By Samantha Jones-
Glastonbury Festival’s iconic founder, Michael Eavis, has been knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours List, recognized for his outstanding contributions to charity and music.
The 88-year-old English dairy farmer, who previously received a CBE in 2007, has transformed a small music event at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, in 1970 into the globally renowned Glastonbury Festival.
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The festival, under Eavis’s visionary leadership, has grown into one of the largest and most respected events worldwide, featuring legendary headliners such as Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses, and Elton John. In a recent interview, Eavis reflected on the festival’s remarkable journey, stating, “I have had a good life and managed to keep the festival going for 53 years. It’s all gone so well in the end.”
Eavis, known for his commitment to charitable causes, has ensured that Glastonbury gives back to the community. In 2023 alone, the festival contributed over £3.7 million to charitable causes and campaigns, with additional funds raised for the Syria-Turkey Earthquake response and the Trussell Trust through an online auction.
Notably, Eavis has also made significant contributions to housing in Pilton, with 20 social houses built on land donated by him, using stone from Worthy Farm. Expressing the importance of affordable housing in the village, he remarked, “I think it’s so important to have a permanent stock of houses to rent at an affordable price.”
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Next year’s Glastonbury Festival is scheduled for June 26-30, with the lineup set to be revealed in early 2024. Tickets for the 210,000-cap event sold out in under an hour, underscoring the festival’s enduring popularity. Eavis’s daughter, Emily, who co-organizes the event, continues the family legacy.
In addition to Michael Eavis, other notable figures in the music industry recognized in the New Year Honours List include Dame Shirley Bassey, Soho Artists founder Paul Burger, Global executive president Ashley Tabor-King, artist Leona Lewis, broadcaster Tony Blackburn, and songwriter Don Black, among others.
Eavis’s knighthood not only honors his personal achievements but also symbolizes the cultural significance and positive impact of Glastonbury Festival on both the music industry and the community it serves
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