Is it just me, or was this all so much better when I was a lad ?? First time I went in 1992 I picked up a ticket in the Tuesday and drove down the next day.....
LONDON (Reuters) - Organisers said on Thursday that fans wanting to go to this year's Glastonbury Festival would have to register and provide a photo before getting a ticket to stop touts taking advantage of the hugely-popular event.
The pre-sales registration system, which is being introduced for the first time, will mean that every ticket issued will feature a passport-sized photograph of its official bearer.
"It's a much fairer system," said Michael Eavis, who owns the farm in southwest England where the festival has been held almost annually since 1970.
"It means unscrupulous people won't be able to sell their tickets on for a profit. The people who buy the tickets on April 1 will be the people who are actually coming to the festival."
Glastonbury began on Eavis's land in 1970 and grew from humble beginnings to become one of the biggest annual music and arts events in the world, nowadays attracting top bands and more than 100,000 revellers.
Along the way it also earned a reputation for being one of Europe's muddiest events: torrential rain and storms caused chaos at the last festival in 2005, forcing the start to be delayed.
This year's event is even more eagerly awaited than usual because there was no festival in 2006 as Eavis decided to allow his farm time off to recover. Fans had to make do with a documentary film instead.
Headline acts in the past have included the likes of Coldplay, Oasis, Paul McCartney and R.E.M., but organisers will not confirm who is performing this year until the tickets go on sale.
Fans must register online or by post between February 1 and 28 for the festival which will run from June 22 to 24, providing Eavis gets permission from the local council.
