What Is It Like To Volunteer At Glastonbury Festival? Are you considering volunteering at Glastonbury Festival and wondered what it is like? Below is an interview with Bev who has been volunteering at the brilliant Greenpeace Bar for 3 years.

How long have you been volunteering at Glastonbury and how did you go about it?

This will be my 3rd year volunteering. I originally did it because I wanted to get one Glastonbury in before I was 60. This year, my 3rd will hopefully not be my last. Addicted.
I was very lucky….. my daughter had been working for Fai Wattu for years, starting off at Green Man litter picking at age 17 (she’s 25 now) and now manages the Bloody Mary bar there.
After 4 years of Green Man, she was invited to work at the Greenpeace bar at Glastonbury…. Re invited the next year and could bring someone! Bucket list ticker…… I still had to apply but at the time applying through a known worker was an easy way in, but it doesn’t exist now.
What tips would you give to potential volunteers who are considering volunteering at Glastonbury for the first time?

Tbh, I wouldn’t go to Glastonbury as a punter after volunteering….. if you want to do it, apply for everything. Fai Wattu does Green Man, Glastonbury and Love Trails….. if you do one of the others first you are way more likely to get into Glastonbury. If you are considering, go for it, it’s tiring but amazing.
What are the pros and cons of volunteering at Glastonbury?

You have to be there the Monday before ( well we do as we are north) for the team briefing on Tuesday. This is not a con…… you get to see the festival with only a couple of thousand workers there and it’s amazing! There are still things happening, but you get your bearings and learn the site. So it’s a pro.
We are in the Greenpeace camp smack back in the centre of the festival! You need a pass to get in, your stuff is safe, and we have our own showers and loos ( still grim but nothing like outside….. I have never had an off-staff site wee in Glastonbury!). You get to go to all the staff-only bars across the festival too.
You also get 3 vegan meals a day, a drink after every shift, and a free ticket, you don’t pay upfront like Oxfam.
Con? Working….. I love it though! From Thursday a shift a day, 4-6 hours, anything between 11 am and 4 am. You don’t get to choose but if you are missing your big band, swap a shift.
I swapped most of mine last year, as the young people wanted to go clubbing, so I did mainly 10 or 11 pm till 4 am. Saw most things I wanted to, slept till 12 then did it all again! I didn’t miss anything I wanted to see, and never have.
The camaraderie with the staff is ace, we have such a laugh, they are a brilliant team….. I even swapped a shift for the late one Sunday as DJ Paulette was playing the Greenpeace Field, so I got to work and dance behind the bar! Done that both years, one of my highlights, and takes me back to my very misspent hacienda youth!
The only con is the Monday after the festival for packdown is a bit long …. You can’t leave till 4 on the Monday and have to pack down. That’s it. One con! Which isn’t that bad, to be honest. I always book a good hotel near the site for Monday night…… bath bed and non-vegan meals before the 6-hour treck home!
I had no experience whatsoever of volunteering, but I had a lot of bar work experience in my very very distant past. Also, I’ve always been in face-to-face sales so can talk to everyone. And take no shit.
Had you been to Glastonbury before volunteering?

I had never been to any festival other than day ones, though I am a regular gig-goer. I do not camp EVER apart from Glastonbury. I’m more of a boutique hotel kind of gal!
Any tips for Glastonbury first-timers in general?

First timers….. I was very daunted, and after Monday & Tuesday with no punters, I was a bit overwhelmed on Wednesday when the sea of people arrived.
Just explore, take it in your stride, wander and do things you’ve never done. Go to the Circus Tent and the Comedy Tent ( Pam Ayers and John Cooper Clarke were awesome).
Meet new people, just experience as much as you can, and get as much sleep as you can. Don’t burn out on day 1! I drink less at Glastonbury than I do normally, as you can’t turn up for a shift pissed/ wasted. I eat vegan food during the festival. It’s my health holiday! hahaha.
What makes Glastonbury so special?

Glastonbury is special to me because it takes me way out of my comfort zone. I get to spend time with my daughter doing stuff ( though she’s off with her mates most of the time)!
My husband stays home, (it is not his thing), with my dog. I know everyone and everything I love is safe, and I totally zone out of my real life for a week, which is incredible and a bit surreal.
I don’t know when I will stop, I graft when I’m there, so will always be invited back. I fear it may be the first mud bath year which puts me off. I came home with a tan for the last 2 years!
It is my week of escapism. That’s what I love. After the first year, I had huge a post-festival downer, but now I’m ok, because I know I will be back. I am also doing Tramlines next year as a punter and will do an abroad one in the fallow year with my daughter. Bug well and truly caught…. At 59.
Thank you so much, Bev. I think all Glastonbury Veterans will know exactly what you mean when you say the bug is well and truly caught.
If you are considering volunteering at Glastonbury you can find all the organisations looking for volunteers here: Glastonbury Volunteer.
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