Farm Aid 'set for October'

Millennium Stadium: Bosses offered Eavis three dates

Glastonbury Festival organiser Michael Eavis has earmarked 27 October as the date for his foot-and-mouth Farm Aid concert.

It will be held in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium after Mr Eavis, who is a full-time dairy farmer, got an "amazing" response from the Welsh public.

Mr Eavis, who is not staging a Glastonbury Festival this year, says the plight of farmers needs to be brought to the public's attention "in a rather dramatic way".

The whole of South Wales went completely ballistic about it

Michael Eavis

No bands have been confirmed, but Eavis says he is confident of getting high-profile names to headline the event.

He had hoped to hold the concert on 8 September, but stadium bosses turned the date down because they are worried about the state of the pitch for following sporting fixtures.

But they offered him three alternative dates - and 27 October is the one Eavis is hoping to settle on.

He told BBC News Online that preparations are going well.

"We had an amazing response," he said. "The whole of South Wales went completely ballistic about it.

"We got a whole lot of support in Wales that we may not have had in London. It seems to be the natural home for it."

Eavis: Glastonbury 2002 is "definitely" on

"We pencilled in the 8th of September but there was a problem with the pitch there," Mr Eavis explained.

"So they've given me three more dates in Cardiff.

"It looks like 27 October, which is getting late, but then again all the bands will have finished their summer gigs and are much less inhibited by then.

"I've got to phone around the bands and make sure they're happy with the new dates, which is a long job actually."

Millennium Stadium Plc chairman Glanmor Griffiths said: "If we can host international artists, raise money and awareness for the plight of the British farmers and continue to accommodate our first class sporting fixtures we will truly be realising our ambitions for the Millennium Stadium."

Meanwhile, Mr Eavis confirmed that Glastonbury 2002 will "definitely" go ahead.

'Resolved'

This year's festival was cancelled in January over safety fears - but would have been called off later due to foot-and-mouth.

"Things have started going for next year," he said. "The issue of safety and fencing will be resolved by then."

Mr Eavis has organised the Glastonbury Festival on his dairy farm in Pilton, Somerset, on and off for the last 30 years.

He has turned it into one of the world's biggest and best-loved musical events, with many saying that it retains a special atmosphere.

Profits from Glastonbury go towards charities including Greenpeace and WaterAid.

Despite being best-known for organising Glastonbury, Eavis describes his main occupation as farming.

But he has not been directly hit by foot-and-mouth - the nearest outbreak was 25 miles away, he said.