Glastonbury Festival scam as tickets to go on sale

Glastonbury tickets are expected to be highly sought after when they become available for general purchase at 9am on Sunday morning, despite a 50 percent price increase compared to pre-Covid times.

Ticket prices for the much-anticipated Somerset festival, set to take place from 25 to 29 of June next year, have risen to £373.50, not including a £5 booking fee. This reflects a 5 percent increase from last year's price of £355 and is significantly higher than the 2019 price tag of £248.

Emily Eavis, co-organiser of the festival, attributes the hike in costs to the rising expenses in staging the event that draws over 200,000 attendees annually, as well as the financial recovery post-Covid-19 pandemic.

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The upcoming edition is expected to witness a surge in ticket demand, given that 2026 will be a "fallow year" for the festival – a break that allows the Worthy Farm site to regenerate. Approximately 2.5 million people are anticipated to vie for entrance this time around.

In a twist to the previous purchase approach, which involved constant refreshing on the See Tickets website, a new 'queue' system has been implemented.

Would-be festival-goers now find themselves randomly placed in a virtual line before accessing the ticket sales page. On Thursday night, the initial release of tickets, inclusive of coach travel, prompted frustration among masses of aficionados; these sold out in roughly 30 minutes.

Furthermore, the revised system has not escaped critique. Contrary to what fans experienced with acquiring Oasis concert tickets, they were not informed of their position in the queue, leaving many in the dark about their chances.

A number of fans reported being caught on a screen indicating two stagnant green bars, and some who reached the purchasing stage were subsequently ejected during the process when inputting payment details.

Social media users expressed their frustrations about the new system, with comments circulating online. One user pointed out: "Punters hate it being out of their control. It’s horrendous."

Another shared their disdain, saying: "This Glastonbury ticketing system shows the country is in deep decline. How can you make an already terrible ticketing system worse with this nonsense? ".

Additionally, experts have raised concerns over the possibility of fans falling victim to scams. Digital rights specialist at ExpressVPN, Lauren Hendry Parsons, highlighted the danger, stating: "With hugely popular events such as Glastonbury, people are often making rapid, time-pressured decisions, with high emotions because they don't want to miss out - and we all know how quickly Glastonbury can sell out. Unfortunately, these kinds of rapid-fire, emotionally charged situations are ripe for exploitation."

Parsons advises festival-goers to be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true, to scrutinize website URLs for any abnormalities that may signal a fake site, like typos, and to report any suspicious activity to the bank and police. To prevent ticket scalping, Glastonbury has ensured tickets can only be obtained through the official vendor, See Tickets, requiring hopeful attendees to register and upload a photo for the ticket.

While the headliners for the 2025 edition of the festival have yet to be announced, last year's event featured performances by Coldplay, Dua Lipa, and Sza on the renowned Pyramid Stage. Those successful in acquiring tickets for the upcoming festival will need to place a £75 deposit to confirm their reservation.

The remaining balance for the tickets is due in early April. Any tickets that are not fully paid off will then be available to purchase in a re-sale once the lineup is announced.

Glastonbury Festival was contacted for comment.