With gates now open, reports indicate there are still roughly 3,000 tickets remaining to be sold for Glastonbury 2008. This is the first time in 15 years the event hasn’t sold out in advance.

Could it be the Jay-Z effect? Or perhaps the fact that last year punters had to swim after their tents and endure medieval hygiene? Organiser Michael Eavis is subscribing to the latter theory, telling the BBC he’s confident the remaining tickets will disappear – however slowly. “There’s a lot at stake,” he said. “We really do need a good year this year, that’s for sure. There were about 3,000 left this morning [June 24]. But they are going out slowly. We did about 800 yesterday so we’ll just about scrape home without losing my shirt.”

While sales have been sluggish, it seems the weather forecast is looking good. “We might get 1mm of rain on Saturday, which is just what we need because it is quite dusty at the moment,” is Eavis’s assessment. “So a short shower from the heavens will be gratefully received.” Despite her dire health, it seems Saturday’s co-headliner Amy Winehouse is still determined (read: contracted) to get on with the show. Oh, and Jay-Z has bought himself some designer wellies for the weekend. The things you learn from UK tabloids!

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