BARAC UK at Glastonbury 2025

A report from BARAC UK Team Member Natalia Levene, about their second year volunteering for us at Glastonbury Festival for Workers Beer Company. We are grateful to Natalia, team leader Leroy and the entire team for all their hard work raising funds for us while enjoying Glasto.

This was my second year attending Glastonbury as part of the BARAC UK team, volunteering with Workers Beer Company and it felt so good to be back.  One of the things I was most looking forward to, was being reunited with my teammates from last year. We were an inter-generational team aged between 20-60, and we travelled from Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, and Newcastle. 

A gorgeous blend of accents, from all walks of life united in our love for music and our commitment to fundraising. It was also great to see some of the volunteers from other organisations returning to the festival.  As volunteers we had a dedicated campsite, and the feeling of being surrounded by new and familiar faces, excited about what the week will bring is quite hard to put into words. There is a real sense of pride and purpose in the small roles we all play in contributing to the Glastonbury experience for over 200,000 festival attendees.

 This year the BARAC team worked at the Solstice Bar, which was next to the Other Stage. Positioned perfectly to listen to the live performances and catch a glimpse of the stage on our breaks. Although being so close to a main stage meant that we were put through our paces in between acts with lots of thirsty customers queuing at the bar. You don’t find out your shifts until you arrive at the farm, so we prayed to the festival gods that our rota would align with the acts we wanted to see. There was some heartbreak for our team missing out on Charlie XCX, but I was so grateful to be able to see Busta Rhymes, Fabio & Grooverider’s history of drum & bass set with a live orchestra and the performance I waited all weekend for, The Prodigy. I still get goosebumps when I think about the atmosphere during their performance of Firestarter. 

This year it was also great to see the Black at Glasto presence in Silver Hayes, a hub of connection for festival attendees of black heritage. I had the honour of facilitating an African-centred healing circle in the space and another teammate Jodie, led a yoga session. It was such a gift to share our skills and offer a moment of solace and connection to our community. 

Glastonbury really is the festival of all festivals, and to be able to enjoy it with a great group of people whilst fundraising for an incredible organisation like BARAC UK made it even more special. Thank you, BARAC UK, for the opportunity and thank you to Amos, Ettie India, Issy, Jodie and our team leader Leroy for being the team of dreams.

BARAC UK at Glastonbury 2024 - A Great Time Was Had and Big Thanks to Our Brilliant Team

For several years BARAC UK has been pleased to work with Workers Beer Company to send a team of volunteers to Glastonbury and other festivals to raise funds for our work. Many thanks to our team for 2024 for volunteering this year.We appreciate you. 

Report by Isobel Abatan, first time volunteer on the BARAC UK team for Workers Beer Company at Glastonbury  2024

Isobel Abatan

 I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to volunteer at Glastonbury festival this year but a bit nervous going on my own. I didn’t need to worry, because as soon as I got on the coach at Clapham Junction everyone was very friendly and happy to chat. I was regretting overpacking and it is   definitely a lesson for the future to not overpack but the organisers were very good at making sure that the staff were looked after.

I thought working five shifts at Glastonbury Festival would limit my ability to enjoy the music and events, but the shifts were fun and went by quickly. The other BARAC UK volunteers were extremely welcoming and always happy to help when I was unsure of something. Everyone was so friendly, it hardly felt like work. I was nervous about having to pull pints as my bar experience was limited, but the bars had machines that pulled pints for you. This meant that all I had to do was pour the spirits and place the orders on an easy handheld device. The organisation for workers at the festival  made the whole process very easy and stress free for volunteers.

Being part of the crew at the festival meant that I had access to crew bars dotted around the festival site. The crew bars had toilets for staff to use, our own bar, comfy seating areas, DJs and our own pizza van. This meant that when the acts finished and the queues for the toilets were getting longer, staff had an area they could go to without having to wait. This alone has made me want to pick volunteering over getting a normal ticket as there are  so many perks! Not to mention the two free meals  per day at the campsite, which felt like luxury waking up to a full English breakfast and a cup of tea whilst my friends with normal tickets woke up to stale, squashed chocolate brioches. The campsite also had lots of toilets and hot showers which were frequently cleaned. 

I don’t think anything could have quite prepared me for how big Glastonbury is and the sheer amount of walking. Although my feet are still recovering, the 45 minute walk back from the South East Corner at 5 o’clock in the morning was merely character building. 

