It’s only two weeks away
You’ll have to carry your things quite a distance, so Glastonbury Festival organisers are urging people to bring only what they need(Image: No credit)
With just two weeks until the gates to Worthy Farm open for this year’s Glastonbury Festival, many of us fortunate enough to have tickets will be thinking about what we’re wearing and what to pack.
The festival in Pilton runs from Wednesday, June 25, to Sunday, June 29, and many of us will be leaving the festival site on Monday, June 30 – that’s some five nights of camping to prepare for.
Fortunately, festival organisers have provided some advice on how best to prepare for this year’s epic event, and exactly what you can’t bring with you.
We’ve taken their advice and compiled it into a handy guide to help you when you’re planning outfits, thinking about meals and alcohol, and choosing everything from tents and sleeping bags, to luggage, footwear and toiletries.
What you can’t bring with you – including prohibited items
Here’s a list of things you shouldn’t bring with you – and things that will get you in trouble if you do bring them with you:
- Do not bring more than you need – most things can be bought on site if necessary.
- Do not bring disposable vapes
- Don’t bring gazebos – they take up valuable tent space in the campsites. Organisers also say that you shouldn’t put tape around your tent enclosures, as it makes it harder for other people to get to their tents.
- Only food and alcohol for personal consumption can be brought onsite
- Do not bring any knives
- Do not bring anything made of glass – all glass will be confiscated if found, including perfume and mirrors
- Do not bring excess packaging – if you purchase something new for the festival, please remove all the excess packaging at home before you arrive
- Do not bring body glitter – even biodegradable body glitter will not properly break down without being heat treated
- Avoid the use of disposable wipes
You may be searched at the entrance for any items that may be used in an illegal or offensive manner, which will be confiscated.
Aeriel views capture the sheer scale of the Glastonbury Festival as people settle in on the first evening. June 26, 2024. Release date – June 27, 2024. Over 200,000 people are expected to attend the festival, which is running between June 26-30, 2024, at Worthy Farm, near Pilton, Somerset. Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA will be headlining over the three days of the weekend on the Pyramid Stage. (Image: No credit)
Persons suspected of carrying out illegal and/or offensive activities onsite may also be searched and face eviction. Confiscated items will not be returned.
Prohibited items (which should not be brought on site) include:
- Portable laser equipment or pens
- Knives
- Animals (except registered guide dogs)
- Sound systems or drums
- Generators
- Sky lanterns, kites, fireworks, flares of any type or wax candles
- Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) – organisers say: “As a contraband good, under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 this substance is banned at Glastonbury. It is very dangerous to inhale nitrous oxide directly from the canister and if you take too much nitrous oxide you risk falling unconscious and/or suffocating from the lack of oxygen.”
Anyone using fireworks will be evicted from the site and materials confiscated. No unauthorised tape recorders, professional film or video equipment are allowed onsite – cameras for personal use are welcome.
Flying or filming with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones) is not allowed on site before, during or after the festival and is prohibited by law.
What you should bring – a packing checklist
Here’s a list of what to bring to this year’s Glastonbury Festival – you can use this as a checklist when packing:
- Festival ticket
- Travel tickets if coming by coach or train
- Personal ID – original ID documents (not photocopies) are needed for hospitality tickets, Challenge 21, lead booker for coach packages, and Sunday tickets. Photocopy of ID is ok if a child is under 12 but looks older.
- Money/cards
- Mobile phone and battery pack – you can also hire a Vodafone battery pack here – simply collect on site at the Vodafone Connect & Charge and exchange daily for a freshly charged one
- Ear plugs
- A reusable water bottle to fill up from the free taps on site
- Tent (lines/poles/groundsheet/pegs)
- Sleeping mat/sleeping bag/duvet/pillow
- Wellies or sturdy boots
- Waterproof coat and over trousers
- Change of weather-appropriate clothing (in case you get wet) including a cosy sweater – it can be hot in the day and chilly at night
- Toiletries
- Medication if required – find out more on the festival’s prescribed medication policy here
- Next of kin notification
- Medical information (allergies etc)
- Toilet roll
- Sun cream and hat
- Contraceptives
- Spectacles/contact lenses and solution
- Torch/batteries/bulbs (spares)
- Bin bags (for dirty clothing and footwear)
Be sure to mark all your valuables with your house name and postcode so it can be posted back to you.
Festival-goers packing up at Glastonbury Festival 2022Things to think about
Organisers say: “Only bring what you really need. However you arrive, you’ll inevitably have to carry your stuff a fair distance to where you camp.
“And as part of our Love Worthy Farm, Leave No Trace campaign we’d definitely encourage you to only bring things which you can take home – that includes everything, even your tent.”
Organisers also urge festivalgoers to use luggage tags, and label all bags and belongings with your name and mobile number, so they can easily be identified.
They ask for festivalgoers not to wrap their bags in thick plastic wrap you sometimes see at airports, as bags will need to be accessible for searches – and you’ll be bringing unnecessary waste onto the festival site.
For security reasons, ticket holders will be subject to searches of their vehicles, bags and their person at this year’s festival, so expect queues and be patient.
Remember that the less you bring, the quicker you’ll get through the gates. Organisers say: “As a general rule, we would ask you to only bring as much as you can carry yourself.
People walk around tents erected in the main camping fields during day one of Glastonbury Festival 2024 (Image: Getty)
“We do appreciate that you’re going to be staying on the farm for several days, but travelling light really will make things quicker. There will be separate search lanes for those with luggage and trolleys, and we anticipate that these lanes will be significantly slower.”
There are now fewer camping equipment stores than there have been in the past on site, so make sure you bring a sturdy tent with you.
Organisers add: “If you do bring camping chairs/blankets to use at busy stages, please make sure that they are kept away from designated paths and that there is plenty of room between you and the next set of chairs/blankets, so that people can still easily walk through.
“Please also bear in mind that for some people, having somewhere to sit is not a luxury but essential to their ability to see the show – not all disabilities are visible. For really popular artists, we might need to ask people who are able to, to pack up their rugs/chairs so that as many people as possible can enjoy the show.
“We only make these announcements when it’s really important, so please help us if you can.”