Organisers of the Glastonbury Festival have been commended by their local authority for the running of their 2005 event. The positive report, released this week by Mendip District Council, is a change from the criticism the festival used to receive from the local authorities, and suggests the new security and sound control measures introduced as part of the Glastonbury team's partnership with Mean Fiddler have paid off.
The report, presented by Mendip's Business Manager in Planning and Environment Charles Uzzell, said this year's festival was "more successful" than that held in 2004, noting that noise control improved and the impact on local communities lessened. The report also praised organisers for how they dealt with the torrential rain fall that hit the festival site at the start of this year's event, leaving some flooding. Meanwhile, with arrests down 14% and non-drug related arrests down 19%, the local police force also spoke positively of the event, saying: "Every Glastonbury brings new challenges, but this year we believe the festival was the safest ever, and the figures back that up." The only real criticism was that campsite space was insufficient for the number of tickets sold for the festival.
As previously reported, Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis, who believes in taking a year off every five years or so, has already announced there will be no festival in 2006. However, this week's report suggests there should be no problems securing a licence for a 2007 event.