Glastonbury Secrets: What 11 Years in the Mud Teach

After eleven years of reporting, one music correspondent has uncovered the unspoken truths of Glastonbury Festival. From backstage banter to the surprising fuel of the event, here are the key insights from the heart of the world’s most famous music festival.

A Festival Fuelled by Gummies

Glastonbury runs on an unexpected power source: Haribo candies. The reporter, Mark Savage, witnessed mountains of the gummy treats. As the sun beats down, the Haribo transforms into a sticky, unified mass.

Backstage Insights

Interviews with musicians are remarkably different at Glastonbury. Savage found artists are more candid away from the rigid formality of typical studio interviews. Liam Gallagher, for instance, once complimented his t-shirt on live television, a moment that wouldn’t happen in a traditional setting.

“There is no festival like it…there’s a sense of humanity and kinship that sets it apart from the corporate blandness of the rest of the festival scene.”

—Mark Savage, BBC Music Correspondent

This festival’s unique atmosphere contributes to its popularity, attracting approximately 200,000 people each year (Statista, 2023).

The Family Affair

A key factor behind Glastonbury’s distinctiveness is its family-oriented operations. Many stages are managed by multiple generations of the same family, which fosters intimacy and a special kind of humor rarely found at other large-scale festivals.

Memorable Moments

One memorable incident involved the band Hurts, who requested “two dozen pictures of models” for their dressing room wall. The crew, all men, gamely posed in black-and-white photos, though the band’s reaction remains unrecorded.

Glastonbury offers a one-of-a-kind experience, a place where unforgettable moments unfold amid the music and the mud.