Glastonbury Glossary

More like GLAssary, am I right? Anyway, here's a list of terms related to the one and only Glastonbury Festival.

+ Show all descriptions − Hide all descriptions

A

Acoustic Field: A main area of the festival.
Alfred: One of the market areas.
Arcadia: A main area of the festival, founded by Pip Rush and Bertie Cole.
Avalon: The place to which Arthur was conveyed after death.

B

B2B: Shorthand for back-to-back. Two DJs playing together, alternating tracks.
Babylon: The name used for the main market area in the late 80s and 90s.
BBC: Glastonbury's exclusive multimedia broadcast partner.
Bella's Bridge: Found between the Circus Field and Bella's Field.
Block9: An area in the southeast corner, consisting of East and West fields.

C

Campsites: Where you'll spend about 10% of your time while at the festival.
Chris Martin: A strange man who lives under the Pyramid Stage.
Cider: A very popular beverage at the festival.
CND: The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Festival supporters from 1981–1989.
Coach Tickets: Part of an initiative to encourage festival goers to reduce transport emissions.
Cockmill Farm: Purchased in 1985 to add more space. Increased size of festival by 100 acres.
The Common: A main area of the festival.
Compost Loos: The fancier Glastonbury toilets. Make sure you add a cup of sawdust, you stinky bastard.
Cows: The real owners of the land for the rest of the year.
Crew Bar: Accessible only by those with coveted crew wristbands, there are many to be found.

D

Dairy Farm: What Worthy Farm is when the festival isn't on.
Dance Village: A former main area of the festival, predecessor to Silver Hayes.

E

Emily Eavis: Daughter of Michael Eavis and organiser of the festival.
ETC: The Emerging Talent Competition, a chance to win a spot on the lineup.

F

Fallow Year: A year off every 5 years to help the land recover.
Fatboy Slim: Some guy who turns up every year.
Field of Avalon: A main area of the festival.
Flag: The only thing you'll get to watch at the main stages.

G

The Glade: A main area of the festival.
Glasto: What to call the festival when you don't have much time.
Glastonbury: A small town 7 miles west of the festival. 'Pilton Festival' isn't as catchy though.
Glastonbury Fair: The name of the 1971 festival.
Glastonbury Fayre: The name of the 1979 festival.
Glastonbury Sign: Found at the top of the hill in the south of the festival.
Glastonbury-on-Sea: A Victorian-style pier, built next to The Park and overlooking Pennard Hill Ground campsite.
Green Fields: A main area of the festival, consisting of the Greenpeace Field, Green Futures, Croissant Neuf, Healing Field, and Greencrafts Village.
Greenpeace: One of Glastonbury's three joint charity partners.
GSH: Glastonbury-shaped hole. Refers to a gap on a performer's tour schedule that might imply they're playing Glasto. Coined by The Glasto Thingy.

H

Headliner: The main act closing each night on the Pyramid Stage.
Hides: One of the market areas.
Hospitality Tickets: A limited allocation of premium tickets available to music industry companies and associated media.

I

Interstage: The area between the Pyramid and Other stages.

J

John Peel: Had a stage named after him for a while, and was a sweaty nonce.

K

Kidzfield: A dedicated area within the festival for under-12s.
Kings: One of the market areas.

L

Left Field: Glastonbury's home of politics, music, and activism, curated by Billy Bragg.
Ley Line: A straight line connecting two or more historic sites. The Pyramid Stage is built on the one from Glastonbury to Stonehenge.
Local Tickets: Available to residents within the inner catchment zone.
Long Drop: The infamous Glastonbury toilets. All hope abandon, ye who enter here.
Lost Vagueness: A legendary and mythologised area, created by new-age traveller Roy Gurvitz. Predecessor to the Naughty Corner.
Love the Farm, Leave No Trace: Glastonbury's environmental motto.

M

Main Stage: A main performance venue, as listed on the official website lineups.
Markets: Dotted around the festival, home to food stalls, bars, and traders.
Meal Deal: The cheap meals you get from a majority of the food vendors.
Michael Eavis: The man, the myth, the legend. Co-founder of the festival and owner of Worthy Farm, where the festival takes place.
Monorail: A long-running urban legend.
Mud: A common occurrence at festivals past, but rarely seen these days.

N

Naughty Corner: The area in the southeast of the festival, consisting of Block9, The Common, Shangri-La, and Unfairground.

O

Old Railway Track: A path leading from the west of the festival down into the southeast corner.
Oxfam: One of Glastonbury's three joint charity partners.

P

The Park: A main area of the festival, founded by Emily Eavis.
Pilton: The town directly north of the festival site.
Pilton Palais: The festival's on-site cinema.
Pilton Party: Glastonbury's annual fundraising gig for villagers, local workers, and the surrounding community.
Pop, Folk & Blues Festival: The original name of the festival, in 1970.
Pyramid Stage: The iconic stage built on the ley line from Glastonbury to Stonehenge.

Q

Queue: The dreaded See Tickets queue you have to wait in when trying for a ticket.

R

Registration: Submitting a passport-style photo before being able to try for tickets.
Resale: The only way to get a ticket if you missed out in the main sale.
Ribbon Tower: A climbable 20-metre-tall colourful structure located in The Park.

S

Saxon: One of the market areas.
Secret Sets: A Glastonbury tradition, with many happening across the week.
Shangri-La: A main area of the festival.
Silver Hayes: A main area of the festival, founded by Malcolm Haynes.
Sticklinch: One of Glastonbury's own pre-erected campsites.
Stone Circle: A modern megalithic monument, where people go to do nitrous oxide.
Sunday Legend: An artist who has performed during the Sunday Legend afternoon slot on the Pyramid Stage.
Sunday Tickets: Available exclusively to Mendip & Central Somerset residents.
Sunrise: Best viewed from the top of the hill above the Stone Circle.
Super Fence: The 14ft high boundary around the main festival areas. Introduced in 2002.

T

TBA: To Be Announced. A common thing to see across many venue lineups.
Theatre & Circle Fields: A main area of the festival, founded by Arabella Churchill.
Ticket Day: The most stressful event of the year.
Tony Benn Tower: A central meeting hub and a symbol of political and social solidarity.
Tor: The iconic hill visible from much of the festival site.

U

Underground Piano Bar: The elusive secret venue, located near the Stone Circle.
Unfairground: A main area of the festival.

V

Venue: One of the areas, stages, or other interesting sites found throughout the festival.

W

WaterAid: One of Glastonbury's three joint charity partners.
Webcam: A camera set up near the farmhouse, generally updating every five minutes throughout the year.
West Holts: Originally a camping field, now a main area of the festival.
William's Green: A main area of the festival.
Willow: One of the market areas.
Woodsies: Originally a camping field, now a main area of the festival.
Worthy Cause: A charity that the festival has supported throughout the years.
Worthy Farm: The main farm where the festival resides.
Worthy FM: The festival's own radio station, running only for the week of the festival.
Worthy View: One of Glastonbury's own pre-erected campsites.

Y

Yeoman’s Bridge: Found between the Pyramid Stage and Other Stage.

#

22°: The number of degrees that Stonebridge was rotated towards the Ribbon Tower in 2025. Also the highest recorded temperature in 1970, 1986, 1995, and 2015.