Glastonbury 2004: Looking Good!

United Kingdom | | 02 July 2003

Glastonbury 2003 will long be hailed, in Michael Eavis' words, as "The Year it all finally came together." We can now reveal plans for next year's headliners and other exciting developments...

Eavis teased that "We can draw our own conclusions" from Noel Gallagher's omnipresence backstage this year, and revealed that Gallagher had asked him personally if Oasis can play next year. Prince has, apparently, promised that he will appear next year, after discussions to bring the pint-sized superstar to the Pyramid Stage this year collapsed when he changed booking agents.

Michael Eavis is also extremely keen for Paul McCartney to headline Glastonbury 2004. Again, he had wanted the Beatles legend to play this year, but he was only available for the Saturday and (thankfully) Radiohead had already been booked for the slot. On Radiohead's performance, Eavis commented, "Musically, it was perfection. It was the perfect setting, the perfect evening. I sat at the back of the arena and the sound was crystal clear".

In other plans for Glasto 2004, Eavis wants to boost the student presence by around 20,000, as he reckons that most of the early birds who snapped up all the tickets were using the internet at work. "I don't think the students were on the ball on day one".

After Virtual Festivals successfully brought Levellers star Simon Friend to the Leftfield (organised on the Friday whilst the festival was in progress and Simon was in Rome!) to the delight of hundreds of t-shirted Levellers fans, Leftfield's organisers have expressed interest in teaming up with us next year to bring a few more bands along (although ideally we'll sort it out BEFORE the festival next time!). Watch this space...

Virtual Festivals is also expanding its ongoing contribution to its favourite festival, by donating a series of short films (shot this year) to the official Glastonbury Movie, set to be released in June 2004. The films were made in conjunction with the Official Website, and some will be available online very soon. They aim to capture the less cliched aspects of the festival - particularly scenes in the Green Fields - typically ignored by the mainstream media. More info soon.