Reading and Leeds Festival are a pair of music events that take place simultaneously during the August bank holiday weekend. The event itself has gone through various music phases, however recently the line up tends to feature Rock, Alternative, Electro and Indie.Metal and Punk acts are also known to appear along with many other music genres, however the former mentioned are the most predominately featured.

Rumours

Miles Kane, Django Django, Bat For Lashes, Dizze Rascal

Lineup

2013: Green Day, Eminem, Biffy Clyro, System Of A Down, Chase And Status, Nine Inch Nails, Skrillex, ASAP Rocky, alt-J, Jake bugg, Phoenix and many more

Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster UK

Vibe

In recent years Reading and Leeds festival has gained the reputation of being quite a young festival, popular with teens who have recently finished sixth form, or young adults with various amounts of disposable income.

As mentioned on the main website, this festival is not recommended for Young Children. With no family camping area and children facilities, parents are strongly advised against bringing children to this festival.

Reading and Leeds also hold a strong reputation of having lively and interesting campsites with many small after music parties taking place.

Stages and other entertainment

2013 sees the introduction of the BBC Radio 1xtra Stage and the BBC Radio 1 Dance stage, with a whole new proposed layout.

At both festivals there is cinema tent, that plays films throughout the night, with the chosen films detailed in the programme that week.

Both festivals also host the popular and infamous Silent Discos where attendees were Wi-Fi headphones that play different types of music.

There are certain differences between non music entertainment that can be found at either festival:

READING

• The festival's close proximity to Reading town allows festival goers to explore other food and drink needs. The local Rivermead Centre has a pool with showers that festival goers can use between 8am-3pm on Thurs-sun.

LEEDS

• 5-a-side football takes place on every day, if you are interested in registering a team, you will need to email your team name and players to bramhamfc@ntlworld.com

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster UK

VIP

In regards to VIP tickets or areas, there seems to be no particular choices apart from Boutique Camping choices.

Children

The website stats that this is not a suitable event for younger children

Disability Access

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Weather

2013 TBA.

Location

• Leeds is set at Bramham Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire
• Reading is set at Little Johns Farm, Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire

The main difference between the two sites is that Reading Festival is situated in an urban area close to a town, whereas Leeds set in a less central area within a country park.

Local Information

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Travel

READING

By Plane: The nearest airport to Reading Festival is London Heathrow. You could get the train directly from the aiport, However we would recommend using Rail Air. This is a service set up to specifically link Heathrow Airport and Reading Station via coach, and the site itself is 15 minutes walk from the station which is clearly signposted.

By Train: Reading Station is just a 15 minute walk away from Richfield Avenue, Reading. However, if you'd rather not carry all of your luggage then there is a Shuttle Bus Service (98 Service). This service costs £1 and stops at Caversham Road - a wise option if you aren't the lightest of travellers!

By Bus: From Reading Town Centre you can get the X40 to Caversham Road. Though do bear in mind it is only a 15 minute walk from the centre of Reading to the Festival.

By Car: There are 2 car parks; the Green car park and the White car park. Tickets for the car park cost £5 in advance to purchase contact Seetickets. If you'd like to purchase these on the gate at the festival, tickets will be £10. If you are travelling to/from the Green Car Park then then the Green Park shuttle boat will take you. It's a free service starting when the campsites open and runs through until campsites close at 12 midday on Monday 29th.

If you would like to travel by car, why not save some money with Blabla Car - the ultimate car sharing website for UK and Europe!

LEEDS FESTIVAL

By Plane: The nearest airport is Leeds Bradford International Airport. The most popular route to take from the airport, is to travel to Leeds Railway Station and to then catch the shuttle bus to Bramham Park. You can get to Leeds Railway Station by the Metroconnect 757 which provides a direct bus service to/from Leeds, stopping off at Leeds bus and train stations, Kirkstall, Horsforth, Rawdon, Pool and Otley. If you'd like to avoid using the Metroconnect service then a taxi from Leeds Bradford Airport to Leeds Railway Station should cost around £13 - £15.

By Train: The nearest train station is the Leeds Railway Station, From which you can take the shuttle bus to Leeds Festival. To make things even better,First TransPennine Express have teamed up with the shuttle bus company. All you have to do is buy a shuttle bus ticket alongside your train ticket! This can be done online from First TransPennine Express, Don't forget, if you sort your travel in advance you could save yourself some money!

By Shuttle Bus: Most public transport is based around the frequent shuttle buses, providing a hassle-free method of getting to Bramham Park - which otherwise is slightly off the beaten track! The buses will be running from Leeds City Railway Station and Leeds Coach Station. If you're travelling from York then there is a Shuttle Bus service from York Station on Thursday and back to York Station on Monday. For more information on the Shuttle Bus service visit Leeds Fest Buses or tel 0113 263 9491.

