The hippy dream's back on track

It looked as if hippiedom was at an end. The Glastonbury Festival had been taken over by the Mean Fiddler entertainment empire. Then Farmer Eavis thought again - and a compromise was brokered. Brian Boyd shares his relief

Last week's headline had us choking on our Coco Pops. "Glastonbury's hippy dream is sold to rock tycoon," it read. The hippy dreamer, also known as the dairy farmer Michael Eavis, had, it was reported, been overcome by negative karma and bad vibes about his rock festival - the world's biggest and best - and passed it into the corporate hands of Vince Power, the Irish impresario who heads the Mean Fiddler entertainment empire.

"New Glastonbury", it was announced, would be seeking a sponsor - with BT and MasterCard both in the running - and an "invincible" ring of steel would be built around the sacred 600-acre site, in defiance of those who respect the time-honoured tradition of jumping over Eavis's none-too-high fence.

The London Times solemnly announced: "The plan is that Glastonbury's reputation as a sex and drugs free-for-all should end." Oh yeah? You and whose army, Mr Mean Fiddler?

Things took a bizarre twist when, on the same day, the Times ran a leader arguing that sponsorship would compromise Glastonbury's reputation for hedonism, eccentricity and spiritual enlightenment. The newspaper, hitherto not known for its support of free love, casual drug-taking or, for that matter, pagan ecosocialism, wrote: "The festival's attraction is the mix it offers of the professional and the downright potty, the mystical and eccentric alongside the big-name bands. The challenge for the Mean Fiddler group will be to ensure that however many sponsored beer tents or advertising hoardings are erected among the ancient ley lines, there remains space for the Chanting Dome, the Soothsayers Avenue and the Candle-Powered Boat Stall among them."

Dismissing the subtext that this staunchly conservative paper was reacting to an Irishman's purchase of Glastonbury with the same condescension it showed to a foreigner's purchase of Harrods, the leader provoked an instant response.

Down on Worthy Farm, in the Somerset village of Pilton, Eavis absorbed the words, picked up the phone and cancelled the deal. "It wasn't until I saw the leader that I realised how valuable the original version of the festival was to people," he said. "I told [Mean Fiddler] I could not go through with it and that the deal was off. I can't work with the Mean Fiddler. I would have lost everything. They would have decided the bands. I would rather not do it at all than sell out."

Eavis still had a big problem on his hands. He had to cancel last year's festival because of security fears. The magical site, said to be close to King Arthur's burial ground, is arranged so that 120,000 people can set up temporary home for three days.

At Glastonbury 2000, more than 80,000 people without tickets jumped over the fence, putting unsustainable pressure on the facilities and causing dangerous congestion near the many stages.

Local councillors told Eavis they would grant him a licence for this year's festival only if he substantially improved his security arrangements. In desperation, Eavis turned to Melvin Benn, an expert on crowd control and festival management who advises the Home Office.

Eavis wanted Benn to take operational control of the festival. Benn agreed, provided that Mean Fiddler, the group of which he is managing director, could also come on board.

So the deal was done, then broken off. After a few days, though, Eavis reconsidered. It was a partnership deal with Mean Fiddler or the end of Glastonbury, he reasoned. The two parties reached a new agreement whereby Eavis would retain artistic control of the festival, deciding which bands play and so on; Mean Fiddler would take organisational control, of security and the like, and be rewarded with 20 per cent of the net profits, increasing to 40 per cent over the five years of the deal. Mean Fiddler says it would be liable for losses and therefore could expect to take some profit.

Eavis, bless his hippy heart, has always run Glastonbury as a non-profit venture. He's been running the "fayre" most years since 1970, when he spent the whole weekend milking his cows in order to dispense free milk to the crowd. Glastonbury has always prided itself on its ethos and social conscience - and has always passed off peacefully. Its motto is: "Look after yourselves and look after each other."

An important rallying point for progressive political movements, the festival has always welcomed CND and the Reclaim the Streets movement, so they could inform festival-goers of their aims and principles. The profits, which are not inconsiderable - in 2000 the figure was more than £1 million sterling - were distributed to Greenpeace, Oxfam and Water Aid.

Eavis is buoyed by the fact that 80 per cent of this year's profits will still go to these organisations. Speaking after the new deal was struck, he said: "There won't be any changes in terms of commercialism on the site. There will be changes in terms of more security. There have been some misunderstandings with the Mean Fiddler, but they have all been resolved now.

"I'm pleased Melvin Benn is involved. He cut his teeth at Glastonbury through the 1980s, working on the gates. He knows the event inside out and understands what makes it tick."

Security clearly had to be improved to ensure the festival's survival, and many observers are glad that, if Eavis had to have a partner, it is the Mean Fiddler group. Set up by Power 20 years ago, the group owns 12 concert venues across London and stages the Reading, Leeds, London Fleadh and Homelands festivals. The Fiddler's share price jumped 54 per cent after the announcement of the new deal with Eavis.

This year's festival takes place from June 28th to 30th. The Irish Times will be there, checking to see that the Sacred Space hasn't turned into a car park, that the travelling homeopathic collective clinic isn't now a Burger King and that the workshop on "earth acupuncture" is where it should be. Tread softly, Mr Power.

Tickets for this year are available from the festival's website, www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk, or from 00-44-115-9129129