Glastonbury Festival organisers have criticised a luxury camping provider for offering helicopter transfers to the eco-conscious music event, warning it contradicts the festival’s environmental values.
Last week, The Pop-Up Hotel—long favoured by festival insiders for its lavish “glamping” experience—announced its summer line-up for attendees who prefer indulgence over traditional tent living.
Opening on June 25, the site sits just outside the festival grounds and promises a serene escape “designed to pamper guests like never before.” With curated wellness treatments, high-end facilities, and upgraded comforts, the campsite targets well-off festivalgoers looking to escape the usual muddy chaos.
Just a ten-minute walk from Gate D of the festival, this paddock-style glamping site offers a sharp contrast to standard camping. Guests enjoy 24-hour hot showers, flushing toilets, a spa, a Sephora beauty salon, pool parties, fine dining from chef Max La Manna, product sampling from Korean skincare brand Beauty of Joseon, vitamin IV drips, and opulent accommodations.
The most exclusive lodging, the Tipi Tenthouse Suite, comes with a steep price tag of £28,999 for six guests. The suite also accommodates up to four additional people, for an added cost, surrounded by lanterns, plush decor, and private en-suites.
This year, the company introduced an even more extravagant offering: helicopter transfers. In a recent announcement, The Pop-Up Hotel stated, “Hotel guests can beat the worst of the traffic and fly into Glastonbury like rock royalty. By parking at easily-accessible and conveniently-located Hartham Park Estate or Homewood House Hotel, guests can hop on a 15-minute helicopter transfer for the final 30 miles to Glastonbury, bypassing the gridlocked traffic below. Heli-Hop return flights start from £1,399 per person.”
While helicopters may be relatively rare in the sky, their environmental impact is significant. A single hour of flight can emit up to 500kg of CO₂, and noise pollution during takeoff and landing adds to their environmental footprint.
Given Glastonbury Festival’s long-standing ties to environmental causes and partnerships with organisations like Greenpeace and WaterAid, organisers have strongly opposed the helicopter offering.
A spokesperson for the festival said, “This offsite accommodation provider has no relationship to us, so we cannot control how people arrive there. We absolutely do not condone the use of helicopters. Here at Glastonbury Festival, we encourage people to arrive by public transport or to lift share if they do decide to drive.”
The festival, which began over five decades ago on the Eavis family’s dairy farm with a small group of hippies, has evolved into one of Europe’s most iconic cultural events. Now attracting around 200,000 attendees each year, its image as a green, socially responsible gathering remains a cornerstone of its identity.
However, some environmentalists have criticised the festival for what they see as conflicting messages—citing the mass travel to and from the remote Somerset site and the aftermath of litter-strewn fields. Others, particularly veteran festivalgoers, express dismay over the soaring ticket prices (which reached £378 this year, up from £265 in 2019) and the growing market for high-end accommodations that run counter to the festival’s counterculture roots.
It’s worth noting that The Pop-Up Hotel, while profiting off Glastonbury’s prestige, is not officially affiliated with the festival. It operates independently and cannot offer guests guaranteed festival access, despite its high prices—sometimes several times more than the actual event ticket.
Responding to the controversy, a spokesperson for The Pop-Up Hotel told the Mirror: “Helicopter transfers are offered as part of our line-up of services for hotel guests. Every year, we have a very small proportion of guests who arrive by helicopter. The majority come by car, coach or train.”
Still, the addition of helicopter rides remains a divisive issue—seen by many as a tone-deaf luxury offering that clashes with Glastonbury’s mission of sustainability and social responsibility.
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