Glastonbury 2012 cancelled due to lack of portaloos

Glastonbury 2012 has been cancelled due to a lack of Portaloos and police officers caused by the London Olympics. Michael Eavis, the festival organiser, said there will be a severe shortage of portable toilets as the capital drains the nation of officers, forcing prices for the remaining few far higher than normal.

He also said Avon and Somerset Police recently warned him that not a single officer would be available to oversee the event due to the Games. Mr Eavis, who celebrated his 76th birthday yesterday, said: "Avon and Somerset told us no police officers will be available as they will all be at the Olympics and we only own half the loos we actually need every year. We shop around with four companies to get the best price, but we are not bothering for 2012.



"There will be a huge demand for Portaloo toilets in London, so everyone will push up their prices and I can see it getting very expensive. We take a year off anyway every fifth or sixth year so we looked at the timing and thought it seemed sensible." He added that he and his wife Liz had not had a holiday in recent years so intended to "drive around the UK in our Mini and visit London in the summer for the Olympics".

Around 600 police officers oversee the festival and its 130,000 visitors every year, at a cost of around £1.2million. By contrast, the London Games are expected to required the services of 9,000 officers every day from before the opening ceremony on July 27.