Glastonbury: Bringing an ancient festival into the digital age
Julie Reader-Sullivan (Group Manager – Growth and Planning at Mendip District Council) and the Glastonbury Town Deal Board show how starting small and working together can galvanize a town and improve engagement.
Glastonbury multi-faith summer solstice ceremony, 2020 © Mendip District Council
Summer solstice at Glastonbury Tor
At 4.00am on 21 June 2020, Julie Reader-Sullivan, Group Manager – Growth and Planning at Mendip District Council, clambered up a steep hill in the dark.
Accompanied by the High Priestess from Glastonbury’s goddess community, and with multiple mobile phones as hotspot backup, they marked the dawning of a new day with the first virtual summer solstice event held at Glastonbury Tor.
It was a notable achievement, not only for overcoming connectivity issues in a remote site of ancient pilgrimage to live stream the sunrise. More significantly, the moment represented collaborative ways of working that are now galvanising the town around a shared vision for their Town Deal.
Summer solstice occurs annually between 20-21 June in the Northern Hemisphere. It marks the beginning of summer and is the day the sun traces the longest path through the sky, an occasion that has been celebrated in many different cultures for centuries.
The event in Glastonbury brings crowds of people seeking spiritual enrichment or to experience the many sites of heritage, myth and worship such as Glastonbury Abbey, the Tor or the Chalice Well and Gardens.
Early impact of the Town Deal Board
Julie Reader-Sullivan joined Mendip District Council in May 2019 and one of her points of focus has been the development of the tourism strategy. With a background in developing businesses in the private sector, Julie’s ethos is rooted in collaborative working. Her role is about supporting growth for the whole district. “And you only do that if you work together,” she says.
In November 2019, Glastonbury was selected to be part of the Towns Fund programme. Although the Town Deal Board had formed in early 2020, they had not yet had an opportunity to meet in person before the Covid-19 crisis began in March.
With the pandemic forcing people to keep a safe distance, there were clear indications that the summer solstice celebrations in the town would have to be different this year. Glastonbury Town Council shared their concerns with Julie about the potential safety risks to locals and visitors gathering at the Tor.
“It would have been wrong to do nothing, but it would have equally been wrong to say ‘come to Glastonbury we're open’.”
The approaching summer solstice presented a clearly defined project that allowed the Town Deal Board to test a new way of working and prove they could deliver.
“I think that's where the Town Deal actually had a big impact. We all have to work collaboratively. So this was a really good opportunity to try it out. No one group could have made this happen.”
Glastonbury Safer Summer Solstice campaign
The Glastonbury Safer Summer Solstice campaign spread the crucial ‘stay away, stay safe’ messaging, while also promoting a new online offering. The virtual solstice event included a live video stream of the sunrise, a multi-faith ceremony, a Salutation to the Dawn and a Ceremony of Light with the High Priestess from the goddess community, as well as yoga, walks and activities for children.
Julie saw an opportunity to continue to bring trade to local businesses following on from conversations already started through her work in developing the tourism strategy. A public Facebook store, the ‘Glastonbury Summer Solstice Tent’, promoted Glastonbury-based businesses selling items such as stained glass, candles and jewellery, attracting 1,488 members.
Forging relationships with collaborative working
The collaboration connected Glastonbury Town Deal Board with people and organisations throughout the region, building relationships that will be central to the success of a Town Deal for Glastonbury.
It was a chance to build on existing relationships and forge new ones between Mendip District Council, Glastonbury Town Council, Avon and Somerset Police and the National Trust. Relationships were also strengthened by the Glaston Centre and Glastonbury Tourist Information Centre coming together with members of the local goddess community, multi-faith communities, local businesses and volunteers. These different groups were able to steer and support a shared goal of a safe summer solstice event that would benefit all.
Live streaming from the Glastonbury Information Centre Facebook page established relationships with visitors for future communications. In the week running up to and including the event, the Glastonbury Information Centre had a reach of 83,425 and 36,968 video views. The live stream of the sunrise and ceremony received 10,500 views and 400 comments from people all over the world, including Canada, North America, South America and Australia.
The power in communication
While working in this way undoubtedly enabled Julie and the team to achieve something remarkable, it did not come without challenges. Julie recognises that working collaboratively and bringing different groups together is ultimately about communication and overcoming misconceptions. For Julie, the answer is clear: a shared story that everyone can get behind.
“It’s about breaking down those barriers and that is through communication and working together.”
Glastonbury Town Deal Board has been developing a vision for the town. Following on from the positive energy created from the solstice event, they have received lots of feedback on future development plans from communities that they are not always able to reach.
The shared vision for Glastonbury Town:
Glastonbury will be a sustainable, prosperous modern town and global tourist centre drawing on its rural landscape, history and unique legacy.
Glastonbury’s first virtual summer solstice event provided an important opportunity for the town to come together around a shared project, test and achieve something of real value within a short space of time. It has opened up channels of communications and built relationships within the Town Deal Board and across the town’s many communities. It also allowed the town to experience its vision in action, not just on paper.
This story was written from a conversation with Julie Reader-Sullivan, Group Manager – Growth and Planning at Mendip District Council.
Glastonbury is one of 101 places invited by the Government to develop Town Deal proposals to deliver long-term economic recovery, clean growth, jobs and prosperity as part of the £3.6 billion Towns Fund. Glastonbury has submitted their Town Investment Plan and the Government is in the process of assessing their Town Deal proposals. The outcome of this assessment will be confirmed in due course.