Glastonbury seeks licence to expand

Security problems put a stop to Glastonbury 2001

The organisers of the annual Glastonbury music festival say they are seeking a licence to make the event bigger.

Eavis: Confident of overcoming objections

Extra numbers - bringing crowd size to 135,000 - are needed to pay for increased security measures for the festival.

Security problems at the 2000 festival, held over three days in Somerset, meant there was no Glastonbury festival this year.

Organiser Michael Eavis is planning to spend an additional £1.5m on security for a proposed event next year.

"We are putting in an awful lot more measures to try and stop the fence jumpers," said a spokeswoman for the festival.

The last time the festival was held, in June 2000, its licence allowed a maximum crowd of 105,000, but council officials estimated there were up to 200,000 people there.

Rod Stewart has been booked for next year

Eavis was fined £6,000 for breach of the conditions of his licence.

The ticket sales this time round will fund a specially designed 12-foot-high steel fence around the site to deter gatecrashers.

The licence for increased crowd numbers was crucial for the financial viability of Glastonbury, said the spokeswoman.

An application for the increased capacity licence will be submitted to Mendip County Council at the end of this month, four weeks ahead of the licence hearing on 29 November.

Rod Stewart has already been booked for next year's festival.

Eavis has said he is hoping Neil Young will also be able to take part.