Glastonbury festival cuts capacity to improve safety and crowd management

In recent years, Glastonbury Festival in the UK has faced increasing concerns about overcrowding, prompting festival organizers to take significant steps for the upcoming 2025 event. Reports indicated that ticket sales jumped from 203,000 to 210,000 after the pandemic, leading to fears of unsafe conditions during crowded performances. Emily Eavis, the festival's organizer, announced a reduction in attendee capacity by a few thousand, aiming to improve the flow of traffic and mitigate safety concerns that arose during the previous festival year. Attendees reported feeling overwhelmed at various points during the festival, particularly during high-demand performances like Avril Lavigne’s and the DJ duo Bicep's set. The latter had to halt their performance for 15 minutes due to overcrowding, highlighting serious concerns about crowd control. Despite the whistleblower's alarming warning that the festival was a “ticking time bomb,” Eavis noted that staff feedback did not indicate significant overcrowding issues from their perspective. This discrepancy underscores the complexity of managing such a large-scale event. To address the overcrowding, the festival team is implementing changes such as expanding certain areas of the site, notably behind the Shangri-La zone. This area will now serve as a more relaxed space with murals for attendees, encouraging people to escape the hustle and bustle following headline acts. Eavis explained the need to improve crowd dynamics around the festival, especially as people seem to move