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Sunday night Reading festival nightmare - do they even care?

354 replies

itsallabittiring · 31/08/2021 19:20

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.

OP posts:
TatianaBis · 02/09/2021 12:41

I’ve always thought at some point there will be some kind of panicked stampede/crush type incident, like Hillsborough, or just a big gang fight. Then there will have to be brought in stricter regulations around security.

MistySkiesAfterRain · 02/09/2021 13:16

How are knives getting in? That is awful.

ElvisPresleyHadABaby · 02/09/2021 13:19

Thank you for well wishes to my DD, we've had good access to support and she's in a good place, but hasn't been to a festival since and doubt she ever will.

ElvisPresleyHadABaby · 02/09/2021 13:20

@MistySkiesAfterRain

How are knives getting in? That is awful.
They don't check bags when you enter the campsite at all, only have a sniffer dog, and they only do minimal, glancing checks of the smaller bags that get taken into the arena, many people don't get checked at all, so very easy to slip one in the pocket of a bum bag or down a sock.
massistar · 02/09/2021 13:31

I went early 90s and had a ball. DS,16, just back with a load of his mates. They had a fantastic time too and saw very little trouble. They had early bird tickets and set their tents up altogether, around 30 of them in a mixed group. Lots of Covid testing going on this week is the main downside!

QueenOfWaitrosia · 02/09/2021 16:16

NAme changed for this but looooooooooooong time poster (as MN Towers will be able to verify).

I happen to have been talking to a journalist about this very thing. He is interested on running a piece in the press on the 'dark side of Reading' but does need some first hand accounts (he wouldn't need to publish names unless you were happy to). If anyone would be interested in sharing DC experiences, he is keen to publish something and start making a noise about the way the festival is allowed to spiral out of control and not protect the very young cohort that attend.

Please PM me if you might be interested in sharing your story. Photographic evidence also very welcome.

I am not a journalist nor affiliated to Reading. I am just a MNer who happened to be having exactly the same thoughts and spoke to a journalist who is now interested in an expose of sorts.

Pinkywoo · 02/09/2021 18:18

@QueenOfWaitrosia this was the view from my tent Monday morning of 2010, it was complete carnage. I'd been numerous times before so knew what to expect, but that was the only time I camped in yellow (the worst place to be on Sunday night).

I certainly wouldn't let my kids go to Reading/Leeds as their first festival, and have advised friends with teenagers the same. I've seen fires, fights, explosions, hard drugs, certainly not an environment I'd want my kids to be in.

Sunday night Reading festival nightmare - do they even care?
BrutusMcDogface · 02/09/2021 22:26

@notacooldad

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!!
They must be talking about the long drop! I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY! 🤣🤢
BrutusMcDogface · 02/09/2021 22:29

Oh god I’ve just remembered a group of twats pushing an ice cream van over, with the ice cream man inside SadSadAngryAngry

Kite22 · 02/09/2021 23:50

Does anyone know who issues the licence to hold the Festival ?

I'd love to send them a link to this thread.
The police too, for that matter.

I really am shocked, and particularly horrified that so many posters have known that it has been like this for years, but that nothing changes it seems.

As someone else said, I would (sadly) expect there to be some petty theft and some drugs and some folk the worse for wear on drink, but so many of the tales on this thread are so very much worse than this. Angry

It makes me angry that they are waiting for someone to be killed or horrifically burned before doing anything about it Confused

Benjispruce5 · 03/09/2021 06:32

It is shocking.

Thisgroupneverceasestoamazeme · 03/09/2021 07:32

@Kite22 People HAVE been killed. I know someone who’s partner was found dead at one of these festivals with horrific injuries having left the group to get some drinks/go to the loo.This was several years ago. (Being deliberately vague about the specifics out of respect as it’s not my story to share publicly)

GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 03/09/2021 10:27

Does anyone know who issues the licence to hold the Festival ?

Pretty sure it will be Reading Borough Council. I'm equally pretty sure they'll take the official line of "We can't manage what goes on on the site, licences just cover noise, road management blah blah blah" while quietly just being glad of the additional income.

RampantIvy · 03/09/2021 10:30

Someone died at Leeds festival two years ago (It was the one that DD worked at Sad)

3WildOnes · 03/09/2021 11:51

Reading and Leeds both had a reputation for being a bit ‘rough and Chavy’ when I was younger so I never went. I did have a great time at Glastonbury, beach break, secret garden and lots of other smaller ones. Maybe try and street them towards different festivals.

herecomesthsun · 03/09/2021 14:09

We only go to tame festivals (pre covid)

Greenbelt
Curious Arts
Womad (many years ago now)
Oxford Lit Festival
local music festivals
etc

Ds now a teen "doesn't see the point of standing in a field listening to music"

Very vanilla I know.

Yorkshiretolondon · 03/09/2021 22:48

Oh wow how awful and totally scary! Out of order tbh your daughter and friends should feel safe at any festival. I haven’t been to reading festival for many many years as the crowd is younger and u fortunately without the older element it seems these things happen- can you make a complaint? Security needs to be upped!
Go to glasto! We’ve been going for years and taken our son from 3 months old!

Thisgroupneverceasestoamazeme · 04/09/2021 08:48

Leeds Festival: Victim attacked with acid during Post Malone set www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-58432828

Mistlein · 04/09/2021 10:02

Thank you for starting this thread. Letting my teen DDs go at some point was something I wondered about, but no way will they be going until they're old enough to make that decision for themselves. Can't believe the stories I'm reading. We took our kids to Tramlines in Sheffield to see the Stereophonics and they had a great time ..no camping though!

Oldfestivalgoer · 04/09/2021 10:16

I went almost every year from 1995 to 2002 and it was always like that then. It's not going to change now.

Kite22 · 04/09/2021 14:39

@Oldfestivalgoer

I went almost every year from 1995 to 2002 and it was always like that then. It's not going to change now.
Well it won't if people shrug and accept "that's the way it is".

It might if more people tried to do something about it.

I have contacted the Reading MPs, who won't accept any correspondence from me as I don't live in their constituency Hmm

I tried the local Police and Crime Commissioner and the Contact e-mail on the website bounces back.

Megaman · 07/09/2021 10:58

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

ReeseWitherfork · 08/09/2021 07:34

www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/i-travel-reading-festival-middle-21495202

Interesting that they've contacted Reading Festival for comment.

GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 08/09/2021 10:35

@ReeseWitherfork I was just coming on to post the same link, local papers must have been stung into doing something!

There's another one here, also in the local paper - a diary of a festival goer who says they won't go back: www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/reading-festival-goers-diary-tent-21502915

CatMandarin · 08/09/2021 13:04

Was going to post the same news article