Tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2023 go on sale at the beginning of November 2022. Here are my top 10 tips to help you get the 'golden ticket'.
Getting your hands on a ticket for Glastonbury is now notoriously tricky. Each year around 135,000 tickets sell out in half an hour, with an estimated 2 million people trying their luck. After last year, competition is likely to be tough, as fans are predicting a year that's EVEN BIGGER AND BETTER!
Number 1 - Register! There's no point getting up early on Sunday morning to try for tickets if you haven't registered HERE first. It's free to register, but if you haven't already done it, then you've fallen at the first hurdle - registrations close in October. However, all is not lost. After the first ticket sale, registrations will open again and more tickets will be released in the spring (see number 9!), so make sure you register before then.
Number 2 - Pick your team! Each person who gets through to the booking page can buy a maximum of 6 tickets, so it makes sense to be part of a group of 6 who will all be trying for each other. If you've got more than 5 friends, you'll need to separate people into different groups, without falling out over it. Remember that awkward moment in PE at school when you had to pick teams...
Number 3 - Get organised. No, I mean REALLY organised. You need the kind of planning, preparation and precision that your boss wishes you had. You'll need a spreadsheet with all of the postcodes and registration numbers of your group of 6, and then in case you're really lucky, all of the same info for Group 2, Group 3 and so on. (Just in case you get through three times!) You'll also need to set up a group chat on Whatsapp or similar (Keep on topic...this is no time for hilarious cat GIFs!) so that you can let each other know if you get to the ticket purchasing page and when to start celebrating...or not.
Number 4 - DO NOT GO OUT THE NIGHT BEFORE!! You really don't want to 'pop out for a bite to eat and a couple of drinks' on the Saturday, and then wake up miles from home (and all of your devices) at 8:59am on the Sunday. That would not go down well with the rest of your group. Just make yourself a brew and have an early night. There'll be plenty of time for drinks in June.
Number 5 - Devices YES, Browsers YES, Tabs NO! Trying to access the booking page from multiple tabs will actually reduce your chances of getting through. Instead, just have 1 tab open on multiple browsers, and do the same across all of the devices you can find. And make sure those devices are all charged!
Number 6 - Keep on refreshing. Another reason for just having different browsers instead of different tabs, is that you'll need to keep refreshing until you hopefully get through to the booking screen. Don't refresh so often that you click back out of it, but DO make sure your group keep trying until you see the BOOKING COMPLETE screen. With so many people on the site, it's quite possible that the system will crash and you'll have to start again. EVERYBODY STAY CALM!!!!!
Number 7 - Money, Money, Money! It might sound obvious, but if you get through, you're going to have to pay for those tickets. You need a £50 deposit for each ticket you're buying, so up to £300 available. This is only payable by debit card or credit card, but it is refundable if you decide not to go. (Sorry, what???!) You won't have to pay the balance until the following April.
Number 8 - On the National Express, there's a jolly hostess.... If you don't mind getting up early to travel to the festival by coach, then you get to buy your tickets on the Thursday evening instead. You also get a lovely glow from knowing your carbon footprint was a bit lower than those of us who came by car.
Number 9 - Don't give up. Firstly, keep trying until eventually you see the 'SOLD OUT' screen on the website. Even then, there is a resale in the spring when there'll be fewer people trying. In the meantime you can try to get a job with the BBC or the Guardian, register as a volunteer, set up your own mobile Quinoa and Kale Smoothie stall and rent a pitch, or start looking into how you could tunnel under 'THE FENCE'.
Number 10 - Get ready to do it all over again... if you want to stay in the campervan field or pre-erected camping like Worthy View. Campervan pitches sell out quickly, as it's the only accommodation that doesn't involve carrying everything you own all the way from the car park or the coach. You'll also have your own fridge, decent cooking facilities, a comfortable bed, and a battery to keep your phone charged. Keep an eye out for the accommodation sale towards the end of October. If you don't have your own campervan or caravan, you'll need to make sure you've got a van booked too. You should be able to pay a deposit and settle the balance a couple of months before Glasto, but don't leave it too late! See more info at Manchester Camper Hire.
Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favour. Nick :)
