Glastonbury 2008: the verdict

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The Glastonbury Festival has ended for another year - and fans have been giving their views and verdicts on the event.

BRITTANY CARSON AND KERRY PALLAS

Coming to Glastonbury was a "dream" for Brittany Carson (right) and Kerry Pallas, 20-year-old festival fans from Perth, Australia, who are currently living in London.

"It's exceeded expectations – and we had pretty high expectations," Ms Carson says.

"We've been to all the bands. I've actually rated them as amazing, great or fantastic," she adds, producing her line-up complete with scribbled notes next to the band names.

The Subways, The Raconteurs, We Are Scientists and Crowded House all rated highly.

"At other festivals we've been to, the crowd can get quite unpleasant," Ms Pallas says.

"But it's been really chilled out. It seemed a lot less hassle than a lot of other festivals, and you wouldn't expect that with so many people."

BILLY BRAGG

Billy Bragg played several sets at Glastonbury this year, including a collaboration with Kate Nash on Friday and hosting a night to campaign for more musical instruments in prisons on Sunday.

The singer said he enjoyed "having a laugh" with his son in the new Shangri-La area.

"I haven't seen many bands," he said.

"But that's one of the joys of Glastonbury – you don't need to see many bands to have a great time - just wander around looking at the sights."

"We had our quintessential Glastonbury moment this morning," he says.

"We were just laughing and laughing at something until it hurt. Nobody else knew why we were laughing.

"That's our signifier that we were having a good Glastonbury. That and doing things you'd never do anywhere else in the world."

SANCHIA GLADWIN

"We've been at the Wacky Races and we all won medals," Sanchia Gladwin (left), 27, from Sheffield, proudly explains.

The Wacky Races seem to involve people racing around the festival in inflatable cars.

"There were lots of inflatable cars and loads of people made an effort with horns and everything.

"I swear people had trained because they were really fast. We came second to last.

"They had stages where you had to pick up things to prove you were there. It was organised on Facebook."

ALEX LESLIE AND JAMES CAMPBELL

Alex Leslie, 41, and James Campbell, 39, flew from Toronto, Canada, to come to Glastonbury.

"It's the biggest music festival in the world," Mr Campbell says. "And it's the oldest one too, isn't it?"

 The event is "starting to get better known" in North America, he explains.

"People who know music know it, but increasingly even the mainstream people know what it is.

"I think lots of people saw pictures of the mud last year so that's put it on the radar."

And it was worth the trip, the pair say.

"The crowds have been really good," Mr Campbell says. "One night, I sat with some people who were camping near me and I gave a beer to one of them.

"Then yesterday I came back and they'd put a four-pack into my tent. You hear about people taking stuff out of tents but that was really cool."

DENNIS SANDERS

It was "dress up Sunday" for Dennis Sanders, 50 (left) and Ellis Cooper, 34, who pulled on football strips to mark the Euro 2008 final.

"The line-up's not as good in terms of headliners," Mr Sanders says. "But there's a good vibe.

"It has changed since I first started to come – it's more organised now, but it's lost a lot of its edge. Which is good because it's safer, although I think they've had a bit of crime this year."

He adds: "If you fancy a kick about later, come and join us."

DAVID ROWLANDS  

Glastonbury is "a love-hate thing" for David Rowlands (right), 32, from Southampton.

He came last year with his friends, when heavy rain caused a quagmire.

This year was "a lot better", he says.

"There's still grass for a start. The two experiences just don't compare. It was just like a lake of mud last year. It took an hour to get between the Pyramid and the Other Stage," he said.

"The weather does make such a difference. Even though it has rained this year, it wasn't as bad."