How much is a Glastonbury ticket? How the price has changed over the years

16 November 2024, 18:00

This his how much a ticket to Glastonbury Festival has cost over the years... and how much you can expect to pay for one in the future.

By Radio X

@RadioX

Does Glastonbury Festival give you value for money? With the cost of living rising and inflation getting bigger and bigger, how far do your hard earned pounds go?

It's difficult to argue that Glastonbury doesn't give you bang for your buck - the sheer scare of the event, plus the number of different stages and variety of artists and performers is hard to beat.

So how much is a Glastonbury ticket these days? And how much has the price risen over the decades?

1. How much is a Glastonbury ticket?

   The cost of a full weekend ticket for Glastonbury for 2025 is £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, which is mandatory with every transaction.

   How has the ticket price increased since the very first Glastonbury festival in 1970?

2. Glastonbury ticket price 1970: £1

   The original Glastonbury Fair in September 1970 featured a bill that included Tyrannosaurus rex, Stackridge, The Amazing Blondel, plus "lightshow, lightship, diorama and films, freaks and funny things" would have set you back a full quid - plus you got free milk from Worthy Farm

   

3. Glastonbury ticket price 1979: £5

   After 1978's impromptu free festival, the final year of the 70s saw Michael Eavis back with a proper, fee-paying event that featured Peter Gabriel, Steve Hillage, John Cooper-Clarke and many more. It was all in aid of the UN Year Of The Child.

   

4. Glastonbury ticket price 1981: £8

   The year that Glastonbury invested in its own laser for the Pyramid Stage, so the tech was reflected in the ticket price. You could also see New Order, Aswar, Hawkwind, Gong and more.

   

5. Glastonbury ticket price 1984: £13

   As the festival got bigger, so did the ticket price. For £13, you could have enjoyed The Smiths, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Dr John, Billy Bragg and The Band at Worthy Farm. Plus, in those days, you could send a cheque by post to bag your tickets, or even just turn up at a selected record shop and buy your passes over the counter. Imagine that.

   

6. Glastonbury ticket price 1992: £49

   Quite a leap in ticket price for the weekend, but the number of stages had expanded and the festival was now one of the best in the world. 30 years ago, you could have seen Carter USM, Shakespear's Sister, Youssou N'Dour, Blur, Lou Reed, Primal Scream, PJ Harvey, plus enjoyed nice hot weather the entire weekend!

   

7. Glastonbury ticket price 1995: £65

   The 25th anniversary of the festival featured Oasis headlining for the first time, The Cure headlining for the third time and Pulp standing in for The Stone Roses after they bailed out. It was also your chance to see Jeff Buckley play The Other Stage, which is worth £65 all by itself.

   

8. Glastonbury ticket price 1999: £83

   The final Glastonbury of the 20th Century saw R.E.M., Manic Street Preachers and Skunk Anansie all headline for the price of £83. Also on the bill were The Beautiful South, a young Muse, Coldplay, Underworld and Queens Of The Stone Age.

   

9. Glastonbury ticket price 2003: £105

   This year was the first time that the ticket price topped a full £100 for the entire weekend. The addition of a new security fence the previous year meant that the event was now better organised and much safer. In return for that, you got decent weather, R.E.M., Radiohead, Moby, The Flaming Lips, The Darkness and a whole lot more.

   

10. Glastonbury ticket price 2010: £185

    For the festival's 40th anniversary, you could expect to pay £185 for a weekend ticket and enjoy the music of Muse, Stevie Wonder and Gorillaz (who stood in for an absent U2). And Thom Yorke did a secret show! A new photo registration system had been introduced in 2007, meaning forgeries and touting became increasingly difficult.

    

11. Glastonbury ticket price 2022

    The cost of a full weekend ticket for Glastonbury in 2022 was £280 plus a £5 booking fee. When the tickets originally went on sale in 2020, they were priced at £265, but the cancellation of that year's event, plus the following year's festival and inflation across the intervening period meant an increase.

    

12. Glastonbury ticket price: 2023

    When the price of a ticket went up by £55 last year, festival co-organiser Emily Eavis said: "We have tried very hard to minimise the increase in price on the ticket, but we're facing enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show, whilst still recovering from the huge financial impact of two years without a festival because of COVID.

    "In these incredibly challenging times, we want to continue to bring you the best show in the world and provide our charities with funds which are more vital than ever."

    pic.twitter.com/NviPLDDdds

    — Emily Eavis (@emilyeavis) October 17, 2022

13. How much is the price of a Glastonbury ticket expected to rise in the next decade?

    Last year, experts at OLBG analysed the rise in general sale ticket prices since 2013 and found that fans will most likely be paying an excess of £500 for a ticket to the festival by 2030.

    Their research also found that Glasto tickets have risen at almost double the rate than if the tickets were adjusted for inflation.

    This is what they predicted in 2023:

    Predicted cost of Glastonbury tickets based on average % increase:

    • 2026 - £402
    • 2027 - £426
    • 2028 - £450
    • 2029 - £476
    • 2030 - £504