We’ve just turned 50 but (as it turns out) we’ve already had our mid-life crisis, when we completely rethought our ticket prices last year.
We knew times were tight (and still are), so we reinvented our ticketing model in time for our 50th anniversary, and asked you to pay what you could afford. We suppose you could call it our… mid-life prices.
We also encouraged you to buy as early as possible, in interest-free monthly instalments if that was useful for you. Buying early helps us to plan more boldly, as we know who’s coming to the party. And instalments hopefully help you too, being able to spread the costs over the year (at no extra cost).
Thousands of you embraced the idea, so we’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to each and every one of you.
The generosity and honesty of Greenbelters meant that the results of our ticketing rethink have been amazing, with our pay-what-you-can-afford idea being copied by other festivals.
We’ve learned a lot in the last year too, including the fact that pricing deadlines are pretty effective in selling tickets. We tried a single flat price all year, but it’s the one part of our experiment that didn’t quite work. It turns out that nothing focuses the mind quite like a deadline.
As the price of everything continues to rocket, we’re not immune to rising costs. (Those rising prices meant that this year’s festival cost 15% more than in 2022 for us to make.)
So for 2024 we’re going to keep the three different types of pricing (Supported, Standard and Supporter), but each of the three ticket types will step up in price at three deadlines across the year.
The first batch of 2024 tickets are on sale now — kept at exactly at 2023 prices until the end of September.
So unlike a mortgage or a loaf of bread (or pretty much anything else), we can guarantee you that Greenbelt won’t cost you a penny more in a year’s time than it does right now. If you buy now, you can enjoy next year’s Greenbelt at this year’s prices.
That doesn’t mean you have to splash all the cash now, though. Simply snap up your tickets in the next month and sign up for a monthly instalment plan.
You’ll save a chunk of money (compared to buying them later) and you can spread the payments, interest-free, across 11 months — up to and including July next year.
That means a Standard adult ticket will cost just £16 a month if you buy before the end of September, and you won’t pay any more for it than if you bought it in full now (and, in case you’re wondering, by comparison a Supported ticket would be £13 each month and Supporter would cost £19).
We know that, for lots of us, these aren’t easy times. But by buying early you’ll be pledging your support to this 50 year-old festival that we all love.
Sign up for 2024 now, and help us to start planning for the next fifty. greenbelt.org.uk/buy-tickets
