Working at Glastonbury: What It Is Actually Like
Glastonbury hires thousands of staff every year. Here is what the work involves, what it pays, and the stuff nobody puts in the job description.
The reality
Working at Glastonbury is not the same as going to Glastonbury. You will miss headliners because you are pulling pints. You will be on your feet for 10 hours while your mates are watching the Pyramid Stage. You will sleep four hours a night because the bass from a sound system 200 metres away does not stop until 4am.
But you also get to be inside the fence for free. You earn money instead of spending £355 on a ticket (that sells out in 20 minutes). You see how the whole machine works from the inside. And on your time off, you have a wristband that gets you everywhere.
Most people who work Glastonbury once come back year after year. That tells you something.
Roles and pay
Glastonbury is a small city for a week. It needs bar staff, caterers, security, builders, cleaners, medics, and everything in between.
💰 What Glastonbury pays
Bar staff: £11–£14/hour. The Workers Bar and Pilton Palais tend to be the social hubs for staff. Arena bars are busier but you catch more music.
Food traders: £100–£150/day. You work the trader's stall serving food. Meals usually included. Some traders are a laugh to work for, others less so. Ask around before committing.
SIA security: £14–£18/hour. Long shifts (often 12 hours). You will be on gates, arena entrances, or backstage. Night shifts pay more.
Site crew: £150–£200/day. Build starts weeks before gates open. Breakdown runs about a week after. Heavy, muddy, physical work. Good people though.
How to get hired
Glastonbury staff roles are the most competitive in the UK festival world. Thousands of people apply. The trick is applying early and applying in the right place.
📋 Routes in
Bar companies: Peppermint Bars, We Are Bars, and Bars & Events run the main bars. Apply January for the best chance.
Security agencies: Festaff and Showsec handle most stewarding and SIA roles. You need your SIA badge sorted well in advance.
Food traders: Individual businesses hire their own staff. Find them at street food markets or on Instagram. Message early. I got my first Glasto gig by chatting to a pizza trader at a London market in February.
Backstage catering: Eat to the Beat does production catering (feeding the crew, artists, and production staff). Good pay, hard work, you never see the main site.
Oxfam stewarding: Volunteer for 3 shifts and get a free ticket. Not paid work, but a legitimate way in if you cannot get a staff role.
Working for food traders
This is how a lot of people first get into Glastonbury. A food trader needs an extra pair of hands on their stall. You get a crew wristband, staff camping, meals from the truck, and a day rate.
The work is hot, fast, and relentless during peak hours. You are in a small kitchen space (often a converted van or trailer) cooking and serving for queues that do not let up between 12pm and 10pm. Then it goes quiet and suddenly you are done for the night.
The upside: food traders tend to be a tight crew. You eat well (you are literally standing next to the food). And your working hours often align well with the music schedule, so mornings and late nights are free.
Living on site
Staff camping at Glastonbury is separate from the public areas. Depending on who you work for, you might be in a dedicated crew field or a general staff campsite. Either way, you are in a tent in a Somerset field for the best part of a week.
Bring a tent you trust. Bring a sleeping bag warm enough for cold nights (it is not unusual for temperatures to drop below 10°C overnight in late June). Bring wellies even if the forecast is dry. Worthy Farm has its own microclimate and mud appears from nowhere.
Showers exist but the queues are brutal. Baby wipes become currency by day three. Accept that you will be dirty by midweek and it stops bothering you.
The honest bits
✅ The good
Free access to the biggest festival in the world. Getting paid for it. Meeting people you will stay in touch with for years. Seeing Glastonbury from a perspective 200,000 ticket holders never get. The after-hours crew parties. The sunrise over the stone circle on Monday morning when everyone else has gone home.
⚠️ The less good
You will miss things you wanted to see. Long shifts when you are exhausted. The mud (when it rains, Glastonbury mud is in a class of its own). Portaloos. Sleeping in a tent next to someone who snores. The comedown on Monday when it is all over and you have to drive home covered in dirt.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a job at Glastonbury?
Do you get to watch bands if you work at Glastonbury?
How much does Glastonbury pay staff?
What is staff camping like at Glastonbury?
Is it worth working at Glastonbury?
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