Festivals Britannia, BBC Four

Astonishingly, one in 10 of us put ourselves through one this year. Why?

by Howard MaleFriday, 17 December 2010

An infestation of human beings, temporarily invading a sizeable stretch of southwest England

A startling one in 10 British adults apparently went to a music festival this year. Given that I’m a music journalist and I didn’t, maybe I’m some kind of astronomically unlikely anomaly. I’d like to think so. But those familiar aerial shots of Glastonbury – not just a few fields but a sizeable expanse of Britain’s patchwork-quilt landscape, completely overrun by an infestation of teeming humanity - is enough to make me feel smugly sane to have decided, as usual, to just remain cosily at home watching whatever the BBC had decreed were the best bits.

Why do we feel the need to gather together with thousands of strangers to become intoxicated beyond reason while watching bands too far away to see properly?

Buy

Find books and DVDs on music festivals on Amazon

Explore topics

Share this article

...

Permalink Submitted by Palash pedant Dave (not verified) on Sat, 18/12/2010 - 05:23

Dig the piece. Forgive what may seem like pedantry, but I thought I'd point out, for etymological interest, as much as anything else: 1. It's correctly spelt "up the ante", (meaning "raising the stakes" -- "ante" meaning "before" in Latin, thereby becoming a term for the money you put up in advance in a game of poker or similar); rather than "up the anti", though props if the latter was a deliberate wordplay to describe the Old Bill's antagonism. ;-) 2. It's a "rite" (meaning "ceremony") of passage, rather than a "right" (meaning something you're entitled to).

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

Follow @theartsdesk