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Glastonbury 2009: 'over half of the tickets sold'

Fans have been snapping up tickets since this morning (October 5)

October 5, 2008 | 18 Comments
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Over half the available tickets for Glastonbury 2009 have been sold after they went on sale at 9am (BST) this morning (October 5).

From this morning fans could register for tickets by following links at Glastonburyfestivals.co.uk and pay a £50 deposit for each ticket, paying the rest of the £175 (plus £5 booking fee) ticket price next year.

Fans could book as many tickets as they wanted to, as long as each ticket corresponded to a registered individual.

Glastonburyfestivals.co.uk reports that of this afternoon over half the available tickets had been sold, with sales expected to continue into the evening.

An initial rush in the morning caused problems for some fans trying to order tickets, but this afternoon sales have been going through without problems, prompting organisers to call the scheme a "great success".

In a statement organiser Michael Eavis said: "It's really exciting that people are still remembering one of the best festivals we've ever held and are clearly already looking forward to the next one.

"June saw the most diverse audience for 10 years or so, and hopefully this new fairer ticket system will mean that we have a great crowd again in 2009."

See the NME.COM Glastonbury ticket news story for further details of how to book tickets.

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Comments (18)

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Jimmy2605

Oct 6, 2008

Eavis your fukin clueless - reading and leeds has it spot on with a regularly better line up - wise up - deposits and that bollocks arent in the festival spirit. When reading and leeds tickets go on sale this march they will sell out in an a couple of hours for a very good reason they know the headliners and the spirit of the festival!!

Eric Harrington

Oct 6, 2008

Jimmy2605, you are a clueless fuckwit. When you grow up & know a little about festivals come back and comment. You may be a "big hitter" but some people don't have as much cash as you.Bands play Reading & Leeds as they get paid 10 times the amount of money as Glastonbury. Glastonbury gives all profits to charity.

hewellt99

Oct 6, 2008

yeah the "spirit" and the fact theres only about 70000 tickets on sale. readin and leeds are tiny compared to glasto.

boyzee78

Oct 6, 2008

Jimmy2605, you've clearly never been to Glastonbury have you ?? I'm sorry but you can't really compare Glastonbury to Reading & Leeds, even when their line ups are supposedly better. Glastonbury is just in a different league my friend.

billytheshroom

Oct 6, 2008

Unlike Reading and Leeds, Glastonbury isn't all about running around tents watching as many bands as you can. Glastonbury truly comes to life after the bands finish, and doesn't even compare with Reading and Leeds - it's like saying West Ham United aren't as good as Indiana Jones. I have been to both festivals many times each and the spirit of Glasto wipes the floor with that of Reading and Leeds.

mart_cfc

Oct 6, 2008

No, Reading and Leeds will sell out because of touts. Wise up.

alexcolthart

Oct 6, 2008

i went to both reading and glastonbury this year, and glastonbury was so much better then reading! the lineup may be better at reading, but it was also a really good lineup at glastonbury, the lineup is really the last thing to worry about when you go to a festival. How can you talk about the festival spirit when reading has non, its barely a festival, you cant even take drinks into the arena! wtf is up with that

Meddick

Oct 6, 2008

lol jimmy2605 its clear you are the clueless one, i bet youre one of the ones who say about the deposits and the photo tickets, but then goes on to complain about ticket touts and not being able to get a ticket because reading and leeds simply dont care who the tickets go to. If the spirit of the festival is forcing music fans to pay Â£300+, for a ticket they would have got for face value if reading and leeds bothered to put in place measures that Eavis has, then youre a fucking idiot.

funklenut

Oct 6, 2008

Are they really sold as in people paid the whole Â£175 or are they all reserved meaning come May they can just get their deposit refunded?Who is getting the interest made from this scheme? A quick calculation of say 70,000 tickets (appx half) all depositing Â£50 (Â£3.5 Million) for 7 additional months (instead of just paying in April) will earn GF about Â£205,000 in interest, is that going straight into Eavis's fat pockets?

