Sunday night Reading festival nightmare - do they even care?

[itsallabittiring]

I wanted to ask about the experience people had on Sunday night in the campsites. My daughter, who is 18 and fairly streetwise, said it was absolutely terrifying as people were going round blowing tents up using aerosols. There was also a massive fight right next to them and then a stampede of people trampled over her tent. They seriously feared for their lives. Until then they had had quite a good time, although some men camping nearby had been threatening on and off so they felt a bit unsafe at times.
Security guards were next to useless apparently and a few of them were apparently clearly on drugs and were asking people for 'Ket'.
It literally sounded like the most unsafe place you could probably think of - they had to take it in turns to stay up and not sleep to try and stop themselves getting blown up. She said it felt so out of control and everyone was drugged up and didn't care.
I would seriously think twice if you think your 16- 18 year old could cope with that. I know my daughter and her friends will never, ever go back. I think it is pretty appalling how scenes like that are allowed to happen. If your teen does insist on going maybe ensure they aren't there for Sunday night which is when it all really kicks off in a nasty way.

@Iamthewombat

You are in your late forties. How can you not know, even roughly, where Reading is, particularly since you have been there?

Don't be a dick. Your post is designed to cause humiliation. Not nice.

Oh same old Reading, it’s 30 years since I first went, good to hear they’re still at the exploding aerosols stage 😬😬 It’s good for the music, but the behaviour in the campsite part of it isn’t all that. Tell your daughter to do Glasto next time, it’s way nicer ime

@Iamthewombat

Sorry haven't RTFT but when I went to Reading (my very first festival aged 18 in 1991), it was on two sites as I recall..one in the Midlands and one in Essex?

Are you seriously telling us that you have been to Reading and still think that this large and well known town is in Essex or the Midlands? Have you been to the Leeds festival in Wales?

Fucking hell stop being nasty! What has the pp ever done to you?!

Tik Tok is awash with video evidence of youth throwing anything they can get their hands on, jumping onto tents with people inside, throwing tent poles through tents injuring the occupants setting fire to tents and more

I can't believe this still happens. I had a similar experience at Download a few years ago. It's really scary.

I will only camp at the more "grown up" festivals now. I've done V, Leeds etc in the past, your belongings aren't safe in your tents. I book a hotel if I want to go to them now.

I've been to a few festivals when younger. The Reading festival was one I said I would never go to again. It has a very rough, unsafe, tetchy vibe to it. It felt like it was full of alot of roughnecks. I haven't felt like that at other festivals.

@Gothichouse40

I am really shocked reading this. So sorry for all the young people who ended up having frightening experiences. I had a friend who used to go to Reading Festival, but she stayed with family there and didn't camp, which is possibly how shes never mentioned this. Im not a fan of outdoor venues, so fortunately have never experienced the horrors being described here. I do know a few youngsters that stopped attending T in the Park because the drug taking and fighting got so bad. I just cannot get over the amount of people who take drugs nowadays. It seems to be everywhere. Regarding gang rapes if nothing is done about this, sadly, I think sexual predators will make music festivals the place to go. For their own sinister purposes. The police need to be sending in plainclothes and investigating all that has been described on this board. Mind you if these same incidents were happening in a pub, it would lose it's licence.

Absolutely agree. How do they get a licence if this has been common behaviour for so long ?

Are you going to report it to the police or HSE or someone or do they not care?*

I will be trying to publicise this and get something done, yes, though
how much notice they will take of me, as I wasn't there, and, although my daughter was there, she didn't see any of this, but yes, I do feel I need to try.

That's shocking @Themeparklover

I am very tempted to share this thread with Reading local press.

Please do @SnotandBothered (or better still if anyone can get it into the National press)

It really does seem they expect this to happen and judging by the type of security they hire they are obviously in it just for the money, mainly from naive teens (or their parents)..
I'm not sure who else to contact; my daughter would hate to make a huge fuss publicly about it and be named etc. despite the horrific night they had. She's moved on and seems unscarred by the whole thing, which is great, it's me who's really furious/shocked and I genuinely wanted to warn other parents about this as I wasn't previously aware

This is exactly how I feel @Gothichouse40
I don't think it is good enough for people to shrug and say "it's been like that for years" How would any of us feel if a person is horrifically burned, or killed in one of these fires and we'd done nothing ?

