Glastonbury fest founder to be honoured with lifetime achievement award

London: Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis will be honoured with a lifetime achievement prize at the European Festival Awards in the Netherlands next month.

The arts and music festival, which is one of the longest running festivals in the world, has been held on his Somerset farm since 1970. “After 41 years, to win something of this magnitude is something to be incredibly proud of,” the BBC quoted Eavis as saying. Eavis, 76, was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s 2007 birthday honours list. Eavis gave up an early career in the merchant navy to take over the family farm in 1958. Inspired by the Bath Festival of Blues in 1969, he hosted a small event the following year at Worthy Farm, which in the subsequent five decades has become one of the biggest arts events in the global calendar. “Glastonbury is the grandfather of the incredible festival market which Europe enjoys,” managing director of the Festival Awards James Drury said. “Michael is cited as an inspiration by almost every festival organiser I speak to across the world. This is why he is so deserving of this honour,” Drury added. This year’s festival saw Coldplay, U2 and Beyonce headline Glastonbury’s famous Pyramid stage. ANI