Glastonbury tickets sell out in just 37 minutes after queue chaos and scam warning
11/17/2024 05:06 AM
GLASTONBURY tickets have sold out in just 37 minutes after queue chaos and a scam warning.
The annual event at Worthy Farm is known to sell out within minutes, and this certainly rang true as fans attempted to get their hands on the coveted tickets.
The 37 minutes of ticket sales wasn't without its hardship – fans quickly grew frustrated when they all noticed they’re stuck at just “two green bars” with no movement at all, in the new queueing system.
Tickets went on sale at 9am – but by 9:37 on Sunday morning, they'd gone.
This was after it was reported that a huge 2.5million people would scramble to get hold of tickets.
Venting their frustrations out on X (formerly Twitter), hopefuls quickly realised they were all having the same issue.
One declared it the “two bars of doom” while another complained: “20 mins in… I'll be heading 2 a few BARS after this."
But a scam warning was also issued by digital rights expert, Lauren Hendry Parsons from ExpressVPN.
She said: "With hugely popular events such as Glastonbury, people are often making rapid, time-pressured decisions, with high emotions because they don’t want to miss out – and we all know how quickly Glastonbury can sell out.
“Unfortunately, these kinds of rapid-fire, emotionally charged situations are ripe for exploitation.”
Unlike most years, fans were now forced to join a virtual queue in the same vein as most arena and stadium tours.
Lauren advised that a deal that looks too good to be true during this process should set off alarm bells.
In previous years, Glastonbury fans had to refresh the landing page of the official site at an exact time rather than join a virtual queue.
Thankfully, despite the queue backlash, at least some were seen to be making progress, with one fan joking: “not to make everyone really jealous but i've got 7 bars x”
“My eyesight may be deceiving me but that is indeed.. 3 and a bit bars! Come on Glastonbury,” said another. “It's a massacre out here.”
Glastonbury backlashes
Glastonbury Festival has been going for 54 trailblazing years - but at times it has been a stormy ride Here, we look at the biggest backlashes to hit the iconic music event.
The Smiths (1984): One of the first bands to divide the early Glastonbury purists were Manchester indie stars The Smiths. The band’s set even sparked a full scale stage invasion as they introduced the crowd to their guitar-driven, post-punk romanticism music. Guitarist Johnny Marr described their usual fanbase as “cup final supporters”, adding: “Eventually, I did manage to instigate a stage invasion, which raised a few eyebrows. One fan was trying to climb on stage, I helped pull him up, and then a few more people followed, and all of a sudden we'd managed to turn it into a Smiths gig.”
The Fence (2002): It wasn’t a band or musician that sparked controversy in 2002… it was a fence. Organiser Michael Eavis came under fire when he organised the erection of a £1million fence around the site. The ring of steel was brought in to protect ticket holders and those who might inadvertently endanger themselves by breaking in. Diehard Glasto fans, however, felt it was at odds with the event’s hippy ethos of peace and love. Eavis and co refused to back down, though, and the fence remains in place today.
JAY-Z (2008): Despite its long history, Glastonbury had never welcomed a rapper for a headline set – until 2008. Jay-Z’s top bill booking was met with a flurry of digs, including some from Oasis’s Noel Gallagher, who claimed hip hop had no place at the festival. In a perfect clap-back, Jay-Z walked out to a version of Wonderwall before launching into his powerful hit 99 problems. Seven years later, his pal Kanye West followed in his Glastonbury footsteps and topped the bill.
Metallica (2014): Thrash metal rockers Metallica were met with raised eyebrows when they were announced as Glastonbury headliners. Some critics claimed they lacked mainstream appeal, while others felt they were past their prime. However, frontman James Hetfield managed to quickly win the crowd round thanks to his good humour and polite manners.
Adele (2016): Although Adele wowed both festival goers and music fans at home with her headliner set, the British songstress did cause a stir by turning the air blue. She warned the crowd about her “potty mouth” but not everyone was impressed with with the 30 plus expletives she dropped on the stage during her headline set, which aired on the BBC.
The bar system was put in place to help people track their progress, although once you’re in the queue, you’ll be put straight to the back if you refresh.
As a result multiple people have shared their screens where they’ve used multiple browsers and devices in the hope that one of them will get them through.
It’s a last minute switch up from the team who hoped to streamline the ticket buying process with a long statement of rules to prevent touts and multiple purchases.
The line-up for next year’s festival is yet to be announced, though has been rumoured to include Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Eminem.
Alanis Morrisette and Simple Minds have also been rumoured to be taking to the stage.
Last year Coldplay, Dua Lipa and SZA headlined the Pyramid Stage, with Shania Twain taking the acclaimed Legends slot.
