Contents

Glastonbury Glossary

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

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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.