With more than 170,000 music fans about to descend on Mendip for this year’s world-famous Glastonbury Festival, staff at the district council have been hard at work behind the scenes.
The council boasts many years of Glastonbury Festival experience between the band of staff that work on all aspects of monitoring the legendary event.
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We ensure 400 food stalls on-site are inspected to make sure they are preparing and serving food safely.
Our teams ensure there is enough space and facilities to house the 177,500 campers on-site.
The council’s time and effort in monitoring the festival is paid for by festival organisers through the costs of applying for and maintaining a licence.
We make sure the festival organisers have plans in place to manage the infamous Glastonbury toilets, of which there are 4,000, as well as the site’s water supplies, including two reservoirs holding an incredible 3,000,000 litres of water.
Whether it’s smell, smoke, litter, light or music, the council is on hand to monitor whether the organisers’ plans are being adhered to.
Noise experts from the council monitor the output from nearly 100 stages, venues and sound systems which have a total power of 650,000 watts – the same as 13,000 home stereos. Glastonbury’s main pyramid stage has 250 speakers alone.
Organisers have to ensure they stick to the rules of a noise management plan, which they agree with the council before running the event.
Among the other tasks for the council are monitoring health and safety, inspecting taxi and private hire cars with the police, checking unlicensed vehicles, cracking down on unauthorised alcohol sales, monitoring temporary camp sites and food sellers and cracking down on unauthorised charity collectors.
This year there is also increased resource going towards monitoring the off-site campsites that appear to be developing around the festival site, to ensure they are being organised safely and minimising the impact on neighbours.
Stuart Cave, corporate manager for regulatory services, said: “The Glastonbury Festival is a massive event for the area and is always a particularly busy time for staff at the council, but it’s always worth the effort when you see a successful festival pass off safely.
“We work closely with the event organisers and partner agencies to make sure the event goes as smoothly as possible, enabling visitors to this year’s event to experience an enjoyable and safe festival.”
Councillor Nigel Taylor, portfolio holder for regulatory services, said: “As one of the world’s premier music festivals, not only does Glastonbury put Mendip on the map globally but the thousands of festival goers who visit the area spend millions of pounds both on and off-site, leading to a huge boost for the local economy.
“In addition, many local traders are involved with the festival, from those running food and drink stalls, to a local company which provides the stages on which many of the world’s best musicians will perform.
“Our staff have been working extremely hard behind the scenes to make sure the festival is a safe occasion for visitors and I would like to thank them for the role they play in making this huge event such a success.”