I saw all the People Dancing

So, Glasto 2024...

As I prepare to head home today, I had a few thoughts about this year’s festival. It was a phenomenal weekend, filled with incredible talent and conversations with strangers.

I saw all the humans dancing!

This Glasto taught me a lot about the world’s perception of top-tier artists, as well as the serious inequalities faced by our communities and talented individuals alike. These two key lessons opened me up to some wonderful conversations with the press, the incredible talent, and the people who love dancing. I’m finally able to put into words what I think Glastonbury is meant to mean.

It’s really been a rollercoaster. I’m lucky to hold a golden ticket and work the festival, and it’s been a serious love affair! Seven festivals in and I still love Glastonbury as much as I did during my first year in 2015. People may say it’s overrated, or that the lineup isn’t good enough, but there is so much more to this city that makes it the most incredible place on earth for five days a year.

My favourite question at Glastonbury:

What’s your favourite moment of the weekend? (Seems too simple, right?)

Working in the property lockups, we have the opportunity to engage with what makes Glastonbury amazing - the people. I can tell you now, everyone answered that question completely differently. Not one person had the same experience. Every perception was filled with joy and wonder, and of course, sometimes frustration (it’s hard work partying for five days straight!). This question always gives an opportunity for a mindset flip, reminding people why they had a great time, even amongst the tiredness, dust, or our confusing summer weather, and of course, in previous years, mud!

But alas, I digress. Glastonbury has never been about who’s on the line-up. It’s about the community, the feeling you get when you’re standing in the middle of a field and a voice draws you in from afar, compelling you to take a look. When you speak to a stranger and it feels natural, not forced. That feeling you get on Monday when you arrive home and can’t wait to do it all again in 365 days.

That’s what makes Glastonbury great - the pull it has on the people who have been here once and the desire the world has to be in these fields partying with us. Glastonbury is here for the people, and the people need dancing.

This year, there has been a heavy focus on the line-up, not so much regarding the ability of the artists to be amazing creators, but on the respect people hold for these talented individuals. Which is honestly, on occasion, next to none. The comments left on the internet claiming people on the biggest bill of the year weren’t worthy, or that the line-up was weak. Well, I can tell you, in every field I entered, people were singing, screaming, dancing, and honestly having a blast. So what’s up with that?

I think it was clear to see that some of the busiest sets of our weekend were either nostalgic women from our past who hadn’t been given the opportunity before, or up-and-coming musicians from all backgrounds, filling fields no one thought they’d fill.

But let’s not get political! I had an amazing week in the greatest city in the UK, and I can’t wait to continue to return for years to come.

My favourite moment was Masego on the West Holts stage. That was special!

What about you?

Written by Lauren Haycock, Monday the 1st of July 2024 (In her tent at glasto festival)