RUMOURS are afoot that Cirencester could be the new home for the Glastonbury Festival.

Michael Eavis, founder of the renowned five-day music event, which launched in 1970, revealed in a radio interview that the 2019 festival will be moved in order to allow the fields to Pilton, in Somerset, to recover.

Under the new name The Variety Bazaar, he also said the new look festival does not have a location yet but he is considering venues outside of Somerset.

Mr Eavis said the new festival site will be “about halfway" between Worthy Farm and the Midlands, with the news leading to speculation that it could be Cirencester Park, part of the Bathurst Estate.

The rumours were further fueled when Lady Bathurst confirmed the site would be the “perfect place” for a music festival.

“Cirencester Park would be the perfect place for a music festival and is always open to new and exciting ideas for outdoor events throughout the year,” she said.

“I've always loved music of all kinds, Muse being one of my favourite bands of all time – so it would be incredibly good fun to have them perform on our doorstep.”

The festival, which has been headlined by the likes of David Bowie, The Smiths and Oasis over the years, regularly pulls in crowds of 135,000 each year.

Lord Bathurst said: “The estate is open to all opportunities, but at present has not been approached by Variety Bazaar.

“But the estate does already have a number of high profile events during the traditional date of Glastonbury, including The Cotswold Show and polo tournaments so it may or may not be possible to host such an event if approached.”