Festival impresario Michael Eavis said he hoped nearly 175,000 people will attend in 2007.
He revealed plans to expand the site beyond his own Worthy Farm, taking in an extra 100 acres from neighbouring farms. Mr Eavis said he hoped the extra space would make life more comfortable for festival-goers if the 2007 event is hit by bad weather similar to the rains that turned the site into a quagmire in 2005.
He said: "We are looking at having 10,000 extra people involved like performers, backstage crew and staff because we need those to run the site. We will then sell 10,000 extra tickets to meet the cost of taking on extra land because we do need to spread out. When it gets wet the tents are too close together and it's a bit uncomfortable."Last year, some 115,000 people bought tickets to see performances by Coldplay, New Order and Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson. The total attendance, including performers and festival staff, was 153,000, a far cry from the first Glastonbury Festival in 1970 when 1,500 fans watched Marc Bolan and Al Stewart. Mr Eavis said the festival had grown beyond his "wildest dreams". He said: "It's extraordinary. You couldn`t make it up. If you told me then that there would be almost 175,000 people here I`d say you were mad."
There will be no festival this year, but Mr Eavis said he hoped next year's event would be "the best ever."
The line-up for the festival has not been decided, but Mr Eavis has said he hopes Kylie Minogue, who had to pull out of the 2005 event after being diagnosed with breast cancer, will perform. A spokesman for Mendip District Council said festival organisers had not approached them about increasing the capacity. He said discussions about the licence were not due to take place until later this year.
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