Michael Eavis To Quit Glastonbury

The founder and organiser of Glastonbury Michael Eavis has revealed in a new interview that he is due to retire in two years.

Michael Eavis is a living legend of British music. While not a musician, his Glastonbury festival has had an incalculable affect on the music scene, providing fans with some of their most memorable performance moments.

A farmer, Eavis was inspired to start his own festival after visiting the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in 1970, with the first Glastonbury event taking place the following year. Managing to blend a friendly and familiar feel with vast crowds, the festival is one of Britain's best loved musical events.

The organiser has thought of quitting before. Michael Eavis founded and organised the event with his wife Jean for nearly thirty years, before her death in 1999. The farmer was persuaded to carry on by his children, with daughter Emily taking over much of the running of the event.

Now it seems that Michael Eavis has decided to step down from the role of organiser. In a new interview with The Guardian the festival hero claims that he will retire in 2011, five years earlier had been expected.

Stating that he had "two more full years" at the top, he claimed that he still wanted to be involved even after the handover.

"I still feel I have an important role to play," he said. "Even if I go I'll worry about the drains, the rubbish, the recycling. There will be a gradual process of her and Nick taking it over."

Eavis also revealed that organising last year's event was the most stress he had ever felt. The festival earned controversy after booking Jay-Z as its headliner and almost failed to sell out.

"I got a cold sweat in the night, which I've never had before. I thought: I'm killing myself over this" he revealed.

The farmer also claimed that the decision to book Jay-Z was made by his daughter, Emily. "I knew she had sensible ideas so I had to go with that. It was the last throw of the dice for me. We either throw the dice or abandon the festival."

Glastonbury takes place between June 24th - 28th.