How to Get Into Glastonbury for Free

Glastonbury is one of the UK’s top festivals, but it seems so hard to get hold of a ticket and if you do manage to get a ticket you always seem to be paying ridiculous prices. Tickets sold out this year in 4 hours, that’s 150,000 tickets, and some festival goers paid up to £195 if not more. But there is a solution! Don’t despair as Oxfam amongst other charities, supply 14 top UK festivals with 5,000 stewards. Some of the festivals include Glastonbury, Download, Bestival, Reading and Leeds and more. You get a free ticket, free accommodation, free food (don’t you love the word free?) and a rewarding experience along with having something that employers will love on your CV. 

A steward works three 8 hour shifts over the course of the festival and would get to go to whole event. Great! All staff can hear the music at all times and are allowed to enjoy the festival at their own leisure when they are not working. So, the festival staff become festival goers too. The stewards get their own private camping with warm showers and clean toilets and while working hard and playing hard, you will make great friends. One steward said that “stewarding is a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience. It's a fantastic way to gain a new set of skills, as well as raising money for a great cause, meeting a new and diverse bunch of people and catching some amazing live music.

All applicants must be 18 or over on the first day of the festival and be eligible to volunteer in the UK. Volunteers need to apply online early where a reference and a deposit will be asked for. The deposit will be lost if the steward fails to turn up for their shift. The volunteer doesn’t need any experience as all stewards get trained up on the first day at a three hour training session at registration. This is where the steward would find out their roles, shift times and receive a handbook which must be handy at all times when working.

To be an Oxfam Steward, the volunteer must stick to the rules set out by the charity as they will be representing that charity. A steward must be polite, friendly, and approachable, have good humour, be comfortable speaking to the public and have an excellent level of spoken English. Stewards must also be punctual, honest, reliable and flexible and be ready for a great time!

A steward’s roles may involve; monitoring an area, providing information and advice, planning for every eventuality, responding quickly and reporting any safety and security issues to your supervisor. All stewards are allocated a supervisor for each shift and a security firm ensures safety for all. Other roles can include; checking tickets, monitoring crowds at stages, staffing festival gates and so on. A Steward must be alert and attentive as they are the eyes and ears of the festival. Be prepared for all weather, so take warm clothes and sensible footwear and hot water bottle if you want to.

Have you got the qualities to be steward? Are you desperate to go to one of the great UK festivals? Then stewarding is the way forward. Fun in the sun and raves in the rain!  Summer will never be the same again. Volunteers can find out more information about stewarding and the roles on Oxfam’s stewarding website good luck and have a great time! Get ready for a summer of fun!