Our guide to Glastonbury Festival 2023: everything you need to know
Headliners, travel information, packing essentials and more – here's everything you need to know about this year's Worthy Farm bash
It’s already been one year since festivalgoers made their emotional return to the first Glastonbury Festival back after two years of cancellations. 12 months have already flown by and music fans are once again preparing for five days of music and escapism down on Worthy Farm.
Read on for everything you need to know about this year’s festival, from set times and travel information to secret sets and packing essentials.
When is Glastonbury 2023?
This year’s festival takes place from Wednesday, June 21 until Sunday, June 25.
Where is the festival?
The full address for Glastonbury Festival is Worthy Farm, Worthy Lane, Pilton, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. It has five different postcodes depending on where you start your journey.
Are there any tickets left?
Tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2023 are now sold out. All tickets for are individually personalised to the named ticket holder and are non-transferable. You can find more information here.
What’s the best mode of transport?
If you are arriving at Glastonbury by car, you can find a list of postcodes to enter into satnavs on the website. This will not get you all the way to the festival site, but to the start of the signage, which you should follow as soon as you see it. You can also find parking details on the website.
However, nearly a third of all ticket holders now go to the Glastonbury site on coaches, trains and other forms of public transport. If you are arriving by coach National Express is running services from over 60 locations direct to the festival’s own on-site coach station at Worthy Farm.
By train, the best railway station to reach the festival site is Castle Cary, where there’s a free shuttle bus to get to the festival. Currently there are no strikes planned that would affect travel to Glastonbury.
If you fancy biking to Glasto this year, you can cycle to the field free of charge and leave your bike in a secure compound.
Who’s headlining?
Arctic Monkeys (Friday) Guns N’ Roses (Saturday) and Elton John (Sunday) are all headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023. Wizkid (Friday), Lana Del Rey (Saturday) and Queens Of The Stone Age (Sunday) top the bill on The Other Stage, while over on the West Holts Stage you can find Kelis (Friday), Loyle Carner (Saturday) and Rudimental (Sunday). Meanwhile, you can catch Hot Chip (Friday), Christine And The Queens (Saturday) and Phoenix (Sunday) on the Woodies stage (formerly John Peel).
There’s also performances throughout the weekend from Lizzo, Royal Blood, The War on Drugs, Lewis Capaldi, Lil Nas X, Aitch, Blondie, Mahalia, Rina Sawayama, Caroline Polachek, Young Fathers, Fred again.., CHVRCHES, Central Cee, Maggie Rogers, Dermot Kennedy, Gabriels, Warpaint, Shygirl, Alt-J and many more. Check out the full line-up and set times here.
Are there any secret sets?
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the weekend is the true identity of The Churnups, the band scheduled to perform on the Pyramid Stage on Friday from 6:15pm-7:30pm. Fans initially believed Pulp could be doing a secret set before Foo Fighters seemingly confirmed their Glasto slot in a new new letter to fans. But we’ll have to wait until the big reveal to be sure.
Last year saw George Ezra perform a secret set, while previous surprises have included Lady Gaga, The Killers, Mumford & Sons, Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines and Self Esteem. The Twitter account Secret Glasto keeps festivalgoers updated with tips and clues as to who might be making a surprise appearances this year.
Below are all of the slots currently marked ‘TBA’ on the Glastonbury website.
Pyramid, Friday, The Churnups, 6:15pm to 7:30pm
Woodsies, Friday, 7:30pm to 8:30pm
Woodsies, Saturday, 6pm to 7pm
The Park, Saturday, 7:45pm to 8:45pm
The Rabbit Hole, Saturday, 1am to 2am
The Rabbit Hole, Sunday, 11pm to 12am
The Temple, Friday, 10pm to 11pm
The Temple, Saturday, 12am to 1:30am
The Temple, Saturday, 3am to 4:30am
The Rum Shack, Sunday, 12am to 1am
Truth Stage, Saturday, 1:30am to 2:15am
Platform 23, Saturday, 3:30am to 4:30am
What are the packing essentials?
Essentials to remember for the festival include: your ticket, ID, a tent, a sleeping bag and roll mat, wellies, waterproofs, suncream, a reusable water bottle, first aid kit, a smaller day bag, bin bags and a power bank. Glastonbury has put together their own packing list on the website, along with what not to bring, with disposable vapes being added to the list this year.
Some extras you might want to bring along are: a camping chair, duct tape for quick repairs, a camping mug, a light for inside your tent, an eye mask and ear plugs.
How’s the weather looking?
Last week’s early weather forecast for this year’s festival was very promising, with hot temperatures and sunny intervals expected. According to BBC weather, weather across the five days is still looking good, with temperatures ranging between 22 to 27 degrees. There is a chance of light showers on Wednesday and Friday, though.
Can I watch the festival from home?
Yes, you can watch the festival on BBC iPlayer and choose between streams of the Pyramid, Other, Woodsies, Park and West Holt stages. The BBC will also be running coverage on TV across BBC One, Two, Three and Four. You can find the full schedule here.
And if you’re really feeling like you’re just missing out, Legoland just might have you covered with this brilliant recreation of the Pyramid Stage in tiny bricks. It might not quite be Worthy Farm, but it’s a lovely homage to the real thing and is on display until the end of the summer.