Glastonbury is known for its hippy traditions

They will fly into a field owned by an entrepreneur who has moved next to Michael Eavis, the dairy farmer who stages the event on his Somerset land.

But festival organisers have criticised the choice of transport for being bad for the environment, and have insisted that they have nothing to do with the scheme.

"As we are very much supporters of Greenpeace, we're not desperately keen that he use environmentally-unfriendly means of transport and we're not promoting it," festival manager Dick Vernon told BBC News Online.

"It is a separate venture by a separate company. We acknowledge his right to have his own business, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Mr Edgley has moved near Michael Eavis

The corporate hospitality had nothing to do with the festival, he added.

The luxury packages are being offered by Mark Edgley, who recently bought the house near Mr Eavis in Pilton, Somerset, and wanted to smooth the festival experience for those who did not like the traffic jams, endless crowds and mud.

"It will be a sanctuary from the festival," he said.

"I've tried to make it as luxurious as possible because I'm assuming that everything is pretty hard work inside the festival."

A select group of people paying �650 per day will have helicopter travel plus access to a VIP marquee with their own toilets, showers, bars and a 24-hour barbecue.

Glastonbury has infamous toilet facilities

They will include a number of stars - and Mr Edgley says he has already taken bookings from some of the biggest bands on the bill.

"I'm not allowed to say who the bands are - but they're good," he said. "They are really good."

The line-up for the festival will not be announced until all 100,000 tickets have been sold, but those rumoured to be appearing include Rod Stewart, The Charlatans and Blur.

Mr Edgley is also offering festival-goers an �85 "traffic-buster" ticket to fly from Castle Cary, 10 miles away, to his field, which is 500 metres from the site's main gate.