Reading and Leeds Festivals

The Reading and Leeds Festivals are two big music events that happen every year in Reading and Leeds, England. They take place at the same time during the August bank holiday weekend, lasting three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Reading Festival happens at Little John's Farm near Caversham Bridge, while the Leeds Festival is held at Bramham Park close to Wetherby.

The Reading Festival is the older of the two and is the longest-running popular music festival in the UK. Many famous bands from the UK and around the world have performed there. Since 1999, the main types of music have been rock, indie, alternative, punk, and metal, with hip hop becoming more common in recent years. Famous artists like Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Eminem, and Post Malone have headlined these festivals.

Both festivals are organized by Festival Republic. From 1998 to 2007, they were called the Carling Weekend: Reading and the Carling Weekend: Leeds. In 2007, the original names were brought back. In 2011, the Reading site could hold 87,000 people, and the Leeds site could hold 75,000, which was more than in earlier years. There are campsites at both locations, and weekend tickets include camping, with day tickets also available.

History

Main article: National Jazz and Blues Festival

The Reading Festival began as the National Jazz Festival in 1961. It was started by Harold Pendleton at Richmond Athletic Ground. In the 1960s, the festival moved around London before finally settling in Reading in 1971. It started with jazz but later included rock, punk, and other music styles.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the festival had some problems, like a temporary ban in Reading. But it continued and welcomed many famous bands. The 1990s brought big names like Nirvana, and in 1999, a second location was added in Leeds.

In the 2000s, both festivals grew very popular. By the 2010s, they had many stages for different kinds of music. In 2020, both were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they came back the following year.

List of headliners

The Reading and Leeds Festivals feature many famous musicians each year. Here are some of the headliners from recent years:

• 2026 (scheduled): Charli XCX, Dave, Raye, Chase & Status, Florence and The Machine, Fontaines D.C.
• 2025: Travis Scott, Bring Me the Horizon, Hozier, Chappell Roan
• 2024: Blink-182, Fred Again, Liam Gallagher, Lana Del Rey, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Gerry Cinnamon
• 2023: Sam Fender, Foals, the Killers, The 1975 (replacing Lewis Capaldi), Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons
• 2022: Dave, Megan Thee Stallion, Arctic Monkeys, Bring Me the Horizon, the 1975 (replacing Rage Against the Machine), Halsey
• 2021: Liam Gallagher, Biffy Clyro (replacing Queens of the Stone Age), Stormzy, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Post Malone, Disclosure
• 2020 (cancelled): Liam Gallagher, Rage Against the Machine, Stormzy

The festivals have had many famous performers over the years, from rock bands to pop stars.

Bottling incidents

At the Reading and Leeds Festivals, sometimes people throw bottles and cans at bands on stage. This has happened many times.

For example, in 1980, a band called the Hellions had to leave the stage quickly. In 1983, the band Steel Pulse also left because of things thrown at them. In 2004, the singer of 50 Cent’s band threw his microphone into the crowd after being hit with bottles. In 2006, the lead singer of Panic! at the Disco fell after being hit with a bottle but felt better later.

These incidents show that throwing things at performers is unsafe and not allowed.