NOTTINGHAM, England, July 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Outdoor music festivals have come a long way since their unofficial establishment in the 1960s. From the early days of Glastonbury and Woodstock they have evolved from being small, hippie-style parties to huge weekend affairs with line-ups changing considerably and, for Glastonbury, ticket sales soaring from 1,500 in the opening year to 135,000 in 2013.
However it's not only the size, sales and line-ups that have changed. The whole festival experience has also progressed. They were once renowned for being about love and peace (which they still are), with people not caring where they stayed or what they looked like, but now festivals have become a much more stylish affair.
By all means, most festival goers do still camp in a pop-up or festival tent, however most now kit theirs out with an airbed, or at least a sleeping mat, and ensure they have pillows and a spare section in their tent for their muddy wellies! They also ensure they've got a handy mirror, dry shampoo and wet wipes to keep themselves looking pristine.
The majority of festivals now, such as V Festival, offer luxury accommodation such as yurts, podpads, huts and bell or emperor tents that come fully furnished with rugs, inflatable mattresses and bedding! Podpads, which can be found at many festivals including Leeds and Reading have their own toilets and showers so you can stay hygienically clean if you don't fancy 'roughing it'. One of the highlights to luxury glamping is that the fixed accommodation is lockable which is obviously much safer than leaving your belongings in a tent.
Food and drink stalls can now be seen at nearly every festival, even the independent more bespoke ones such as YNot Festival and Kendal Calling. These have developed over the past years with cuisine varying from a classic pork and stuffing sandwich to an extravagant kangaroo burger - you can now find anything you like!
Ticket prices have also evolved, and for many people this has been seen as a massive drawback, however, when you consider how many bands now play over a weekend, the more advanced sound systems and the sheer amount of people it takes to organise these events you can see why they have been inflated.
Music festivals, have by all means, kept up with the times, you can even charge up your mobile phone despite being in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere - who would have thought this would ever have been possible?
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