There’s no better way to ruin a Sunday morning than a Glastonbury ticket sale that goes wrong. One of the most stressful experiences the Western world has to offer – the ultimate in #FirstWorldProblems – failure to procure a Glastonbury ticket is a surefire year-ruiner. Endlessly refreshing the page never seems to do it, either.
Some people, however, seem to have all the luck. Procuring tickets year-in, year-out, attending the festival every single summer – there’s surely some sort of trick, right? We decided to get in touch with a few people who swear by their own sneaky tips and tricks to beat the system. Listen, and you might have more luck with the ticket sale this time around. Don’t say we’re not good to you.
Disclaimer: NME holds no responsibility if these tips don’t work. Don’t blame us, alright? We’re none the wiser, either.
Use multiple devices
This one goes against conventional wisdom, but countless people swear by it. Phone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer (does anyone have any of those anymore), internet-enabled TV – whatever piece of technology you’ve got that can open a web-page, get it on the go.
“The trick we use that’s never failed us is to have someone trying on their mobile without being connected to WiFi,” Max Brookes tells NME. “Always the first one to get through and worked three years in a row for us, since 2014.”
Max’s tip was mirrored by Birmingham band Future Fires, too. “One of us always manages to get tickets every time,” they explain. “We’ve found the key is to have as many devices on the go as possible – we’ll each have a phone and laptop and/or tablet with us. And make sure nothing else is on there that’s going to slow it down. We then basically just smash the refresh key with it all we’ve got until we get through!”
What’s the wizardry behind this? No one’s quite sure, it seems. “My mate said he thinks it’s something to do with how people access the site, but I don’t know how true that actually is,” laughs Max.
Actually, no – use one device
Some people, however, swear by the one thing we all seem to lack, come ticket sale day – patience. “The biggest tip I have is to just stay calm and keep refreshing,” says Ian. “One tab. One device. It’s always when you feel like hope is lost that the page suddenly opens.”
Ian should know what he’s talking about, too – he’s been every year since 2010, and managed to keep his cool even when there were high stakes. “My luck was put to the test in 2016,” he explains, “when I had to get 10+ tickets due to the fact that me and my wife got married there. Happy to report my luck has yet to run out and our wedding was a huge, if slightly muddy, success.”
So he doesn’t agree with the multiple devices, multiple tabs method, then? “I’ve tried that in the past but it’s never seemed to pay off. If anything, I feel like I lost focus and wasted time going back and forth. My biggest success has been to just focus on one tab and just keep endlessly refreshing after every time it loads. Focus is the key. I’ll often see those around me, or those online, panicking or talking about giving up. All that time and effort should be placed squarely on hitting that refresh button each time it loads, until you suddenly get through.” Sensible advice, there.
Move house… sort of
One patron, who wished to remain nameless for reasons that will soon become blindingly obvious, had a particularly genius method of success in recent years. “I changed my registration address to my friend’s house, who lives near to the festival site,” they say. “I got tickets straight away.”
Allow us to explain. – Glastonbury offers an easy-access second sale to those who live in the surrounding areas, at a date later than the initial sale. “It’s as simple as calling up and saying you want a few tickets,” apparently. By changing the address attached to their Glastonbury registration, this sneaky sod managed to procure a ticket with ease. You’ll have to have a Somerset-based friend, for this one, admittedly. Time to get friendly with some farmers.
Get friendly with the bankers
This one’s likely to really piss off the capitalism-hating hippies of Glastonbury gone by, but a few Glasto ticket masters swear by using a large scale internet network to get tickets – the perceived wisdom being, better internet, better chances. Which makes sense, to be fair.
If you’ve got access to a bank’s headquarters, as one punter we spoke to did, then head there, if you can face trekking into work on a Sunday morning – they’re likely to have the best internet connection money can buy, after all. If such places are out of your reach, then we’re told universities are equally popular destinations for speedy service. Probably best to check the internet connection there before Sunday though, to save a nasty surprise.
Don’t feed the trolls
Above all, it’s best to keep a cool head, and your wits about you. Plenty of people will try telling you there’s second sales, or not to worry about it on Sunday morning (yeah, we’re looking at you, Twitter bastards) – ignore them. Sunday morning’s the time for tickets – while there is a re-sale in springtime, that’s reliant on people returning theirs. Don’t count on it – it’s even more difficult than the initial run.
Whether you believe the above tips, or think it’s all hocus pocus mumbo jumbo, one thing’s for sure – Sunday morning’s gonna suck. Happy ticket-buying!