Why are there so many Scousers at Glastonbury?

There’s an old adage that you are never more than a few feet away from a Scouser at Glastonbury.

A fashion brand owner from Liverpool, who says she has been “dressing every Scouse girl” for the festival since 2017, certainly agrees.

“We have an absolute ball – it’s a little community,” says Ormskirk-based Scouser Sophie Ackers, who owns the Secret Garden label.

“People always say ‘Oh My God, there’s so many Scousers’ because there’s always a massive gang that goes.”

“Scousers do love a party and music brings people together,” Sophie adds.

She reckons the fact that many Liverpudlians are not afraid to stop and chat with strangers means they are more likely to be seen and heard at the festival in Somerset.

“Everyone’s so friendly here, you can sit on the bus and make a best friend!”

The 34-year-old says she loves hearing about the lengths that people from Liverpool will go to in order to attend the festival.

She jokes: “I think last year a man dressed as a woman to get in, the year before someone dressed as a paramedic with all the kit and walked in!”

Paddy Gordon, who runs Pilton Hill, an off-site Glastonbury camping site in Shepton Mallet, says Scousers make up a “good proportion” of his guests.

He says Liverpudlians are “always good characters” and tend to stand out in the festival crowds.

“So many great bands from Liverpool have played Glastonbury so there’s also that link.

“They like a good party and they know their music.

“One of my best Glastonbury memories was being right in the thick of it surrounded by Scousers singing along while Paul McCartney was playing.”

One festival-goer tells BBC News: “There are a lot of Scousers, [it’s] everyone you see.

“And you can just tell when you see them as well by what they’re wearing.”

Another suggests it might be Merseyside’s love of house music that draws people to Glastonbury.

He says: “All Scousers love a party, all Scousers love house music. So obviously it’s a collective area where a lot of people come together.

“It’s the best festival isn’t it?”