Some 90 per cent of tickets for this year's Glastonbury Festival have already been sold, according to organiser Michael Eavis.

While last year's event did not sell out in advance - as had been typical in previous years - the majority of tickets for the 2009 festival have now been snapped up, having gone on sale in October.

Fans were able to place a £50 deposit on their ticket last year and are required to complete the £175 payment by the end of the month.

Speaking while collecting an environmental award at the annual Midem music conference in France, festival founder Eavis confirmed the popularity of the upcoming event.

"You'll be amazed when you hear the headliners we've got coming this year, and we've already sold 90 per cent of the tickets for this year already," he said.

"We've got four headliners at the moment. If they all confirm, then I've got two headliners for Saturday."

Controversy surrounded last year's event when the likes of Noel Gallagher reacted angrily to the naming of rap star Jay-Z as the Friday night Glastonbury headliner, though the Roc-A-Fella mogul's triumphant show proved one of the major hits of the Somerset festival.

However, Eavis refused to reveal the names of the bands approached for the 2009 show, claiming the acts concerned had their own tickets to sell for European shows in the summer.

He added that his trip to Midem in Cannes had forced him to delay calling a "big American act" to confirm a Glastonbury spot.

The Somerset farmer started the annual festival on his own land in 1970 and has attracted some of the biggest names in music to the Glastonbury stages, as well as raising millions for charities such as Greenpeace, Oxfam and Water Aid.


20/01/2009 13:16:03