of families from across the city and beyond,” Cllr Karney concluded.
Daisy Jackson -
18th October 2022 
