The organizer of the Glastonbury Festival which will feature Jay-Z as the headlining act has responded to rumors that the superstar rapper is planning to cancel his appearance during the festival, which takes place June 27-29 in Somerset, England.
According to reports in London’s Sun newspaper, Jay-Z allegedly wanted to pull out of the performance because of low ticket sales to the legendary festival, which normally sells out within hours.
Critics in the UK media labeled Jay-Z an unpopular choice for the legendary festival, charges which have reportedly have angered the superstar rapper.
Organizers were allegedly in last minute negotiations to replace Jay-Z with R&B legend Prince, who impressed fans during a 21-night residency at the O2 Arena last year.
The rumor was strengthened when it was announced that Jay-Z would also be playing London’s 02 Wireless Music Festival the following week, on July 3rd.
Eavis shot down the rumors and blamed the bogus reports on the handy work of his competitors.
“The Sun was carrying a story that he was pulling out,” Eavis said. “I’m not sure where they got from, probably from the people that were doing a show in London the following week, because they were tying to sell tickets for their show.”
So far, Muse and The Verve are the other two headliners at the Glastonbury Festival. The full lineup is slated to be announced on May 1.
Tickets to the Glastonbury Festival went on sale again today at 4:00 PM.
“We’ve had a lot of enquiries from people asking if they can register, especially now they realise it’s still possible to buy tickets,” Eavis continued. “This will give them the chance to see the best line-up of any festival this summer.”
While Eavis admitted he wasn’t a huge Hip-Hop fan, he is looking forward to Jay-Z’s performance.
“All the kids that I know love it, but my usual tastes are probably closer to The Travelling Band if I’m honest! But I’m really looking forward to seeing Jay-Z. We’re all so excited about it.”