Glastonbury Festival kicked off today and will continue until Sunday, leaving fans to pray that they don’t get submerged in mud as they don their wellies in readiness and venture out to catch the bands. Electrical Storm performers U2 lived up to their song’s name when they braved torrential rain and stormy skies in 2011 – and that’s just one of a series of mind-blowingly bad weather episodes over the years.
However, it turns out that getting caught in the mud that the festival is notorious for could be the least of revellers’ worries, as fans predict a lukewarm reception for the acts too. Headliners include Canadian country musician Shania Twain – but despite her international fame, some listeners have been calling for Taylor Swift to take her place.
Meanwhile, there’s been an equally unimpressed reaction to Coldplay, SZA and Dua Lipa as the trio all prepare to be stars of the show this weekend too. BetVictorCasino surveyed 2,000 music lovers and discovered that 61 percent of them believe this year’s line-up is the worst in the festival’s entire history.
As it’s been around since 1970, that’s a very damning statistic. Meanwhile, 73 percent argued it had become too pop-focused in recent years, while 72 percent simply felt it had lost its edge.
Meanwhile, more than 90 percent blasted the festival’s high prices amid the cost of living crisis. This year’s ticket has overwhelmed some with a cost of £360 – something that less than five percent of respondents would be willing to pay.
Amid the cost of living crisis, with inflation costs only just starting to decrease, 21 percent would pay no more than £51-100.
A further 27.3 percent would stretch to a maximum of £200 – and only 9.6 percent would splash the cash to the value of more than £300.
Almost 30 percent of visitors would opt out of camping and choose to stay somewhere offsite, as it turns out punters are growing increasingly weary of slumming it in the mud and seeking out other options.
Just over a quarter would choose traditional camping, which is a drop in the ocean compared to the 43.7 percent who said they’d prefer “glamping”.
The festival has addressed concerns from last year about the gender imbalance of headline acts, and 2024 will see Dua Lipa and Sza take to the stage – but fans are still uncertain.
Sam Boswell of BetVictor Casino stated: “Glastonbury has become a staple of the British summer and all eyes will be on the festival this weekend as the likes of Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA take to the Pyramid Stage in Worthy Farm.
“This year’s line-up has, however, come in for plenty of criticism and we can reveal that the majority of the British public believe it to be the worst line-up in the festival’s history, with our poll stating it’s become too pop-focused and has lost its edge in the process.”
The rep added: “In another blow to the festival, the UK public have also hit out at the price of a ticket to get into Glastonbury, believing that £360 is too expensive, with the majority of our voters feeling that between £101-£200 would constitute a fairer price!”