The iconic Glastonbury festival’s pre-tax profits double to almost £6million in 2024, with revenues reaching £68million, but the exact value of the iconic festival is unknown
The founder of Glastonbury Festival, Sir Michael Eavis, could reportedly avoid £80million in inheritance tax after he transferred most of the financial interest in the music festival to his daughter, Emily Eavis. The iconic festival’s pre-tax profits double to almost £6million in 2024 with revenues reaching £68million.
The real value of the festival is up in the air as a lot of the money is donated to charities. For example, in 2024, over £5.9million went to Oxfam, Greenpeace, WaterAid and more. Experts have said the festival could be worth around £400million, and others say it could be worth even more if it were sold to Universal Music or Sony.
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In a report by The Times, it is said that Michael could save as much as £80million in inheritance tax after his entire shareholding in Glastonbury Festival Events Ltd was transferred to his daughter Emily.
Glastonbury Festival said the publication’s valuations were “wildly speculative”, adding that it and Michael “have always been, and will always be, happy to pay their due tax”.
The festival said: “With his 90th birthday approaching, Michael Eavis has proceeded with his long-held plan to pass control of the festival over to his daughter, Emily.
“The past few years have already seen Emily take over the day-to-day organisation of the event, and this latest change was simply another part of that process.” They also said the festival will “never be sold”.
Glastonbury owns the festival’s rights, trademarks and distributes the event’s profits to charity. Three-quarters of the shares have also been transferred to a family trust.
Shares that are gifted to a family member aren’t taxed under inheritance laws as long as the person making the gift survives for seven years.
The music extravaganza runs from Wednesday, June 25 to Monday, June 30 this year. Tickets are sold out once again, with 200,000 people set to fill the fields and enjoy around 3,000 performances over five fun-packed days.
This year’s lineup is no different to previous years, with chart-toppers such as Olivia Rodrigo, Rod Stewart, The 1975 and Charli XCX performing for crowds of muddy music lovers on Worthy Farm.
Despite the hype, Glastonbury headliners are reportedly pocketing no more than £500k – just a fraction of what they’d earn elsewhere.
It’s a stark contrast to the £1 million+ fees dished out by rival UK festivals, or the jaw-dropping £3.2 million Beyoncé was paid for her iconic Coachella set in 2018.
Emily spoke about the pay in a previous interview, revealing the festival’s magic lies in its legacy. “We’re not in the same bracket as everyone else when it comes to paying artists massive fees. We’re really grateful for the bands we get because they’re basically doing it for the love of it,” she previously told the BBC.
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