UPDATE: Due to the Coronavirus, Glastonbury 2020 has been cancelled but that doesn’t stop you preparing for Glastonbury 2021!
The Glastonbury Festival is held every summer at Worthy Farm, Pilton in Somerset. This year’s Glastonbury Festival is being held from the 24th to 28th of June 2020 and will feature headliners Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Diana Ross, Lamar and Kendrick along with hundreds of other acts.
While not the only festival in the UK music calendar, Glastonbury Festival is one of the largest and most hotly anticipated. Despite a muddy reputation, people queue for hours just to get tickets, which usually sell out immediately.
If you want to go to Glastonbury Festival but don’t have a ticket, you could always volunteer.
If you’re more interested in the events industry and want to know what goes into organising an event like Glastonbury Festival, our courses could help.
There are a few ways to be at Glastonbury Festival without a ticket. The festival organisers have a range of paid positions, volunteer positions and very cool work for your ticket positions. All information can be found on the website. The organisers also run work experience placements too if you cannot secure a volunteer position.
As this page is about volunteering at Glastonbury Festival, that’s what we will concentrate on.
Most volunteering opportunities at Glastonbury Festival will be in conjunction with a charity. Oxfam, WaterAid, Shelter and The Church Tent are the charities to aim for. You will need to pay a deposit for your place but it will be returned if you complete all your assigned shifts.
Other organisations such as Worthy FM, The Eventurists, Oasis Carnival Club, Festaff and Glastonbury Recycling Crew all have volunteer roles.
Oxfam has been working with Glastonbury since the beginning and there are a number of volunteer roles available each year. Applications open in January though so you will have to move quickly if you want a spot on this year’s festival!
Volunteers will need to complete four day shifts in return for a ticket. Volunteer at the Glastonbury Festival with Oxfam via the charity’s website.
Volunteering at Glastonbury Festival with WaterAid involves handing out water, refilling water bottles, managing the WaterAid stands and working with the Sanitation Team. The Sanitation Team cleans toilets, helps repair bathrooms and generally help clean up.
Volunteers will need to work their assigned shifts on a rota basis from 23rd April until 29th inclusive. Volunteer at Glastonbury Festival with WaterAid via the website.
Shelter is another worthy cause with links to Glastonbury Festival. The charity runs a bar on site so roles will be a mix of bar work, glass collecting, serving and general cleanup.
Volunteers will need to work at least 3 eight hour shifts across the weekend. You can apply to volunteer at Glastonbury Festival with Shelter here.
The Church Tent, or The Sanctuary Marquee, is a mixture of chillout area and support area. During the day there are activities for kids and a place away from the noise and energy of the festival to relax and chat. At night, it’s a safe place people can go if they find themselves unable to cope for any reason.
Volunteers will need to live in Somerset and the surrounding areas and be willing to work 3 6.5 hour shifts over a 24 hour rota. You can apply to volunteer at Glastonbury Festival with The Church Tent here.
The number and type of volunteer roles at Glastonbury Festival are many and varied and will depend on who you volunteer with.
Volunteer with Oxfam and you could be a steward, checking entrance tickets, assigning wristbands, helping out in the Oxfam shop on site or generally helping out.
Volunteer with WaterAid and you could be handing out water, refilling water bottles or managing the bathrooms. Water Welcomers hand out water, The Refill Station Team keeps the water flowing and The Sanitation Team keeps the waste flowing.
Volunteer with Shelter and you will be helping out the charity’s bar, serving drinks, collecting glasses and keeping the area clean and tidy.
Given the size and scale of Glastonbury Festival, volunteering opportunities are plentiful. However, given the popularity of the event, competition for those volunteering opportunities is stiff. The pull of a free ticket in return for a little work means hundreds of people volunteer every single year.
To apply for a volunteer position at Glastonbury, you’re going to need to contact the charity in question or apply for a work placement or work via the Glastonbury Festival website.
To secure a volunteer position, you need to move fast. Applications usually open in January of the same year as the festival and run for a few weeks. Expect them to disappear lightning fast so prepare in advance.
For example, Oxfam’s volunteer page opened on 29th January for previous volunteers and on 4th February for new volunteers. It took a matter of hours to fill all positions.
If you’re serious about wanting to get a volunteer position at Glastonbury Festival, you need to prepare in advance. Take note of when each charity’s volunteer page opened in 2020 and prepare for the 2021 year. Set a calendar reminder for a couple of days before and double check the opening times of the volunteer pages.
On the day, get up early and go to the page. Apply for the role you want to try, complete the registration form and be prepared to pay a deposit. Given that you’re essentially being given a free ticket to Glastonbury Festival, a deposit is a small price to pay. Especially as you get it all back if you finish your shifts!
