Eavis at 90: 'The festival is what's keeping me going'

Michael Eavis founded Glastonbury festival in 1970

As he turns 90, the founder of Glastonbury Festival says he is feeling "very well" and has credited the event for "keeping him going".

Michael Eavis put on the first Pilton Pop, Folk and Blues Festival in 1970 with his late wife Jean. He was a struggling dairy farmer and said at the time he hoped it would "clear his overdraft".

The event is now the largest greenfield festival in the world and Worthy Farm turns into a temporary city with a population of about 200,000 when it is on.

The Somerset festival draws some of the biggest names in music and celebrity guests alongside circus acts, comedy shows, theatre performances and more.

"It's all been a long story of excitement," Eavis said in an interview to mark his 90th birthday. "That's probably what's keeping me going."

The most recent festival is always Mr Eavis' favourite, he said

Eavis has always said he remains a farmer first, but his impact has been felt far beyond Worthy Farm.

The festival has raised millions for charities - in 2025 alone its support for charitable causes reached £5.9m - and Eavis received a knighthood for services to music in 2024.

He also built more than 50 social houses in Pilton, which were opened by former footballer Gary Lineker in 2023.

"I think my mother would be proud of me for the houses," Eavis said.

"They look lovely on a sunny day. I drive that way out of the village, you know, and I see the sun shining out on them and think, 'How did all this happen?'."

Mr Eavis received a knighthood for his service to music in 2024

Award-winning gardener Jekka McVicar grew up in Pilton and knows Eavis well. She helped to build the first Pyramid Stage and was the first female musician to play at the event with her band Marsupilami.

"We were the very first group on," she told the BBC. "Michael had built this stage out of milk crates with planks of wood on top. If you stood on the wrong spot the planks would go up."

She described Eavis' legacy as one that "cannot be repeated".

The first Pyramid Stage was built in 1971

But speaking to the BBC in 1970, Eavis described himself as an "average sort of fella".

"I think this is the quickest way of clearing my overdraft," he said ahead of the first festival.

More than half a century later, Glastonbury Festival is one of the hottest tickets in the world with about 2.5m people trying to get their hands on one.

However, the festival did not get to this point without its fair share of controversies.

In its early days, residents were angry as crowds descended on nearby villages. There were concerns about drug use, issues with gatecrashers, and even court battles over the festival's licence applications.

"I was always at war with the council and the village and the local magistrates and the police," Eavis said as he reflected on the past 55 years. "And it came good. Which is extraordinary, really.

"The fight was really what made it work, there's no doubt about that. It was certainly worth it."

While the festival has seen performances from the biggest names in music, Eavis remains coy about his favourite years.

"I always think that the most recent one is the best one," he said.

Eavis has handed over the keys to the festival to his daughter Emily, who now organises the event. However, he remains a key part of the festival and always draws a large crowd when he performs with his band.

And it is with his band that he plans to celebrate his 90th birthday.

"I'm having a party in the village, with family and local people," he said. "The plan is to sing three songs with my band."

But which three songs will he perform? "It's a secret, really," he said.