BRITAIN: Rock legends REM will headline the first night of the 2003 Glastonbury Festival, Britain's biggest open-air music event.
The US band have announced their appearance at the festival as part of a European tour.
"They're definitely playing next year," Michael Eavis, who has been running the festival on his farm for the past 30 years, said yesterday. REM last headlined Glastonbury in 1999. Mr Eavis said the festival still had to get the go-ahead from local councillors, who are due to consider its licence application today.
The festival, which attracted some 100,000 people last year, has become as famous for mud-clogged fields, overflowing toilets and drug-fuelled free love as for its music.
Local residents are concerned about security and crowd control, Mr Eavis said. "Everybody else has given approval but there is quite a lot of concern from villagers," he added.
In 2000, tens of thousands broke into the festival, prompting organisers to cancel the event in the following year. Last year, Glastonbury went ahead after organisers erected a 12 foot fence to boost security.
Tickets for the festival, due to take place from June 27th to 29th, are likely to go on sale from March. Last year, festival-goers paid £100 per ticket, in contrast to the first event in 1970 when tickets cost £1.