To think that music festivals are bloody hard work and physically very tough?

[malificent7]

Just got back from Glastonbury and feel as rough as hell. I have been many times but this year at the age of 45 I might have to admitt defeat as much as I love them.

The media portrays this picture of unadulterated fun and freedom. The reality=
Lug your tent , clothes, food and booze for 30 mins( minimum,) from car to camping pitch.
Q q q for loos,food, drink etc.
Exposed to elements such as blazing sun with little shade.
Walk 25 miles a day.
Catch the lurgy as in close proximity to 1000000s .
Good job i love music but my body can't cope. I hate drugs and drank very little booze ..i'm more into Green smoothies but still feel awful today.

I'm going to have to disagree with the majority here. I absolutely love a festival.

I have arthritis and I'm 40, it takes me at least a week to feel better, and I'm in agony most of the day. But I couldn't give up going for anything. The atmosphere, the music, the adventures, the random people you meet, the outrageous clothes you can wear, staying up dancing until the sun rises, ending up at tent parties, the barbecued sausages - it's all bliss to me.

'The media portrays this picture of unadulterated fun and freedom'

TBF thet also show people lugging gear around, sweating in the sun, looking knackered, or wading through mud. There was a lot of emphasis for Glasto coverage about the massive size of the festival, how long it takes to walk around, how hot and knackering it was.
Anyone who looks at that and thinks it'll be a doddle needs their head examined...

I love festivals but Glastonbury has never appealed to me. It just seems too big and overwhelming. I go to a lot of smaller festivals and borrow/hire a campervan for onsite camping so I can sleep comfortably and have my own toilet. It makes a huge difference to my old bones to be able to return 'home' in the middle of the days lineup to make a proper lunch at a proper table (often outside under the canopy) and have a wee nana-nap.

The new Bond?

I wonder whether it was because it was Elton’s last UK concert, rather than someone who was still touring. That crowd would put me off.

I was definitely the hype about it being his last ever UK show although in reality I’ve been there for other huge acts which I’ve not seen and other acts get similarly much smaller audiences, when Paul MacCartney played I went to see Roisin Murphy and could’ve walked right to the front no issues whatsoever.

So really, you’ve always had the main Pyramid headliners as the biggest pull, that’s just always going to happen.

What nobody sees on the TV is those crowds then moving to the SE corner or Arcadia late night areas which also get rammed.

That crowd would put me off.

Damn posted too soon, right in the middle of that crowd was fine, we had space to dance and weren’t rammed in - I was in the middle about where the 2nd repeated speaker was.

But we got there for Blondie, Lil Naz x and then Elton, obviously loads of people just try and rock up for the headliner and it creates a bottle neck around the edges.

Festivals are no more or less physically demanding that Disneyland or multiple day visits to theme parks. It's just a bit of walking around. If you choose to carry too much stuff in that's on you. If you want luxury bed be prepared to walk further because the campervan fields are outside the perimeter fence.

You get a hotel bed, a room and a shower/bath at Disney/a theme park which makes it much less hard work 😊

All the trekking about, to then sleep in a tent in a noisy field where you can still hear the music blasting out and get woken up by the sun boiling you alive first thing isn’t what I imagine you get at Disney 😁

Glastonbury is so massive it's bloody hard work. I tend to go to smaller festivals where life is just a lot easier. Any queues are less than 5 mins, much less walking as everything is closer together. Toilets are fine. Better view of the stage. Etc.