JAY Z - THOUSANDS SCRAMBLE FOR GLASTONBURY TICKETS ON SALE TODAY

Tickets for Glastonbury have gone on sale today with thousands of fans jamming phone lines in the rush.

This year's festival, which takes place over 27-29 June, will be headlined by US rapper Jay-Z.

Organiser Michael Eavis told the event's official website prior to tickets going on sale: "I was discussing it [the headline slot] with Jay-Z and his manager. They were slightly worried about the audience not being a London or Birmingham urban crowd.

"I said, 'OK, I'll do something that I haven't done for the entire 38 year history of the festival - I'll take you on stage and introduce you to the audience.' And Jay-Z said, 'Michael, I'll do your show'."

Other confirmed headliners include The Verve and Kings of Leon.

Fans have again had to register their interest in buying tickets first, after security concerns threatened the event.

But registration numbers were down from last year, according to Mr Eavis, who runs the festival from his farm in Pilton, Somerset.

"We've gone for something middle range although Jay-Z is huge in America," he told BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat last month.

"It's going to be absolutely brilliant. But it's not like a Radiohead or a Muse or a Coldplay or an Oasis is it? So we didn't expect the demand to be quite as high."

Tickets went on sale at 09:00 BST on Sunday morning.