Glastonbury at home cost guide

You know the summer is really here when Glastonbury arrives! Whether you're going or not, you can still get into the Glasto spirit by creating a festival vibe at home. Find out how you could create a festival experience to rival the real deal.

Where to start

If you’re thinking that creating the buzz of your favourite festival at home is a big ask, you’ll need to be a little bit more creative.

We’d recommend putting a list together of all the things without which Glastonbury just wouldn’t be Glastonbury. Maybe it’s the smells, the scuzzy toilets, the mud or the rain. Then, think about how you can create each of these things at home (well, maybe not the toilets!).

Outdoor shower

Maybe you want to reminisce about those fun festival times taking a shower while yelling over the cubicle wall at your friends. Or maybe you simply want to recreate the experience of dancing and belting your fave songs out at the top of your lungs in the rain.

Either way, an outdoor shower is a must for your home Glastonbury Festival. Yes, you could just wait for the rain to fall… but let’s be honest, this is a great excuse to add some serious luxury to your garden for the future!

You could spend as little as £700 installing a simple shower in your garden. But if you want all the bells and whistles, you could spend up to £6,000. Ultimately, it all depends on what spec you go for.

Portable toilets

Would it really be Glastonbury without portable toilets? While this might not be the aspect you miss most about Glastonbury, splashing out on portable toilet hire will demonstrate your serious commitment to recreating the festival at home. In other words, it’s the real deal (but the clean version!).

You’d probably be looking at £80+ to hire a standard portable toilet for two weeks. However, there are lots of options available, so check out our portable toilet cost guide for the full lowdown.

Bar

Building a home bar will put your home festival shoulders above the rest. Plus, it’ll be a great asset for all those parties you can host throughout the summer.

To fit with the festival vibe, you don’t need to make your bar super swanky. Instead, get a carpenter to build the bar itself and then just add a worktop and fridge and voila! You have your very own festival bar.

The main home bar cost you’ll need to budget for is your carpenter’s hourly rate. This will normally be between £30 - £45 per hour depending on factors like where you live.

Big screen

You can’t go to a festival without oggling at your favourite acts onstage. We’d recommend investing in a big screen so that you can stream YouTube clips of your favourite acts.

A projector can be a great way to get up and close to the action. Prices vary a lot, but £250 will get you a good-quality one that you can rely on.

Lighting

If you’re hosting your home festival in the garden, outdoor lights are a must. There’s a whole host of options out there, from festoon lights to colourful lanterns and more. Read our guide to installing exterior lights for help choosing.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a garden, why not get some smart bulbs and lighting strips? You can get some decent smart lighting for around £60 - £140. Some will even sync to your TV so that you can change the colour scheme based on what you’re watching!

Sound

Let’s not forget that a festival is really all about the music. So, it’s probably going to be worth forking out on some new speakers that will allow you to really enjoy it.

A pair of outdoor speakers can cost anywhere from £200 - £900. Or, if you’re hosting your festival indoors, we’d seriously consider shouldering the cost of multi-room audio. That way, you and your guests can flit from room to room without having to put up with a break in the music.

Camping (or glamping)

Finally, remember to camp! Whether you dig out your old camping gear for a night in the garden or you make a pillow fort indoors, camping is a vital part of the Glastonbury experience. If you want to treat yourself, you could even buy yourself a glamping pod. This could cost anywhere from £3,000 - £25,000.

It might seem like an unnecessary expense for one weekend but this in an investment for years to come.

Glastonbury at home cost summary

• Think outside the box to recreate the Glastonbury atmosphere at home

• Instead of investing in every element, consider splashing out on one or two things to level up your experience

• Remember that the cost of creating Glastonbury won’t just give you one great day. These are all elements you can enjoy in the future too

• Find professional tradespeople near you using our free search feature to create the best experience for you and your friends