Glastonbury Festival releases 2023 ‘Economic Impact Report’
As it gears up for the 2024 edition in June, Glastonbury Festival has released its 2023 Economic Impact Report, which examines the immediate and more general fiscal effects of the musical celebration. The new findings are that the Eavis’ annual celebration has generated millions of income for the county of Somerset and the country at large.
Describing itself as one of the world’s biggest festivals, the new report states that in 2023, over 140,000 ticket-holders enjoyed the immense variety of entertainment at the Pilton site, with over 100 stages to choose from over five days. While Glastonbury states that they have always celebrated culture and discovery, they add: “The Festival has also proven to have a positive influence beyond the arts.”
Glastonbury writes of the report on its website: “In 2023 we commissioned a report to measure the Festival’s economic impact, in both the immediate local economy and the wider economic environment. The report, carried out by research specialists Fourth Street, found Glastonbury Festival to have a significant positive economic impact both nationally and in Somerset, generating around £168 million of income for UK businesses including £32 million for businesses based in Somerset.”
According to Glastonbury, 643 attendees of the festival were interviewed. This sample is comprised of those interviewed face-to-face when 2023’s edition was in full swing, as well as 54 festival staff, 148 volunteers and 30 telephone interviews with local businesses.
Glastonbury reports that the cost of hosting the 2023 event was £62m, paid out to 922 organisations who provided the festival with a range of services. These include those who help obtain the materials for infrastructure, the crew building and managing stages, and staff who work at the festival throughout the year. Of the £62m, nearly £12m was paid to 258 companies in Somerset.
Glastonbury has also found that last year, festival-goers spent an estimated £1.6m in the wider Somerset community. A quarter was on purveyors of food and drink, while half went to local shops and supermarkets selling supplies purchased by attendees.
Glastonbury states that it generated income for business outside its Pilton site, in the locale and further afield. They write: “Around 900 Festival-goers stayed in local hotels and B&Bs during the Festival, spending a total in the region of £450,000. Some Festival-goers also stayed in hotels and B&Bs on the journey to and from the Festival.”
They assert that neighbouring landowners also generated funds from their bonanza by renting their private spaces for others to operate from or by providing a range of accommodations such as B&Bs and campsites not affiliated with the festival. It continues: “An estimated 4,000 Festival-goers stayed in privately-run, offsite campsites adjoining the Festival site, spending in the region of £6.5 million.”
Furthermore, the crew working at the festival are estimated to have spent £900,000 on local businesses outside its operations during their time there. Volunteers are also said to have spent a further £500,000.
Outlining the sheer scope of its operation, Glastonbury continues: “The sheer size, breadth and temporary nature of the Festival means it is reliant on an array of professionals to bring it to fruition. The Festival directly and indirectly sustains a broad range of jobs and industries, including IT services and plumbing, signwriting and caravan rentals, security and catering, among many others. In 2023, Glastonbury Festival sustained over 1,100 UK jobs in total, 325 of which were based in Somerset.”
It reveals that it directly paid for work that equates to 255 full-time jobs, with 80 people working in the office for administration and planning – equivalent to 55 full-timers – and that most of these live locally.
On top of this, 1,750 directly worked for Glastonbury in 2023 for shorter spans. These are equivalent to 200 full-time jobs. The self-employed segment of this number estimated that the festival accounted for 16% of annual income, yet some people earn much more from them.
Outlining how many external traders they afford opportunities to, Glastonbury said in 2023, it had 918 trading stalls, which encompassed 56 units providing refreshments – food and drink – to the crew. There are some exceptions, but most were independent businesses operated by 9,500 people for 314,000 hours. This is equivalent to 170 full-time jobs.
Glastonbury also notes how volunteers donate time to provide “essential services” to the festival, from stewarding and toilet cleaning to property lockups. The volunteers also raised funds for organisations such as Cancer Research UK, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Charity, Friends of the Earth, Samaritans and local schools, hospices, and many others vital to the immediate community.
In 2023, over 10,000 people volunteered at Glastonbury Festival, working 240,000 hours for over 200 non-profit organisations. Of these, 3,511 stewards raised £700,000 for their chosen organisations. More than 30% of volunteers also collected funds for local organisations.
In 2023, Glastonbury donated £3.7m to various charities, causes and campaigns. They write: “It is thanks to those who support the Festival that we have been able to make these donations to help those facing challenges both in the UK and across the world. In addition to this £3.7m, the Festival’s raffle of Glastonbury tickets for Oxfam’s Crowdfunder DEC Appeal raised over £1m towards the Syria-Turkey Earthquake response, while an online auction of tickets raised £116,000 for the Trussell Trust.”
It concludes: “The Festival has also contributed to its host village of Pilton by building 52 social housing homes and upgrading the village playing fields to include a new pavilion, club house, skate park and tennis courts. The Festival also helped fund the rebuilding of the Pilton Club and Village hall, as well as the restoration of the historic Tithe Barn.”
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