I would say, its best to go with a large group of around 12 minimum - who are fairly street wise / sensible.
My dd did this. She will be 20 in September. She is streetwise and confident, but none of that will help if someone sets fire to your tent while you are in it, or throws an aerosol on a fire as you are walking past.

I also went years ago (too many to even add up) and had a similar experience at the same age. Never again. Glastonbury is far better run with a nicer crowd.

Here's a few stories/reports, I'm going back to 2001 as that's when I was there.

With the exception of one guardian piece, hardly mainstream news!

Went in 2006 and 2007 mid a levels. In 2007 Sunday night felt so unsafe I swore to never go back. It’s not nice feeling like you might die because of some twat off their face throwing aerosols on fires. I never told my mum how dangerous it was!

There were always mentions of this happening when I went (2008-2011) but never saw it myself. I think it depends which campsite you stay in. We used to stay in Red, which was away from the centre of it all. It's a very different festival now though and I think it attracts a very different crowd.

Wouldn't be so bad if DM picked this one up before some poor teen gets set on fire by a crackhead Reading festivalgoer in the dead of night.

Surprised this hasn't changed - it was exactly like that when I went in 2005!

...and all that rubbish people left behind.I could get quite depressed with the thought that this will be our future generation.thankfully,there are also very environment aware young people,just not at Reading Festival!

Reading local press were live blogging the festival. They already know what it is like!

Incidentally the top story on one of the two main local sites: www.getreading.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/reading-festival-2021-organisers-deny-21453045

It’s always been like this I’m afraid. One year when I was there a group set up an actual catapult and were using it to hurl apples at people queuing for food. Sunday night is a complete rampage with tent burning etc - it makes me laugh that we got off lightly with just some noodles thrown at ours! I know it’s not the same but in later years we just paid for a night in a hotel (grossly inflated prices but nice enough) and enjoyed retreating to our sanctuary for a safer sleep!

To the poster who suspects Reading and Leeds get issues due to being close to 'town', I can't speak for Reading

Town is very close by for Reading - the cabs do a roaring trade taking people into the centre, as do the buses, but even if you walk it’s around 20 mins and then you have all the bars/shops etc. There’s also various supermarkets and a McDonald’s about 10 mins walk onto the Oxford Road. It’s also very close to the railway so it’s ideal for those who don’t yet have a driving licence.

@DPotter, a lot of those will have been day ticket holders who can’t camp. They shut Richfield Avenue (the main road that accesses the site) to traffic at night for the three festival nights because of the volume of day people leaving.

And I’d agree with the PPs who’ve said there’s no point going to the local press - they’re more interested in telling you what new items McDonald’s have or posting pictures of people who’ve parked badly to do any actual journalism.

Crikey, I had no idea and will be doing everything I can to prevent my kids going to Reading. DD is almost 16 so I would imagine she is likely to want to do something fun and independent with her friends after GCSEs next summer. I’ve read parts of this thread to her and she is horrified and definitely not interested in going!

We went to Carfest this weekend as a family (my first festival at the age of 43!) which was great fun, friendly and safe (and yes, probably rather too square and tame for some, but it suited us).

The whole family are keen to try other festivals now, so thanks to the seasoned festival-goers on the thread who’ve named other nice festivals which I’d never heard of. Been spending a happy evening Googling them and planning where we might like to go next year.

I have contacted local press and emailed Reading Council licensing and the Festival organisers.

Let's see.....

If anyone else wants to do similar, I am sure quantity will count for something.

Your poor daughter. And thank you for posting as I have a teenage daughter who will no doubt be telling me that everyone is going in the next couple of years. I'm not totally naive as I realise there will be sex and drugs but I don't think I realised that this sort of dangerous stuff would be going on to this extent with security just watching on. For once I really hope the tabloids pick up on this.

I went to Reading back in the day and it was indeed the roughest festival . Think bottles or condoms full of piss being lobbed into the crowd. Glass bottles being thrown . I had never seen so many random men just getting their kegs down to urinate it was quite a shock to me. I remember one grisly fat sweaty biker having a rage fit and the crowd parted like the Red Sea. We did see Black Sabbath though so that might explain the laddish behaviour or was it Ozzie anyways I was more of a Disco and Funk lover at the time it was my boyfriend who was a drummer in a band akin to Spinal Tap . I remember doing the entire band’s make up once.

That sounds horrific. I first went to Reading in 2004 and had the best time. By about 2000 the atmosphere has changed completely.