October 11, 2005 11:56

Glastonbury 2005 praised by officials

Things look good for 2007

Hopes are high that Glastonbury Festival will take place in 2007 after a council report deemed the 2005 event the “safest ever”.

Organiser Michael Eavis had already decided to give the festival one its five-yearly breaks in 2006, but following praise from Mendip District Council Licensing Board, things look good for the following year’s license application.

The report, presented by Mendip's Business Manager in Planning and Environment Charles Uzzell, acknowledged that this year’s event, headlined by The White Stripes, Coldplay and Basement Jaxx, was ‘more successful’ than 2004, with noise control improved and the impact on local communities lessened.

There was a 14% decrease in the number of arrests and a 19% drop in arrests, excluding drug offences. Superintendent Adrian Coombes from Avon and Somerset Constabulary said: “Every Glastonbury brings new challenges, but this year we believe the festival was the safest ever, and the figures back that up.”

And although the festival was marred by flooding leaving some people ‘effectively destitute’ onsite, the report found that that sort of rainfall could be expected ‘about once every hundred years’ and praised organisers’ response to it.

However, campsite space was judged to be insufficient for the number of tickets sold.

The full report can be read here.