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Gatecrashers have been digging tunnels to enter Glastonbury festival illegally

‘We’ve had to chase people down who bolted through the gates with their bags on’

Peony Hirwani
Friday 23 June 2023 08:02 BST
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Glastonbury 2023: What happened on day one at Worthy Farm?

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Gatecrashers have been finding unique ways to enter the Glastonbury Festival illegally.

While some people have been digging “Great Escape-style” tunnels, others have been using grappling hooks to enter the festival without paying.

According to The Times, some people pitched tents against barriers on the ground to hide tunnels they dug underneath to get their friends in.

You can keep up with all things Glastonbury here.

One security worker told the outlet that non-ticket holders try to “come under the wall, it’s like The Great Escape but in reverse”.

Another member of the security added: “It’s wild. We’ve had to chase people down who bolted through the gates with their bags on, and some use grappling hooks to pull panels off the wall and climb over, like Batman.”

This year’s Glastonbury Festival is surrounded by a fence built by Sunbelt Rentals.

According to the company’s website, the fence is “standing 4.12m high and 7.8km long, the fence has unique high-security features including an attached external roadway to prevent tunnelling, 45-degree overhangs to prevent climbing and zero nuts and bolts to stop the fence being tampered with.”

However, it hasn’t stopped music fans from trying to get in through illegal means.

(REUTERS)

The official gates to Glastonbury Festival opened on Wednesday (21 June).

This year’s festival in Pilton, Somerset, will see Arctic Monkeys, US rockers Guns N’ Roses, and Sir Elton John headlining on the Pyramid Stage.

On Sunday (25 June), revellers will see John perform at the Glastonbury Festival for the first and the last time.

Despite his career spanning seven decades, this year marks John’s first time attending – let alone headlining – Glastonbury.

The 76-year-old, who was touring the world on the final leg of his much-delayed Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, will headline the Pyramid Stage on Worthy Farm along with “four collaborators of his choosing” during his two-hour set.

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The weather for this year’s festival is predicted to be a mixture of sun and rain, after a month’s worth of rain fell in the UK last weekend.

Meanwhile, the BBC is broadcasting the festival across all of its main channels, including BBC Radio, iPlayer and BBC Sounds.

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