Glastonbury organiser says festival is 'too middle-aged'

The organiser of Glastonbury Festival wants to attract younger people to next year's event after claiming it had become "too middle-aged" and "respectable".

Michael Eavis said the decision to sell tickets online for this year's event had attracted an older clientele, at the expense of teenagers.

About 40 per cent of tickets will be sold via phone lines next year to help get younger fans back to the legendary three-day event in Pilton, Somerset.

"We're trying to get the youngsters back - the 16, 17 and 18-year-olds - because numbers were down this year," Mr Eavis said.

"People say we're getting middle class, which is stretching it a bit far, but we're attracting a lot more people in their 30s and 40s and need to get the Radio 1 and NME crowd back in.

"These kids add so much to the flavour of it and should have a lot of fun. The demographic is changing and it's slightly worrying. We might lose the fascination the show has for the public.

"The people who now come have the right attitude, they grin and bear the mud. They're fantastically well mannered and polite, and respectable but they do change the nature of the show."

Mr Eavis said teenagers did not "stand a chance" of getting their hands on tickets this year because the internet-only sales policy gave people with fast internet connections a clear advantage.

"They're likely to be older people, with the money for the fast connections.

"By selling 40 per cent of tickets through phone lines, kids will be able to use their mobiles to get tickets."

This year, fans snapped up 137,500 tickets in a record time of one hour 45 minutes when they went on sale in April. The festival - the biggest in its 37-year history - proved to be another wet one as rain again lashed down on the 900-acre site and turned it into a mudbath.