Glastonbury founder proposes new heritage attraction
by Tom Anstey | 13 Feb 2015
The small town of Glastonbury has significant historical importance and is home to the UK's largest music festival / Creative Commons
The founder of the popular Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, UK, has unveiled a £3m (US$4.6m, €4m) plan to create a major tourist attraction telling the story of one of England’s most historic towns.
Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis is proposing a state-of-the-art tourism and heritage attraction in Glastonbury’s town centre. To be located in the soon-to-be council-owned St Dunstan’s building, the proposed development has been likened to that of York’s Jorvik Centre.
“[The festival’s] success has brought notoriety to Glastonbury itself and economic benefits – that run into millions of pounds every year,” said Eavis speaking to The Western Daily Press.
“At my stage of life, I am now very keen to build a visitor centre in the town that conveys the wonders for the last 3,000 years of history of this place – from the lake village in the levels, through to Joseph of Arimathea bringing Christianity to Somerset and thereby the Abbey itself, and King Arthur’s exploits and battles at Camelot.
“St Dunstans House offers us a venue to build a complete history with holograms, films, displays and so on. It will attract thousands of people day after day during the tourist season. This will bring trade and prosperity to this marvellous town for years to come.”
Before the proposal can be put into action, the town council has to formulate a business plan and apply for a loan to purchase the property for the centre. The Glastonbury Festival draws around 175,000 people to the area over the last weekend in June every year. The town’s history dates back to around 10,200 BC and is popular with pagans and fans of mythology.
The founder of the popular Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, UK, has unveiled a £3m (US$4.6m, €4m) plan to create a major tourist attraction telling the story of one of England’s most historic towns. Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis is proposing a state-of-the-art tourism and heritage attraction in Glastonbury’s town centre. To be located in the soon-to-be council-owned St Dunstan’s building, the proposed development has been likened to that of York’s
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