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.

I had absolutely no idea about any of this!

Most festivals have their bad points. As I said I was at the Leeds riot but the worst festival I went to for robbery and rapes was at Feile. They were telling us to not walk in pairs between the arena and campsite but in groups for our own safety

As PP have said go in a big a group as you can and get to know your neighbours. Trust of the group is massive as well. At Reading a group of a friend of a friend came to us laughing cos they’d given a 'friend' E for the first time and she went off freaking out in the car park and they’d lost her

You really need to trust your camp mates

I went a long time ago. I think 2003 & it was the same. Never had a desire to go again & I was 18 so you'd think I would just be drunk & not notice but I was & I still did. ' Teams' walking around the campsite with a mega phone shouting "trips, pills, weed" classy place.

My DD went and had a great time - their campsite was quieter and ‘felt safe.’ She and her friends had an amazing time. My friend’s DC, on the other hand, witnessed exactly what you are describing. Horrendous and terrifying. They were so glad to get home.

@SnotandBothered

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.

They've known about this for years, I don't think anyone cares.

www.getreading.co.uk/special-features/reading-festival-i-dont-predict-4300662

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/other/why-is-there-always-a-riot-at-reading-festival

I went in the 9os and saw Nivarna. It was definitely very rough in places. As an adult I just went for the day or stayed in a premier inn nearby.

Even the big names on stage aren't safe from the carnage either. Some big bands(plus Daphne and Celeste ) getting bottled: www.gigwise.com/photos/91402/

Reading has a reputation for this sort of thing (plus disgusting things like people throwing urine in the crowds). Glastonbury is amazing however. I've always felt very safe there.

It’s well known for being very rough - I had friends who went in the very early 00s and were pissed off by the setting fire to aerosols and bad behaviour but they put up with it as big music fans and went back multiple years. I was a nervous teen and decided it wasn’t for me.

I think that coke has become far more widely used and available in the last few years at festivals and nights out so that could well contribute to more aggressive/risk taking behaviour

I really can't understand how these festivals became such a mainstay of a non-adult teens summer calendar. The drugs and general calamity is never a good environment for a child is it?

Sorry your DD had such a scary time, there's always a dickhead out to ruin it for everyone else but blowing up tents is pretty extreme. I'd expect the usual threats to be more along the lines of bad batch drugs and lecherous men.

I went to Leeds when I was younger and it was always a more rough festival. A much different atmosphere to say, Download for example.
The last time I went (a good 10 years or so now) I was assaulted. Security couldn't care less.

Reading has always had a reputation but V festival had plenty if drugs as does Glastonbury, as does most towns and cities.

Guess each to their own but the toilet pushing and burning etc is horrific

My daughter went to Glastonbury when she was about 22(1997) about and they had their tent slit open .She put her hand up to stop it luckily she wasn’t knifed Girls crying stuff stolen My other daughter went but went back to her friends house every night We didn’t live too far away and when wind in right direction could hear it It caused a nightmare for work for me as could not get to Bristol .Also anybody see the rubbish and tents left behind at Reading what a lazy lot people are .Glastonbury pays people to collect them

My son was also at Reading and told me a similar story. He went with a group of 18 year old and was ok until the Sunday night. They spent the night awake as they were terrified..... their tent was trashed (whilst in it) by other people jumping on it and heard lots of fights outside. His girlfriend was in another camp and reported that lots of tents were set on fire. I made the mistake of joining the 'Reading Festival Community ' FB group (to pick up bits of useful information prior to the event) and had a sleepless few nights as it was full of people reporting tents being slashed, drug overdoses, people urinating inside other tents and all over their possessions and violence. I'm hoping that a lesson will be learnt from this..... but not holding my breath!

@JoyOrbison

It was like this in 1996 when I went - but back then it was the black bin bag brigade that went marching round destroying stages, trampling tents down etc, it's chaotic once the bands finish, even I can remember feeling unsafe back then!

I was there in 96 too and it was insane on Sunday night. But even on Saturday night my friend and I thought our tent was going to go up in flames. We were 19 and it was certainly an experience!

