Entertainment

Emily Eavis describes festival as ‘greatest show on planet Earth’

The co-organiser said preparations for the 50th anniversary of Glastonbury Festival are under way.
The co-organiser said preparations for the 50th anniversary of Glastonbury Festival are under way. The co-organiser said preparations for the 50th anniversary of Glastonbury Festival are under way.

Emily Eavis has described Glastonbury Festival 2019 as “the greatest show on planet Earth”.

The event’s co-founder said this year’s event, headlined by Stormzy, The Killers and The Cure, was the best ever.

She paid tribute to grime artist Stormzy and said his set was “up there with the all-time greatest Glastonbury headline performances”.

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In an interview with the Glastonbury Free Press, she highlighted the opening night fireworks, the Glastonbury-on-Sea installation and England women’s World Cup victory on Thursday.

One of her favourite things is to bump into people on the Somerset site and ask about their personal highlights.

“It will often be things that I didn’t know anything about,” she said.

“Like a mind-blowing performer on a little circus stage, or a particularly great food stall or just an impromptu moment of kindness between strangers.

“I think all of that is what adds up to make this place so special.

“There really are 135,000 festivals happening at once, with so many different memories being made to take away from here.”

The crowd watching Liam Gallagher performing on the Pyramid Stage (Yui Mok/PA)
The crowd watching Liam Gallagher performing on the Pyramid Stage (Yui Mok/PA) The crowd watching Liam Gallagher performing on the Pyramid Stage (Yui Mok/PA)

She said she hoped people at the festival, which has the ethos “Love the Farm, Leave no Trace”, would return home with all of their belongings.

Climate change and the environment has been the festival’s central theme this year, with thousands taking part in a march organised by Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion on Thursday.

“We’ve made so many positive strides with our green campaign this year,” she said.

“It’s incredible to think that there will be one million fewer plastic bottles for the planet to deal with because we’ve stopped selling them.

“The most eye-opening part of the weekend for me was not seeing any plastic bottles in the bins or on the ground.

“I think people are really starting to understand how important it is to treat the land with respect, and to stop living a disposable lifestyle.”

She said the festival would not be “slowing down” for very long after everyone has left the 900-acre site.

“We have already started working on next year’s 50th anniversary,” Eavis told the paper.

“We are planning a huge celebration.”

When asked if Glastonbury 2019 had been the best one yet, she replied: “Oh absolutely.

“No doubt about it – the greatest show on planet Earth. This is, without question, the best Glastonbury ever.”