Glastonbury Festival Headliners Chosen For 2013

Michael Eavis, organiser of Glastonbury Festival, has announced that the headline acts for 2013 have been chosen already.

Speaking from an awards ceremony in the Netherlands, the 76 year old farmer also told of his desire to see in the 50th anniversary of Glastonbury Festival in 2020.

The awards, presented in association with YOUROPE and Eurosonic Noorder, were held at De Oosterport in Groningen in Holland on Wednesday night and Michael was recognised for his festival which has grown steadily for over 40 years and inspired many others to start their own festivals.

Commenting on his award Michael said:

"42 years ago I started something on my farm towards the end of the flower power era in the 60's and we had less than a thousand people. Now we have 150,000 people registered to buy a ticket for 2013.  Thank you very much to everyone and thanks to all the people who have been involved in our show and thanks to all the people who buy tickets every year. I hope there are a few more years to go yet, another 10 years maybe."

 "I'm really determined somehow or other to make the 50 years. Strangely enough, I do feel incredibly fit. I don't see why I shouldn't make it.

"I've got the bands who want to play and the people who want to buy the tickets so why shouldn't we carry on?"

The award winners in full were:Best Major European Festival – Sziget Festival (Hungary) Best Medium-Sized European Festival – Off Festival (Poland) Best Small European Festival – Haldern Pop (Germany) Best New European Festival – Extrema Outdoor (Belgium) Best Indoor Festival – I Love Techno (Belgium) Best European Festival Line-Up – Rock Werchter (Belgium)YOUROPE Green 'N' Clean Festival Of The Year – Melt! (Germany) Artist's Favourite European Festival – Southside / Hurricane (Germany) Best Newcomer association with Eurosonic Noorder – James BlakeBest Headliner – ColdplayFestival Anthem of the Year - Coldplay 'Viva La Vida'Virtual Festivals Europe presents Promoter Of The Year – FKP Scorpio (Germany) YOUROPE Lifetime Achievement Award – Michael Eavis, Glastonbury (UK).

This year, there will be break from the Glastonbury Festival as is tradition every five years - albeit a year later to coincide with the London Olympic Games, allegedly due to a shortage of available security services and portaloos.

Speaking about the 2013 festival, Michael said that the headline acts were 'already sorted' but made no mention of who had been booked.

This year there will be no Glastonbury Extravaganza at the Abbey, but there are rumours of a Pilton Party going ahead. Composer Charles Hazlewood is holding an alternative to the festival in the Abbey grounds on June 30th. The 'Orchestra in a Field' event will feature a concert performance of Bizet's 'Carmen' and a supergroup perform Tubular Bells under the direction of Charles Hazlewood.