Going to a festival used to be like going to a longer, smellier gig. You’d take a tent, a boot full of booze and – if you were particularly fancy – a packet of baby wipes.
There’s no point wishing for those simpler times now. The number of festivals has risen from 100 to 700 in the past decade and the cost of a ticket has risen with it. Example: A Glastonbury ticket cost £112 in 2004, but this year sold for £215. When you add in wellies, anoraks, tents and sleeping bags – not to mention travel – festival weekends have become financial black holes.
But what’s the alternative? Sitting at home watching Glastonbury footage on telly while Instagram goes unnervingly and enviably quiet thanks to the lack of signal at Worthy Farm?
Still, as a dedicated festival-goer, how much have you spent on booze, drugs and fun times over the past couple of years? Find out here. But brace yourself – the answer could be the equivalent of a deposit on a flat in Manchester. Gulp
Photographs: Sophie Davidson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.