BRITAIN'S famous Glastonbury music festival gets underway tomorrow, with all eyes on how well US rapper Jay-Z goes down with the generally more hippie audience.
In a radical departure from the indie rock and guitar bands commonly associated with Glastonbury, the festival has recruited the New Yorker in a bid to reach out to a younger audience. But the gamble may have backfired as 3000 tickets remained available as the gates opened Wednesday - the first time since 1993 that the festival had not sold out. Last year, the 137,500 tickets went in one hour, 45 minutes. Michael Eavis, who runs the festival on his dairy farm, admitted they have "stuck their necks out on this one." "We're changing the style of the event all the time. We're improving it and looking for the next best thing all the time," he told BBC radio. Organisers have staunchly defended the choice of Jay-Z, despite the slow ticket sales and sniping from Glastonbury veterans like Oasis guitarist Noel Gallager. The key moment this year is set to be on Saturday, when the rapper headlines the Pyramid Stage. He could face stiff competition from Massive Attack, who are on the Other Stage at the same time. The festival, held on Worthy Farm near Glastonbury in Somerset, south-west England, is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. The event, which turns more than 320ha of rolling countryside into a tent city, started with 1500 people in 1970 and has its roots in hippiedom. Friday night's headliners on the main Pyramid Stage are Kings of Leon, backed up by The Fratellis, Editors, The Gossip and The Feeling. On the second Other Stage, Panic at the Disco close the show, following The Enemy, We Are Scientists and Foals. Last year's Glastonbury - headlined by Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and The Who - was a wash-out, with persistent downpours turning the entire site into a muddy swamp. Eavis, 72, admitted he almost scrapped the festival following the mudbath. The cost of clearing up 30,000 mucky tents and 180,000 tent pegs was £800,000 ($1.67 million). "Last year I thought 'I don't think I can go through this again'. But it's like having a baby - it's painful at the time but you get over it, don't you? "I'll certainly go until I'm 80, which is seven years." On Saturday, ahead of Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse, Manu Chao, The Raconteurs and James Blunt are set to perform on the main stage, while Massive Attack follow Hot Chip, Elbow and Duffy. Sunday traditionally has a golden oldie slot on the Pyramid Stage, but this year boasts two: Leonard Cohen and Neil Diamond. The Verve top the bill, followed by Cohen, Goldfrapp, Diamond and John Mayer, while on the Other Stage, Groove Armada headline, backed up by The Zutons, Pigeon Detectives and Mark Ronson. Elsewhere during the festival, Fatboy Slim, Sinead O'Connor, Joan Baez, Katie Melua, Pete Doherty, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Jimmy Cliff, Will Young, Joan Armatrading, Eddy Grant, Suzanne Vega and John Cale appear on the outer stages.
