How to go to Glastonbury Music Festival for free – the ultimate guide-Tori Brazier and Lillie Rohan-Entertainment – Metro

Dua Lipa is one of two female headliners at Glastonbury 2024 (Picture: Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)

We are days away from Glastonbury 2024, and if you’ve got FOMO after missing out on tickets this year, last year, or maybe even every year, then listen up.

We’re breaking down exactly how you and your mates can get into the festival for free (ahem, legitimately) and save yourself a pretty penny.

This year’s event, which boasts a stellar line-up including Shania Twain, Coldplay, Cyndi Lauper, SZA, Avril Lavigne, Janelle Monáe and many more – saw standard ticket prices increase by £20 to £360, but it didn’t seem to deter fans. 

Tickets went on sale last November and sold out in one hour, while resale tickets made available in April sold out in just 22 minutes. 

But it’s not all doom and gloom. It turns out there are some not-so-secret ways you can attend the festival and soak up all that musical goodness without selling a kidney.

How much are ticket prices for Glastonbury?

2024 has marked the most expensive tickets ever for the music event (Picture: Getty)

It was revealed last year that ticket prices for the beloved music festival were increasing to £360 plus a £5 booking fee for standard tickets, thus making June 2024’s Glastonbury the most expensive popular music festival on the market so far. 

The move was yet another blow to fans who had only just come to terms with the hefty increase in 2023 which saw tickets priced at £335 plus a £5 booking fee. They were up from £265 plus a £5 booking fee during the previous general sale in 2019 for what (eventually) became the 2020 festival. 

Organiser Emily Eavis, pictured with her founder father Michael Eavis, defended the price increase (Picture: Getty)

Addressing the backlash to the huge increase in 2023, festival 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.’

She continued, ‘as always, there will be opportunities for many thousands of people to come as volunteers or part of the crew.’

How to go to Glastonbury for free

Exactly what everyone has been wondering in light of the expense, and there are various ways to attend the iconic Somerset music event without shelling out for a ticket.

Work for Glastonbury Festival directly

Obviously, if you are hired directly by Glastonbury Festival, you will be able to enjoy the perk of free admission, although the roles on offer are pretty limited.

These are largely administrative roles such as finance, licensing and customer services, as well as infrastructure, procurement, site design, sanitation, environmental and ground works. You will also have to do your job over the festival weekend too!

SZA will make her Glastonbury debut this year (Picture: Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)

The festival site details that temporary roles in these departments generally begin recruiting in January to start in the Spring, so bear that in mind.

Onsite traffic services are also required, such as vehicle chaperones, tractor drivers, crossing staff and drivers, who are the one job in the list who work for their ticket rather than being paid.

Work for your ticket by volunteering

Litter-picking is a tried and tested classic, with the Recycling Team recruited directly by the festival.

For this duty and others in this section, volunteers tend to pay for their ticket in advance before receiving a refund once they have completed the required hours, which is usually four six-hour shifts (but can vary).

Litter-picking is a very popular volunteer role (Picture: Getty)

Glastonbury has stated that if you wish to join the Recycling team, you must have a personal recommendation from a previous recycling volunteer. 

Litter-picker Amanda Ayers previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘After we finish our shift at about midday, we’re completely free to do whatever we want. We don’t miss any of the music at all and we can still see all the headliners, as most of the stages open between 11.30am and midday. We can stay up as late as we like and enjoy what’s around – as long as we can get up on time for our 6am shift start.’      

You can also volunteer as a tent steward or campsite warden, who are all recruited from organisations looking to raise funds and act as friendly, helpful faces around the festival.

Stewards receive training online if they’re not from Somerset or in person if they’re local, however shifts are a bit of a lottery as nights have to be covered as well as during the day.

You too could wear one of these vests… (Picture: Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage)

Steward Rachel Williams told Metro.co.uk in June 2023 that the role was certainly not ‘a doss job’ adding: ‘We’re given these lovely bright pink high-vis jackets and we have to point people in the right direction, like show them where the toilets are or point them where certain parts of the festival are. We’re also taught what to do if there’s an emergency – from people collapsing, to even lightning strikes: some of us are given walkie talkies so we can call over security or medics.’

Paramedics, first aiders, and those with medical qualifications can also apply to join the festival’s volunteer team on site.

Some charities, such as Oxfam, WaterAid, and the Samaritans, which has a Festival Branch, also offer the chance to work at Glastonbury.

Don’t forget about market traders and performers…

Do you think Coldplay paid for their tickets? (Picture: Matt Jelonek/WireImage)

Of course, during the festival, you will want to eat and drink and buy things, with Worthy Farm opening up to market traders for the long weekend, too. If you know traders who head to Glastonbury, now is the time to get in with them so you’re a known face when Glasto rolls around next year.

There are a limited number of festival passes allocated to each stall.

Also, let’s not forget – performers! True, you may not be the next Beyonce just yet, but as a festival of contemporary and performing arts, there are plenty of non-celebrity artists attending, from street performers and masked actors to comics and more.

What dates are Glastonbury 2024 and who has been announced in the line-up?

Glastonbury 2024 will officially run from June 26 to 30 with over 3,000 acts performing across the weekend. 

After huge backlash last year for the male-dominated headline bill, Glasto has made moves to bring female acts to the forefront.

SZA and Dua Lipa will be making history at this year’s festival, as it marks the first time in Glastonbury’s 54-year history that female acts have taken two of the three headline slots.

Elsewhere, Coldplay will return as a headliner for a fifth time, while Shania Twain will be filling the coveted Sunday teatime Legends slot. 

Watch Shania at the coveted Sunday teatime Legends slot (Picture: Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images)

US rock band LCD Soundsystem, British rapper Little Simz, 80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper, Keane, Nigerian singer Burna Boy, PJ Harvey, British soul star Olivia Dean and Paloma Faith are also set to perform on the Pyramid Stage.

Elsewhere, Russell Crowe is set to play the Acoustic Stage on Saturday evening while Idris Elba flexes his DJ talents in the Stonebridge Bar.

The popular Avalon stage is hosting numerous throwback icons like Kate Nash, Lulu (before her retirement), Haircut 100, and The Feeling as well as new artists like Baby Queen and Caity Baser. 

80s pop icon Cyndi will perform at Glastonbury 2024 (Picture: Shannon Finney/Getty Images)

Charli XCX is heading to the Dance Stage with her Partygirl offshoot, while the Arcadia will see top DJs like Fatboy Slim,Eric Prydz, Andy C, Amelie Lens, and Barry Can’t Swim. 

Check out the full lineup here. 

How to register for Glastonbury tickets?

No official information about the 2025 festival has been announced yet, however based on previous years, it’s expected Glastonbury will take place June 25-29. 

Once the 2024 weekend wraps, we can expect to see some announcements about dates, tickets and potential headlines. 

In the meantime, Eavis recently revealed on BBC’s Sidetracked podcast that 2026 will likely be a fallow year for the event.

Glastonbury Festival’spyramid stage will host an array of talent this year (Picture: SWNS/Avalon/Getty Images)

Glastonbury’s fallow year usually happens every five years and gives ‘the land a rest’ and ‘the cows a chance to stay out for longer and reclaim their land’, according to Eavis. 

She said it’s also a chance for everyone to ‘switch off’ and when the festival comes back, ‘it feels lovely.’ 

No official announcements have been made regarding the fallow year.

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