Glastonbury: Why meal deals at Scottish music festivals would go down a treat

Picture the scene, it's 1am and you're getting a late night feed having seen a band, but all that's available is chips or a burger, or a burger and chips.

Sounds fairly normal after a night out, but there was a time when that lack of choice was pretty much the norm at music festivals.

This was when I started going to festivals – namely T in the Park for ten years in the early Noughties. What you ate to keep you going, when looking back, seemed like an afterthought.

A few years into my annual pilgrimage to Balado, organisers introduced a healthier area for a small number of different food choices, which seemed novel at the time. Fast forward to 2023 and the huge range of food available at music festivals is a sign of our growing industry, but also our changing attitudes to food, dietary considerations and health.

Crowds watch the performances on Day 3 of Glastonbury Festival 2023 on June 23, 2023 in Glastonbury, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

It's no surprise this has gone hand in hand with the increase in street food in Scotland. This year saw a permanent street food market make its home by the Omni in Edinburgh while Glasgow plays host to the Big Feed and Dockyard Social – two street food markets, which continue to be very popular.

Sadly as our appetite for quality, convenient and often very diverse food grows, our weekend-long, camping based music festivals have reduced. T in the Park is no more, same with Rockness.

TRNSMT, launched to replace T in the Park has held its own, and newcomer Connect had a promising first year last year, while this month's Reeling Festival was a soaring success – and they've all put good food and drink at their heart. But for anyone who's been will know, that doesn't come cheap – I know having spent £100 in one day at a festival recently.

I'm writing this having been to my first Glastonbury festival, which, given the ticket price, may make many think they'll be forking out a fortune on food. And you can, but there's two key differences to festivals at home when it comes to scran – you can bring in your own food and drinks (yes, even alcohol) and there's a £6 meal deal available at 75 per cent of stalls, of which there's around 400.

People seen leaving the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire

These offerings range from a cornish pasty with chips and beans, to samosas, gyoza, pizza and (frankly delicious) mac and cheese. There's also free meals available from the Hare Krishna tent.

Having attended with friends, who have a range of dietary requirements, and with their four year old, I was dubious if we could stick to a budget. But it was surprisingly easy due to the sheer number of options, kid's menus and being able to bring in our own food when needed, not to mention the savings that can be made on drinks.

While we don't have a festival in Scotland anywhere near the scale and size of Glastonbury, it'd be transformative for many to see a cheap meal deal and the option to at least bring in your own food – our licencing laws plus alcohol sponsors, of which Glastonbury does not have, may mean we can't ever freely bring our own booze – to our festivals.

For every person or family that's sticking to a budget, there's another happy to munch on, and pay for, a – now very gourmet – burger.