Michael Eavis (festival organiser)
| Published: 1st August 2007 09:42 |
Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE (born October 17, 1935), is an English dairy farmer, most famous as the founder of the Glastonbury Festival.
He was educated at Wells Cathedral School, followed by the Thames Nautical Training College after which he joined the Merchant Navy. In 1958 his father, a Methodist local preacher died and he inherited Worthy Farm. In 1969 he and his second wife Jean visited the Bath Blues festival, and inspired by this, they hosted a free festival the following year. This developed into the Glastonbury Festival as it is known today.
In the 1997 General Election he stood as a candidate for the Labour Party in the Wells Constituency, polling 10,204 votes, Labour's best performance in the seat for many years. In 2004 however, he suggested that disillusioned Labour voters should switch their vote to the Green Party to protest at the Iraq War.
Jean died in 1999, since then his daughter Emily has taken a more active role in running the event. With his third wife and mother, Michael remains a committed Methodist chapel-goer.
In November 2006 he was appointed as the president of the Somerset Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Eavis holds honorary degrees from the University of Bath (Doctor of Arts honoris causa, 2004) and the University of Bristol (Master of Arts honoris causa, 2006). Eavis was awarded a CBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list.
