If, like us here at The Pop-Up Hotel, you’re starting to feel the Glastonbury festival excitement building then you’ll probably be starting to plan your strategy for securing festival tickets. It really is a serious business.
Glastonbury is one of the most iconic and popular festivals in the world, which can make getting a ticket extremely difficult. Although Glastonbury plays host to around 210,000 festival goers every year, almost 2.5 million people tried to get tickets last time they were up for sale – so the odds aren’t exactly in everyone’s favour. If you’re hoping to secure your Glastonbury 2024 tickets and avoid missing out, here are some of our hints and tips that can help secure your spot at one of the most sought-after music festivals.
Disclaimer
Please note that all the hints and tips listed below are our own. They are not endorsed by Glastonbury Festival. The official website says that Glasto-goers “attempting to book tickets online using multiple browser tabs can confuse the ticket sales process and cause your transaction to fail” and they “strongly advise that you use just one browser tab when trying to book tickets, in order to avoid possible problems with your transaction.”
The advice from the festival in 2019 explicitly asked people not to use multiple devices, stating that: “running multiple devices simultaneously to attempt to access the website is a waste of valuable resources, and doesn’t reflect the ethos of the Festival”
Therefore it’s important to read all of the hints and tips available to you and then make your own decision about how to proceed.
Register
As silly as it sounds, this vital first step catches a fair few first timers out – you must pre-register on the Glastonbury festival site in order to try to buy tickets. You can register here.
We emailed recently advising those who registered prior to 2020 to check that their registration is still valid. Any old registrations not updated by September 30th were deleted on October 2nd, if this is you, you will need to re-register.
The deadline for registration is 5pm on Monday 30th October but you should register as soon as possible just in case there’s a problem i.e., your photo is rejected. Quite simply – if you don’t pre-register then you can’t even attempt to buy tickets.
Know the process and prepare
Like an important exam – it’s vital that you research the process and plan accordingly. The information on the festival site is obviously ‘The Authority’ but there’s a wealth of hints and tips including those outlined here) available, which we hope may improve your chances.
Our key tips for success include:
Prior to ticket sale day
- Record clearly the registration numbers and postcodes for all of your group. A group can be up to 6 tickets all trying to secure the same ticket type i.e., all coach or all standard weekend tickets. Preferably get individuals to cut and paste the information from festival notifications (to avoid incorrect captures) then check, check again and check again. Remember that if just one registration number is wrong then this will jeopardise getting tickets for everyone in your group. If you’re adopting a multi attempt approach (see below) then consider having this info in a shared spreadsheet for everyone.
- Again, it sounds obvious, but maybe avoid going out the night before, remember to set an alarm and make sure that all devices (tablets are rumoured to be more effective) are fully charged.
On the day
- Standard weekend tickets go on-sale at 9am on Sunday 5th November. In 2023 tickets sold out in an hour, its usually half this time but the site experienced technical difficulties. If you’ve not already gathered – the Glastonbury ticket buying process is brutal so it’s super important that you maximise your chances.
- Tickets are only available to buy from See Tickets. Don’t be tempted to buy tickets from anywhere else no matter how desperate you are to attend or how credible they seem.
Although the Festival advise against using multiple browser tabs and / or devices, others swear that it’s the key to success. Individuals will need to make up their own minds but a few words of advice if you decide to adopt this approach:
· Use multiple browsers not multiple tabs – multiple tabs may actually reduce your chances of success.
· If you’re a group adopting and multi approach strategy, consider using multiple internet connections, set up a dedicated WhatsApp group to communicate.
· Refresh but not too often and consider having one non refreshed attempt just in case refreshing is penalised.
Standard weekend tickets are £355 + £5 booking fee, of which a £75 deposit (plus coach fare if booking a ticket + coach travel option) is payable when booking in November. Do make sure that the credit / debit card that you’re planning to use is issue free and has the required funds available. It’d be terrible to fall at such a final hurdle.
Try to stay calm – easier said than done with so much at stake but spinning won’t help. If you’ve prepared as much as you can then you really will have given it your best shot.
Other things to consider.
Travelling by Coach
Although Coach travel might not be your first choice of travel it might be worth considering if you want to completely maximise your chances. Coach tickets sell out equally quickly but it does give you another bite at the cherry and can give you a trail run at the process before Sunday. Coach tickets go on sale at 6pm on the 2nd November. You will need to be prepared to actually travel by coach as this is where your ticket will be issued. You will also need to pay the full coach fare with your deposit. The varying prices can be found on the festival website.
The Glastonbury Festival ticket re-sale
Believe it or not people do actually return tickets either because their circumstances change and they can no longer go or they just don’t fancy some of the headliners announced / rumoured. A small number of tickets will go on sale, usually in the first week of April and will follow a similar process. If you’re disappointed in November then set your notifications for alerts on the re-sale.
Finally, if you’re one of the lucky ones then you’ll need somewhere to stay. If being well rested and well fed (to name but a few) in order to enjoy your Glastonbury experience to the max then we’d love to see you at The Pop-Up Hotel. For our full accommodation line up and information about our site (do read our Glastonbury blogs) then visit us here.
If you have any questions then just ask.
All that remains is for us to wish you luck and, hopefully, see you in June.
The Pop-up Hotel Team
