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After 40 years of running the greatest music festival in the history of the universe, Michael Eavis still approaches every Glastonbury as if it was the last. But, at 74, he shows no sign of wanting to retire - even after this year's massive curveball, when his headline act, U2, were forced to pull out just a month ago.

This might have caused serious panics for any other promoter, but at Glastonbury it was a minor hiccup. This is a very special place where new sewage systems are met with as much enthusiasm as world-class rock bands, where the threat of fowl pest is taken more seriously than the threat of having an empty headline slot, where musicians are booked for their politics as well as their songs. With the sun setting behind the Pyramid Stage, Michael talked to us about this year's festival and Glasto's future.

Does it feel like it's been a long battle to get the council on side?
We got the six-year licence this year, but that wasn't a surprise. It's taken 40 years to get to this point, but for the last 10 years we haven't had any problems, no prosecutions or anything. They trust us, because we don't cut corners anymore. Of course there are huge economic benefits as well - £100 million a year coming in to Somerset.

What are the biggest recent on-site changes?
I've got a million gallons of water stored at the top of the farm now that comes in through the mains, so we don't have all the lorries hauling water and all the dangers of that, especially when it's wet and muddy and slippery. That's the one single major improvement.

And you've got a new sewage system this year too?
All the sewage gets tipped into a huge container now and we feed it out slowly into local sewage works over the next few weeks, so the haulage of sewage has been cut down by about 80 per cent. That's a huge reduction of our carbon footprint.

Do you think the new government is going to
affect the festival?
I don't think so. It's not like the Maggie years because the coalition will tone it down a bit, there'll be more reasonable decisions. It's certainly better than an undiluted Tory government.

Is there an area you feel especially fond of?
I have a great affection for the Green Fields. They're very relaxed and beautiful. But then Shangri-La, Trash City, Arcadia, The Common and Unit 9, all these new areas are so exciting. The people there work together as part of a huge alternative family. They're the children of the old travellers, actually. So the old travellers that gave me a hard time in the '80s produced all these marvellous kids. Ha ha!

How did Shakira get involved?
We were offered her and we just said, Yes please. We admire her so much, and her political work and charity work appealed to us [see www.barefootfoundation.com for details of Shakira's charity]. The idea of her doing a talk on the Leftfield too with Billy Bragg... we couldn't resist it. She's attractive as well, isn't she? A bit of a beauty.

Do you have hopes or plans for the next few years?
I always take one year at a time, but it'd be nice if we could keep the thing going for a while yet. We've got so much energy that wants to come - people who want to bring that creative energy that they all have. It's almost a magical quality. While we continue to attract those people, then I don't see it stopping.

Do you feel proud of what you've been doing for 40 years?
I'm always slightly scared and apprehensive. There's foot and mouth, there's fowl pest, there's fire, there's terrorism, there's rain, hurricanes... I don't get time to sit back and think, Oh aren't I clever to put all this together?

Do you have any idea how much Glastonbury has given to charity over the four decades?
It's a couple of million a year now, but 10 years ago it wasn't anything like that. It's probably about £50 million in total.

Where does that charitable instinct come from?
It was part of my upbringing, being brought up in a Methodist family. My father and his father, they were preachers. We've always had a great social conscience. So all profits go in to these causes rather than to shareholders.

How was it when Bono called you to tell you he'd hurt his back?
He called from his hospital bed, in fact. He said he was so dreadfully disappointed and sorry, and he was obviously very moved about not being able to come. So I said, Well, there's always another year, and we agreed that we'd look at it again.

Did you call Damon Albarn straight away?
Chris Morrison actually phoned me, Gorillaz' manager. He was first off the starting blocks, basically. He phoned me and it was all done. We thought it was a fantastic idea. Damon's been such a star here. He did the Africa Express, two or three years ago, then Blur last year were absolutely brilliant. So it had to be three in a row, didn't it?

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12:23 PM | 25/06/2010