Glastonbury fears as UK festival-goers wade by mud ‘as much as the knees’

Glastonbury 2024 is on the horizon, and many of us are packing up our tents, wellies and glad rags in preparation for five days of fun.

However the weekend could be one to remember for all the wrong reasons if the weather lets festival-goers down. Scenes from Download Festival in Derbyshire last weekend have sparked fears of a wash-out after weeks of unpredictable weather.

Clips from the rock and metal festival at Donnington Park have made their way to social media and make for some rather grim viewing. One video shared to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday (June 16) showed brave attendees took sheltering under umbrellas in sodden wet clothes. As the camera panned across the field, mud was everywhere.

READ MORE: Ghost haunt Download Festival site – and they love listening to Busted

Click for the latest weather updates from the Daily Star.

“Festivals of the UK – summer is here!” says a voice in the video, before issuing an expletive at his surroundings. A second X user provided her own video in which she compared the mud to “the Somme in 1916”.

“I hope to god this won’t be Glastonbury in just over a weeks time,” another X user responded to the post, which has already been viewed over six million times. “Camped at Reading 1992 and Glastonbury 2004 in weather like this,” a second person replied. “Makes the weekend 50% less enjoyable.”

A third added: “My neighbour’s partner was there. In the end he came home Saturday afternoon as it was so horrible. Tickets cost so much but he couldn’t stand the mud!” Whilst a fourth declared: “There is not a single music act in the world that would make me stay there id be straight home.”

On Sunday, a number of Download performances had to be moved back as staff struggled to improve conditions in the boggy arena. Some attendees spoke of “mud up to the knees” whilst others were forced to sleep in their cars. One unlucky punter penned on social media: “I got stuck in North Carpark for 9 hours overnight and had to sleep in my van.

“I had my hazard lights on for 3 hours. When someone finally came I was told that they’d send someone in the morning and left me on my own. This isn’t acceptable.” Another festival-goer complained: “Because of the situation leaving last night, we aren’t coming back today, it just isn’t worth it, cars were getting stuck for hours with no help, no staff at ALL. The arena also a literal mud bath.”

Elsewhere on X, a Glastonbury fan account has been sharing regular forecasts ahead of the event, which will open its gates on Wednesday (June 26th). The Glasto Thingy shared a screenshot of an upcoming forecast, captioned: “Don’t be put off by that rain symbol, when you open it up, there’s just a small chance in the morning (as we queue up), then it’s plain sailing. *I know, too far out, BBC, yada yada… but you’ve got to speculate!”

A screenshot from the BBC’s Weather web site predicts a showery start to proceedings on the day, and overcast thereafter. Temperatures are forecast to reach a high of 20C in the mid-afternoon of the festival’s first day.

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