REM will headline the first night of 2003's Glastonbury Festival - if it gets the go-ahead from councillors.

The legendary US rock band have announced their appearance as part of a forthcoming European tour.

Mr Eavis: Not sure if councillors will give the green light

Festival organisers have also lined up the other headlining acts - but will not reveal any other names.

The festival is due to take place in June, but will face a major hurdle when Mendip District Council considers its licence application on Thursday.

"It really is quite extraordinary to have all these headliners in place already," founder Michael Eavis told BBC News Online.

But he said talking about the bands was "not very constructive", and said he preferred to sell the event on its charm.

REM last headlined the festival in 1999, and the Rolling Stones are among the other bands rumoured to be on the bill.

I think we might have a problem on our hands Michael Eavis Festival organiser

At a public meeting on Monday, Mr Eavis had to field angry objections from local residents who were not sold on its charm.

'Not helpful'

Their complaints could be the major stumbling block when councillors decide whether to let the event go ahead.

"I think we might have a problem on our hands," Mr Eavis said.

About 30 people turned up to the meeting from the nearby village of Pilton, which has a population of 950.

"It wasn't really very helpful," Mr Eavis said.

"A lot of people there wanted to sound off about it, but they didn't have any real reason to.

"They were fairly robust with their arguments and I don't know how it's going to affect the councillors on Thursday."

Police, fire, ambulance and highway authorities have all approved the plans for the 2003 event, he said.

Glastonbury 2002 was hailed as a success

In an attempt to placate the locals, he has hired an ex-policeman to act as a "village manager" to sort out problems during next year's event.

The 2002 festival went ahead with beefed up security after councillors raised concerns about thousands of gatecrashers getting in.

But one side-effect was that many ticketless fans who did turn up were stuck outside the site.

Tickets for 2003 are scheduled to go on sale on 1 March.

However, organisers have warned fans not to book through an website that has already started advertising tickets.

"This site has no tickets [and] there is no possibility that money you would pay over - which seems to include an exorbitant mark up - would go to the good causes that the Glastonbury Festival supports," the official festival website says.