Michael Eavis Donates £2 Million To Charity Every Year

After another amazing Glastonbury, you were either enjoying the real thing or sat at home watching it on the telly, wishing you were there IRL.

But you might be surprised to know that the money that Glastonbury makes doesn't just line the Eavis' pockets. The numbers for 2018 show that Michael Eavis only actually pays himself £60,000. Given that the festival makes a profit of £1.4 million after tax, you might be wondering where the rest of the money goes.

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Well it turns out that not only has Eavis dedicated his life to bringing joy to the millions of people who have partied on Worthy Farm, he's also spread the wealth further afield. Each year, he donates over £2 million to charitable causes. What a lad.

The festival has had a long standing partnership with Oxfam - which Eavis has raised over £6 million for so far. He also supports a number of local organisations.

The figures also show that the company behind Glasto has £10 million in the bank - which apparently acts as a buffer to protect them against the unpredictability of the festival business.

Speaking to the Today programme, Emily Eavis, Michael's daughter, explained why.

She said: "Contingency is really important to us. The elements are so unpredictable. We are completely at the mercy of the elements.

"We have to sell out to break even, because the event costs so much to put on - about £40m. Our other goal is to be able to give the charities we support about £2m a year. Glastonbury employs about 50 people full time."

Glastonbury is gearing up to celebrate its 50th birthday in 2020, and to mark the occasion, Michael and Emily will be releasing a book.

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Emily Eavis told the Guardian: "With our 50th anniversary fast approaching, we felt now was the time to put all of our memories and stories together in one place. It's been a total joy to look back through piles of old photo albums and scrapbooks and to reflect upon what it meant at the time, and the incredible evolution of the event."

The book will also have contributions from the likes of Adele, Jay-Z, Dolly Parton and Noel Gallagher and looks at the festival's progression, since the first 1000 person party that cost £1 to becoming one of the best known events in the world.

Topics: Music

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@amelialadbible