Despite the best efforts of the organisers, up to 3,000 Glastonbury tickets remain unsold for this year’s event, it has been reported.
The legendary event has been a continuous sell out for 15 years, with last year’s event taking less than two full hours to sell out. This year’s festival has been dogged by criticism for the start due to a convoluted ticket buying process and the choice of Jay-Z as headliner. Lambasted by some observers – including Oasis’ Noel Gallagher – the choice of Jay-Z was seen by some as a departure from Glastonbury’s values. The ticket process enraged fans who were forced to supply proof of ID months in advance, before organizer Michael Eavis began selling briefs in high street chain HMV.
The loss of ticket revenue will have an effect on the money given by the event to charity, with donations set to fall well short of last year’s £2 million. Glastonbury has been dogged by bad weather in the past few years, with last year’s event turning into a notorious mudbath.
The news that Glastonbury has not sold out is that latest ill omen for the over-crowded British festival scene – according to figures, 16 events have already been called off in the UK this summer.
Glastonbury begins tomorrow (June 27th) with headliners including Kings Of Leon and the controversial Jay-Z.
