Looks like I was wrong to be sceptical 
Well, it's now looking like Glastonbury 2005 WILL be going down the photo-ID for tickets route.
BBC story reporting contrived, trumped up 'popular support' for this move here
And who did Glastonbury invite to give this oh-so-well-informed opinion??? Readers of the Radio 1 section of the BBC website. Bet the responses were in txtspk ...
When was the 'consultation' launched? A few days ago ...
Here's the story :
BBC story said:
Fans support Glastonbury ID cards
Michael Eavis was the founder of the festival
Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis has said he has had strong support for his idea to issue festival-goers with photo ID cards instead of tickets next year.
He wants to beat touts after heavy black market trade in recent years.
On Wednesday, he said: "The response today has been very, very positive. We have had about 400 emails and I think about 90% are in favour."
He had been concerned the measure may have seemed too oppressive and asked for views via the BBC Radio 1 website.
On Tuesday, his daughter Emily said: "Rather than a ticket, it will be like an entrance card, and it really is to try to limit forgeries and touting.
"As long as it's approached in the right way, it might really work, it might really change the system."
The cards would include a photo and a chip with personal information that would be read at the festival gates.
Ms Eavis said it would be "quite a big step in terms of ticketing for events" if implemented and they were "going as far as we can" to cut touting and forgeries.
This year, all 112,000 tickets were sold within 24 hours.
They were personalised with the names of the purchasers and festival-goers were asked to bring identification, such as a driving licence, passport or household bill.
But some fans forgot to take the right information while some touts simply offered to supply their own ID along with the ticket bearing their name.
Ms Eavis also said they were busy booking bands for next year's event and preparations were "coming along incredibly well", but no line-ups would be announced until 2005.
A few days ago, there was a window on the BBC R1 page in which responses to the idea were invited. If I'd known the whole thing would be wrapped up so soon (as it appears to have been??), then I'd have acted moore urgently here in urging Urbanites, and eFestivallers of a more informed and sceptical tendancy, to respond.
It's probably too late now, but here was my objection that I sent to the BBC, a (slightly) edited version of this post by me on
EFestivals (you have to register to actually contribute to their discussion forums, but you can read them without registering. Be nice if you do join!) :
me said:
My objections are somewhat vague. It will probably be stated that that few people can have any logical objection to provising photo id. This is all very well -- most people probably WILL swallow their doubts and go along with it for the sake of getting to the festival they love.
But my objection lies with what this says about what the festival will seem to have become in terms of compelling a yet greater degree of conformity than has already happened. That minority of people who live on the fringes of society and have not yet self-excluded themselves from Glastonbury already, those people who prefer to live a transient, no-fixed-abode based and a mobile, shifting ID centred life are NOT necessarily criminals, some of them have indeed been the backbone of crewing the Green Fields, helping move and set up and derig the infrastructure, staff the voluntary organisation cafes etc., bering their acts to the Circus Fields, be roadies for their mates' band etc. Some still do this, some did in the past but might now have shifted to becoming paying punters more reently, while still preferring to be little known as possible to the electoral register and the inland revenue. It doesn't matter how much reassurance mdp and others give that ID on Glasto's database will not leak to any other bodies, the point is the perception -- people who for very understandable reasons (eg have a colourful road protesting background?) keep their distance from the police and other official bodies, might still prefer to lead as anonymous a life as they can, that should be their choice so long as they do no harm to others ...
People like this will be forced with a choice -- go overground and document yourself maybe with a false ID, or don't go to Glastonbury. Glastonbury used to be known as the main gathering of the alternative clans, of course that aspect has already become much diluted over the years, for various reasons we all understand and appreciate security has had to be tightened and former free for all avenues of getting in closed off, but in becoming that much less alternative the festival it will lose yet more of its character.
I'm very uneasy, for reasons I can't exactly put my finger on. I will test the waters of opinon around Urbanland and other places ....
So come on Urban Glasto types, what do you think??
Yes, the festival has changed, a lot of the unwelcxome changes have already happened, is this photo-ID thing crossing the rubicon to a Step Too Far, or just another nail in the conformity coffin?
Will Glasto's character survive??
I''d be interested to see in particular the reactions of people who haven't already become inveterately Glasto-sceptical and Glasto-hostile ...
Ellal's response on efestivals :
I didn't say Glastonbury would 'lead to an ID card'!..I said that if it decides to use photo ID, and sells out as usual within a few hours, then the government may use it as an example of how 'we are accepting the ID idea'!!
As is his history for 'flying kites' over ticketing ideas, hopefully when ME works out the logistics/practicalities of this, he'll see he's being a bit silly!..Oh, and he must be using the same reasoning as the government for working out 'public opinion'!...he bases his on 400 emails ( how many from festival goers? ), and the government tells us 80% are in favour of ID on a poll of 10,000...hardly hard evidence in either case is it?
And ME has just said on the radio that the 'tout problem' now only affects about a thousand tickets!! Why is everything getting over complicated to, as many have said, 'use a sledgehammer to crack a nut'..THE best way to beat the touts is not to pay over the odds!..how many times have people come on here and said they'd handed over money to rogue ticket agencies after being advised not to etc!
It COULD be at least plausible that this idea is a bit of an impromptu dry run for national ID cards ...
Posted by mdp963 on efestivals :
I simply believe ME has a bee in his bonnet about touts and is trying to do someting about it.
To which ellal responds :
But maybe that Bee is buzzing too loudly, and has got out of all proportion...
Or maybe there is another agenda?..many have questioned whether the 'alternative crowd' is being slowly squeezed out..maybe ME ( with a little bit of gentle persuasion! ) is looking for a more 'normal' crowd. Why?...because they spend more!...Commercialisation rears it's ugly head again!..
Lets be having your views ....
in 2002, they weren't at all bad, the replacement bloke has been singing with them for about 15 years and is far from a disaster, but nothing like the good old days ... not that I ever saw them live then, just heard Peel raving about them and agreed with him ...
) be able to cope? 