[quote itsallabittiring]@CatMandarin I have emailed Reading festival on their generic email but don't expect I will hear back. 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.
I did find out she was in yellow camp somewhere and she said it seemed to be mainly all happening in their part of the campsite and she had heard that it wasn't so bad at all in others. Still doesn't make it right though.[/quote]
Again to reiterate the security are not trained they are young people hired for cheap labour the wage this year was like 9 pound an hour expected to camp on sit and bring all own food an drink

I went a few years in a row from 2001, staying wednesday to monday and Sunday night was always like this. Portaloos being blown up, people inside and people turning the loos over, lots of fires on the last night with seemingly no-one doing anything about them.

It was scary then and thought things would have been more organised/ secure by now but obvs not.

How unfortunate your daughter and her friends had a bad experience. My daughter and her friend went to the same festival on the Saturday for her 21st birthday and had a brilliant time. They stayed in a local premier inn overnight so I guess that maybe an option for next time?

DD was raped at Reading in 2018 and security did nothing. It was the Welfare tent that sorted her out and contacted us.

This year a friend's daughter saw people charge the barricade with knives during AJ Tracey, they were slashing people and someone got one in the eye. Have not seen this reported anywhere but the group got picked up early and were very shaken by it all.

Security even on entrance is incredibly lax, very little bag checking, one dog and not at the entrance to the arena, only on the way into the festival when you first arrive. Not even their bumbags were checked going into the arena so it's no surprise knives and drugs are easily passed through.

Even the big names on stage aren't safe from the carnage either.

Who can forget 50 Cent, who came on to a soundtrack of gunfire and went off a few minutes later in a hail of missiles. Someone even managed to throw a paddling pool

@ElvisPresleyHadABaby

DD was raped at Reading in 2018 and security did nothing. It was the Welfare tent that sorted her out and contacted us.

This year a friend's daughter saw people charge the barricade with knives during AJ Tracey, they were slashing people and someone got one in the eye. Have not seen this reported anywhere but the group got picked up early and were very shaken by it all.

Security even on entrance is incredibly lax, very little bag checking, one dog and not at the entrance to the arena, only on the way into the festival when you first arrive. Not even their bumbags were checked going into the arena so it's no surprise knives and drugs are easily passed through.

@ElvisPresleyHadABaby That is horrific, how awful and so sorry to hear that about your daughter. I suspect a lot of sexual assault must go on in such an unregulated place.

I think the lack of just about any security is a concern for a number of reasons, based on recent history. It is something that does bother me.

The potential for a major incident - far beyond what has ever happened - is definitely there and part of me does fear its possible.

@ElvisPresleyHadABaby

DD was raped at Reading in 2018 and security did nothing. It was the Welfare tent that sorted her out and contacted us.

This year a friend's daughter saw people charge the barricade with knives during AJ Tracey, they were slashing people and someone got one in the eye. Have not seen this reported anywhere but the group got picked up early and were very shaken by it all.

Security even on entrance is incredibly lax, very little bag checking, one dog and not at the entrance to the arena, only on the way into the festival when you first arrive. Not even their bumbags were checked going into the arena so it's no surprise knives and drugs are easily passed through.

Possibly about 16-18 years ago I was at Leeds festival and a barrier collapsed. I know it collapsed because I saw it, people were trapped under it and the band had to stop playing to ask people to move back so the people trapped could be pulled out.

The following day it was in the papers but recorded as 'festival organisers clarifying that rumours of a barrier collapsing were untrue.'

Judging from a Telegraph headline I spotted earlier the festival should have been condemned as a public health hazard. "I've never smelt anything like it": confessions of a Reading festival litter-picker."

Curiously, I also spotted a tweet on Twitter from BTP Berkshire painting an improbably rosy picture of how it went:

twitter.com/BTPBerks/status/1432737030702878724

Seriously though, I can't believe this festival is still allowed to go ahead each year if it gets this bad.

Judging from a Telegraph headline I spotted earlier the festival should have been condemned as a public health hazard. "I've never smelt anything like it": confessions of a Reading festival litter-picker."
🤣🤣🤣
For goodness sake that paragraph has no context!
We dont know anything about the litter picker and their previous experiences.
They may have never smelled anything really bad in their life!!