When I signed up, I made sure not to get my hopes up about seeing certain acts as I didn’t know what the rota would be. This actually made the experience more carefree and relaxed as I was open to seeing new people and enjoyed wandering around different stages. However, I was very happy that I was able to see Coldplay, as I’ve never been able to secure tickets for their concerts. Their set was amazing and everyone there was enjoying themselves, including Stormzy who passed me in the crowd. 

Thanks to BARAC UK, I got to experience Glastonbury, which is a memory I will cherish. I met amazing people volunteering for BARAC UK and couldn’t have asked for a better group to experience the festival with. Volunteering at Glastonbury Festival allowed me to have fun whilst raising money for a good cause. BARAC UK have been such a valuable support to my family so it was nice to have the opportunity to help them raise money. I would love to volunteer again… once i get the feeling back in my toes.

BARAC UK team, from left to right: Leroy Boateng, Team Leader, with India Smith, Amos Walker, Cameron Brown, Isobel Abatan, Ettie Smith, Natalia Levene

Donna Guthrie, BARAC UK Women's Officer and our Workers Beer Company / Festivals coordinator says:

Teaming up with Workers Beer Company to provide volunteer servers at Glastonbury Festival allows us the opportunity to raise much needed funds for BARAC UK to campaign and challenge racism and injustice.

Our volunteers are able to build relationships with other social campaigns and trade union groups in camp and are very well looked after by the WBC staff and infrastructure at the festival.

It is extremely rewarding to provide this fundraising opportunity to our volunteers, who may not otherwise have experienced one of Europe's largest music festivals, and their feedback is always positive.

It's literally a win win for BARAC and our supporters. 

Representing BARAC UK at Glastonbury 2016; a report by Parisce Francis

BARAC team at Glastonbury with left to right Parisce Francis, author of this article, Felicia OluTease, Barbara Ntumy (Team leader) and Aaliyah Oke 

Team member for this year's BARAC team for Workers Beer at Glastonbury writes on her experience.

If you are interested in volunteering next year get in touch or watch out for updates.  BARAC.info@gmail.com. 

Glastonbury 2016 by Parisce Francis

I had told myself that 2016 was going to be the year that I finally go to Glastonbury, but I didn’t get

tickets. They sold out in a stupidly small amount of time and I missed out even though my mum, my

friends and I all tried. Needless to say when I saw the BARAC request for volunteers on Facebook I

was beyond happy.

I have been to a few festivals before in the UK and around Europe but I have never worked one

before. Let me tell you I will never be buying a ticket again! Volunteering is the way to festival!

Honestly, my first impressions were not great but that was completely outside the control of BARAC

and Workers Beer Company (WBC). What should have been a 4 hour journey (according to Google

maps) ended up as a 16 hour trip and the majority of that was spent in a traffic jam within 5 miles of

the festival site.

The coach from Manchester arrived in the WBC campsite, known as the village, just as breakfast was

beginning to be served, so my disappointments fell away as my belly filled. During breakfast I met

Aaliyah, a member of my BARAC team. As a group, we had chatted a bit over Whatsapp but not met

in person. Aaliyah showed me about; the showers, portaloos, posh toilets, where to set up my tent

and introduced me to the rest of the team; Barbara and Felicia.

The village is definitely one of the reasons why I’d volunteer again. It is located pretty centrally;

there are hot showers, toilets that flush and somewhere to charge your phone. We were also given

2 meals a day and 2 drinks vouchers after each shift. Within the food/beer tent there was a laid

back, community feel which meant that even if you started off sitting alone charging your phone,

within a few minutes you’d be swapping stories about the crazy people you’d served the night

before. Similarly it was nice to walk around the festival site and see familiar faces.

If I had any hesitations about working at the festival before going, it was about working behind the

bar. I have been at festival bars where the queues are 30 men deep and have seen people get angry

with thirst. But that was nothing to worry about; it was really easy and fun. We had a quick brief

before our first shift and were then put to work. We got a pretty good deal; 2 shifts starting 11am till

5pm and 2 starting at 10pm till 3am. Behind the bar you could still feel the party vibes. Our first shift

was in an old school garage tent and when the DJ dropped little man looking at us you would’ve

thought we were on the dance floor.

