Emily Eavis: The mother of all festivals

Jun 22 2009 By Kate Whiting

She's one of the most important people involved with the UK festival season and her dad is kept quite busy too. Emily Eavis, co-organiser of Glastonbury festival discusses growing up alongside the festival, becoming a key part of it and why she's supporting the million mums campaign.

Born in 1979, Emily, who turns 30 in July, grew up collecting autographs from stars who popped in for a cuppa with her father. As a 10-year-old, she remembers seeing a row of people running towards the window with "telegraph poles that were on fire".

Yet despite the powerful force the family business made on her life, she decided to dedicate her life to teaching and began her training.

But when her mother Jean died of cancer in 1991, Emily's life plan changed dramatically.

"When my mother died, it was a natural thing for me to support my dad as [the festival] had always been run by the two of them," she says.

"They supported each other throughout the years and her role was crucial to the festival's success.

"I started answering the phone and, before I knew it, I was dealing with all sorts of problems. That was 10 years ago, and each year since my role has grown."

Since the very first chord was struck on a stage at Worthy Farm on September 19, 1970, Glastonbury has become the UK's biggest festival. Far from the original event which cost 1,500 people a £1 entry fee (including free milk), it is now the spiritual home of many famous music acts and their fans.

Every year the three-day gig, which starts on June 24, attracts the greatest bands and more than a hundred thousand fans from across the globe.

But it wouldn't be possible without the dedication of one man and one woman - dairy farmer Michael Eavis and his youngest daughter Emily.

Over the years, the festival has thrown its weight behind various good causes, donating around £2 million to charities including Oxfam and WaterAid each year for the past few years.

Glastonbury has always had a hippy-inspired ethos of peace and love for people and the planet, and Emily was keen to get involved in the charity side of things from a young age.

She visited Haiti with Coldplay's Chris Martin as part of Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign, and in 2006 she travelled to Mozambique with her dad to see how money from the festival was put to use by WaterAid.

This year, in particular, Emily is keen to promote the Million Mums campaign, which is raising awareness about maternal and newborn health.

"Glastonbury has always supported charities and good causes, it was something my mum and my dad were very big on, even when the festival was struggling to survive in the 1980s," Emily explains.

"Since 2004, we've given away nearly £2 million each year, going to our main charitable partners Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid as well as other, smaller organisations."

In the last year, Emily has been working with the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, a worldwide organisation which campaigns for support for women in pregnancy and childbirth, particularly in the developing world.

Pregnancy and childbirth are the biggest cause of death among women of childbearing age in Africa and Asia - every minute of the day, a woman dies due to problems during pregnancy and childbirth.

But more than 80% of these deaths are preventable, if only the women had access to healthcare.

"The White Ribbon Alliance spans over 100 countries, and works from the grass roots right up to governments," says Emily.

"They're doing brilliant work, in Orissa in India, in Tanzania, in Nepal, and I'm hoping to visit one of the Alliances, possibly in Africa, later in the year."

The Million Mums campaign (www.millionmums.org), which supports the Alliances' work, is aiming to join more than a million people around the world together and raise more than £1 million to provide a united voice against maternal mortality.

"The Million Mums campaign will have a big presence at the festival this year - in The Park, which is my special area, and at the information points," says Emily.

"We'd like to get the message out to as many people as possible."

Emily knows her mother Jean would be proud of her work so far with the festival and charities.

"She was an amazing mother, and it's nice for me to continue the love, energy and care that she put into the festival - that's an inspiration to me.

"I think she would like to know that I was looking after my dad too," she adds, with a smile.

While most twenty-somethings might shy away from joining their dad in a business venture, Emily says the pair get on very well - even if they do have the odd spat.

"It's great working with my dad," she says. "He's more energetic than anyone I know of my age!

"We work well together and have some good debates on all kinds of things. Neither of us are afraid to speak out to each other but I also know when to back down, as he has the ultimate knowledge and experience."

These days, more than 150,000 designer-wellie-clad music lovers flock to Somerset and pay over £150 to hear the likes of rap star Jay-Z, who headlined last year, the Arctic Monkeys and The Who.

This year's Glastonbury will feature another astonishing line-up, with Blur reforming to headline, along with golden oldies Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen, the latter having never played a festival before.

"It's an amazing line-up this year and we are hugely proud of it," says Emily.

"Some music legends who we never really thought would be a possibility are attending. I think Bruce Springsteen is going to provide a very magical couple of hours at Worthy Farm."

There has been much speculation that Emily will take over the mantle of running Glastonbury from her 73-year-old dad, but for now, it seems, she's happy to live in the present and take each festival as it comes.