REM have confirmed they will play Glastonbury as part of the 2003 European Tour – assuming the festival gets the go ahead from local licensing officials of course. The announcement is unusual because the Glastonbury line up is normally a closely guarded secret until very close to the event – well after all the tickets have been sold. Michael Eavis also revealed other headliners have been confirmed, though he remained tight lipped on who they might be. "It really is quite extraordinary to have all these headliners in place already," he told the BBC.
But just now Eavis is more concerned about a meeting of Mendip District Council this Thursday. Although the event went much more smoothly this year, with Mean Fiddler managed security keeping the usual fence hoppers out, the strict door policy pushed thousands of non-ticket holders into local towns and villages much to the distress of local residents. How Eavis can stop this no one’s sure making it a bit of a hurdle to cross - "I think we might have a problem on our hands," Eavis admits. That said, local police, fire, ambulance and highway authorities have all approved the plans for the 2003 event.