My time at Glastonbury differed greatly from my previous experiences at festivals, not only because

I was there as a volunteer, but because of the company I was in. Usually I’d go with my friends from

Uni but as the girls I was with this time are political activists my experience differed due to the topics

of the conversations we had. As 4 black women we discussed everything from the transgressions of

white men wearing afro wigs as fancy dress to vintage clothes shopping, to gender identity of/ in

children. Other people in the WBC village were volunteering for a range of social or environmental

causes/groups so conversation was never dull with other teams too. Being around such politically

active and aware people when the result for the referendum was announced was pretty special.

Now I’m home (and mud free) I think Glastonbury definitely lived up to the hype, it was huge! 2016

was not about headliners (no offence Adele) it was all about grime, seeing Novelist get the crowd to

chant ‘f**k David Cameron’ isn’t something I’ll forget. But even if music isn’t your thing there are 

so many other things going on like the cinema, comedy stages, even a healing circle. I definitely

recommend volunteering and  if you are there next year I’ll see you there!

VOLUNTEER FOR BARAC & GO TO MUSIC FESTIVALS FOR FREE - REPORT FROM A VOLUNTEER

 BARAC is seeking volunteers for Workers Beer Company in 2015 at UK Music Festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading. 

Sharon Griffiths with Lee Jasper

 This summer the first BARAC team of volunteers for Workers Beer Company attended the Reading Festival.  BARAC is grateful to the team of volunteers which included National Co-Chair of BARAC, Lee Jasper for raising much needed funds to support the work BARAC does campaigning for race equality and justice. 

Sharon Griffiths, BARAC supporter and volunteer writes on her experience:

 

Reading an email received from BARAC one morning caught me off guard as I had been talking to my housemate only the day before about feeling regretful that at my age I’d never been to a festival.  The horror stories of the toilet situation had I have to say, always put me off attending such an event despite hearing how much fun they were!  The email was seeking volunteers to fundraise with the Workers Beer Company on behalf of BARAC.  Being a supporter of BARAC and acknowledging that I’m neither time or money rich, this was an ideal opportunity to attend a festival, have ‘staff’ camping, toilets, showers, two meals a day and drinks when you finish your shift was a perfect introduction to a festival.  Perfect, I wasn’t going to have to pay to attend either.  All in exchange for working between 5-7 hours per day which meant I had between 17 to 19 hours remaining to enjoy the bands, HOT showers, a subsidised bar at the staff camping site and appreciate clean toilets all whilst earning money for BARAC – a Win-Win!

 

We were invited to be on site the day prior to the Festival starting and off on our adventure we went.  A small team of three packed into a small car with the same number of tents, sleeping bags, deck chairs, camping stove and food and off we went!  The staff camping area was very well organised and we were instantly welcomed and given our ID badges. 

 

 The shift patterns were posted each afternoon for the following day which allowed us time to plan which bands we wanted to see.  There were approximately 40 staff per bar and there was a great sense of camaraderie amongst the teams.  Beer and cider were poured ready at the back of the bar for us to serve and small selections of spirits were also available.  Nothing too complicated and definitely not the scene for a fancy cocktail (which was a relief).  We were given a barcode for each drink and a small ‘zapper’ gun to scan upon serving so we didn’t even have to add up!!

We were fortunate enough to be given one five hour shift and two six hour shifts so there were lots of opportunities for us to do our own thing.  Prior to our first shift we were given an induction and there was a huge emphasis about being certain we weren’t serving anyone younger than 18.  There were also a number of dodgy twenty pound notes in circulation therefore vigilance was the highest priority.  We agreed as a team that we would also donate our tips to the fundraising pot so there was a real sense of satisfaction that went hand in hand with our hard work.

My advice to anyone considering volunteering to work and represent BARAC at a festival is:  DO IT!  Take wellies and waterproof coat, warm sleeping bag, a sense of humour and a certainty to arrive on time for your shift; also remembering that your conduct when working or staying at the staff campsite does represent BARAC and a good attitude will ensure we get invited to work at the festivals in the future.

 

 

 

Sharon qualified as a social worker in 1999 and in her free time has spent over 17 years working overseas typically in varying areas of Africa, with a particular interest in child protection and in South America working with non-government organisations to reduce the trafficking and sexual slavery of children. During this time Sharon has been able to work with both human services departments and non-government organisations to provide teaching of social work principles in local universities and consultation around varying areas of child protection.

Sharon is a social worker specialising with children and families and also offers consultation to local authorities and NGO’s.

 

 

If you are interested in volunteering festivals in 2014 please contact for further information and to register: Donna Guthrie barac.info@gmail.com