cultureslut87

Oct 6, 2008

funklenut the Eavis' are not rich. They make all their money from dairy farming, thats what the grounds glastonbury festival is held on are used for the rest of the time. All the money made from the festival goes mainly to charity,then into putting together the next festival and what ever is left over goes to the bands. As for the whole deposit refunded the answer is most people probably have just paid the Â£50 because its easier to pay the rest in instalments, if these have not been paid by the beginning of february then they get Â£40 back and don't get a ticket. And finally for the interest, i think you are the only one who has considered that making you the only one who cares

monkey+fringe

Oct 6, 2008

im just generally irritated that someone failed to notify me (YET AGAIN....you know who you are) that the tickets had gone on sale

binstig

Oct 6, 2008

Deposits aren't in the festival spirit? It is when it means the true fans get tickets rather than the scenesters going just so they can tell al their friends. Jimmy, you are truly a clueless idiot.

glimmers_of_hope

Oct 6, 2008

Glasto is easily the best festival. Reading is good but it's tiny and bland compared to Glasto. Surely whether a line-up is good or not is a matter of taste anyway.

mindyourown

Oct 7, 2008

Glasto is the highlight of mine and all my mates year, 5 days of guaranteed good times, eavis is a effin legend. Oasis, arctic monkeys and kings of leon again headlining please......and a roses reunion would always be welcome.

callaby

Oct 7, 2008

funny how everyone seems to be experts on the running of festivals and how they are financed. Just because you go to festivals and read posts on nme doesnt make you an expert on the music industry...and it shows.

jontybriggs

Oct 7, 2008

jimmy 2605 you have some serious issues. i went ballistic when i read your naive baby comment. i live near leeds and have been many times, ive also been to glasto, lowlands, beni and even v festival. Glastonbury is by far and away the best festival i have ever been to 1. its absolutely huge, the actual festival site for leeds could fit on the f****n pyramid stage. 2. bulls**t about the line-up, did you see last years, it was amazing (los camp, the national, stars, vampire weekend, caribou, band of horses, mgmt, kings of leon, cribs, the kills, lupe fiasco, leonard cohen, battles, jay -z, crystal castles, my morning jacket, friendly fires to name but a few, some of these bands even played twice on diff stages, infact i went to leeds this year aswell as glasto and glasto had most of the bands at leeds save some rubbish metal and heavy rock acts plus about 200 more no s***. 3. the place is beautiful, situated in a valley with stuff going on everywhere not just bands. 4. your favourite artist was on: katie melua.wise up jimmy my girl

AzRxx

Oct 7, 2008

Interesting comment, Jimmy. You talk about 'festival spirit' but it seems you have missed the point. The very fact that over half the tickets have been sold some 9 months before the festival, even though, as you point out, the headliners have not yet been announced, shows that Glastonbury has much more to offer than the music. It is worth remembering that its full title is â€˜Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Artsâ€™.There will be great music at Glastonbury, great theatre, comedy, film, dance and more. Great food, drink and perhaps most importantly, great people who, whatever their musical tastes, interests and backgrounds all feel privileged to be there and enjoy the whole experience. And that is why they keep going back.I have no doubt that the line-up at Reading and Leeds will be great, as it has been in recent years, and if people prefer to wait and make a choice nearer the time then why shouldnâ€™t they? I donâ€™t see what this has to do with Michael Eavis and the new ticketing system, though â€“ much less the â€˜spirit of the festivalâ€™! I am sure that many Glastonbury-goers will see more than one festival next year too.If people are given the chance to reserve tickets early it seems like they are jumping at the chance, and I assume it can only help the organisers to plan ahead which can't be a bad thing. Why someone would object to this so much is beyond me, and if it puts off those who donâ€™t understand the whole point of Glastonbury, then I for one support it wholeheartedly.

Theblokewiththebeard

Oct 7, 2008

Last year 100,000 tickets were sold on the first day and it didn't sell out until the last minute with Michael Eavis loosing sleep. This year only half the tickets sold on the first day. Why do I think that Eavis is testing the water and this years festival will be scaled down. A pity but perhaps it is a sign of the times. I've got my ticket anyway.