The shuttle bus fares are as follows:

• £4.50 day single from Leeds Railway / Coach Station to Bramham Park
• £7 cheap day return from Leeds Railway / Coach Station to / from Bramham Park available Friday to Sunday only
• £8.50 open return from Leeds Railway / Coach Station or York to / from Bramham Park (£8 if booked in advance)
• £18 multi-journey wristband - as many journeys as you like to any of the destinations from Wednesday to Monday.
• £4 day return to Tescos (only available for sale onsite at Yellow Gate)

Local Accommodation

Hotels near Reading Festival

• Pentahotel
• Crown Lodge Guest House
• Mercure George Hotel
• Quality Hotel Reading
• Parkside International
• The Lawn Hotel
• Hillingdon Prince
• Elmhurst Hotel

Hotels near Leeds Festival

• Mercue Wetherby
• Britannia Leeds
• Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa
• Best Western Plus
• Bridge Farm Hotel
• Quality Hotel Leisure
• The Wrens Hotel

What to wear

Think comfortable yet sexy!

2012 - River Island will be getting involved at Reading this year with a festival ‘Swap Shop’ – exchange your dirty festival clothes for some brand spanking new River Island kit, safe in the knowledge that you’re doing your bit for charity. River Island will clean your dirty kit and donate it to Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Check the festival website for details.

One popular trend is to wear Reading line-up t-shirts or Leeds line-up t-shirts from years past, showing off your veteran experience.

Camping

READING

• The White Campsite is the designated 'Quieter Campsite'

LEEDS

• The Brown Campsite is the designated 'Quieter Campsite'

Site Information

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Food and drink

Over 18’s must collect a certain wristband that will ensure they are served alcohol. ID must be shown to qualify for a wristband. Children under 16 MUST be accompanied by a ticket hold adult.

2012 - As a way to say thank you for coming, those who have purchased a weekend ticket will be entitled to a free pint and burger, courtesy of the organisers. (veggie and soft drinks option also available) -Vouchers for the food will be sent out with the tickets from today, Monday 6th August, which festival goers can present to vendors in designated locations in the campsite until midday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. One food voucher will be valid for each day, Beer (proof of age will be required) or soft drinks can be collected once through wristband exchange, a bag with three cans will be provided.

Perform at the festival

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Volunteer or work

For more information check here

Drugs and security

For the 2012 event, The Reading Branch was praised for a reduction in crime, with tent thefts dropping to just 61 reported cases, showing a 56% drop from previous years.

2012 saw the introduction of police on bicycles, able to attend to reports quickly, Festival republic have also confirmed the new layout will make for easier transit between stages

Stream online

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Mobile Apps

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Trivia

Long before it was a dual festival event, The festival first begun as one festival called The National Jazz Festival which started in 1961. After several moves and name changes, 1971 saw the event settle for Reading Festival..

In the 70's the festival focused heavily on heavy metal, blues and prog rock, with little touches of punk with bands such as The Jam and The Ramones playing.

The 80's saw the festival continue in this direction with the addition of new wave acts. However the event was temporarily banned in 1984 & 1985 due to the then Conservative Party reclaiming the site for development and providing no alternative site.

Luckily when Labour regained the council, Reading was given permission to use the fields opposite the original site, 1986 saw Reading return with a lineup that many quote as the last of the "classic rock" years of the festival, with acts such as Alice Cooper and Status Quo performing.

The 90's saw a lot of big changes and historical moments for Reading Festival, Rap acts such as Ice Cube, Beastie Boys and Public Enemy begun to appear more on the bill, with the emergence of Britpop and Indie also heavily dominating the bill.

1992 was the year of Kurt Cobain's choice to begin Nirvana's headlining slot a little bit differently. tired of the all the media speculation surrounding his mental health, Kurt Cobain wore a messy blonde wig and was pushed on stage in a wheelchair by Journalist Everett True. This was a dig at the media's constant portrayal of Cobain as a junkie, and their set went on to prove that Nirvania were bigger and better then the image the media portrayed of them.

Towards the end of the 90's it was becoming apparent that Reading was too small to deal with the demand, so 1999 was the year that the festival gained a second site in Leeds. As the current system stands, bands who play Reading will then go onto play Leeds, with the opening day and final day acts swapping over.

Throughout the 2000's, Reading and Leeds have become sought after festivals with tickets selling fast.

Because of it's illustrious history, both sites are encouraging attendees of the past to leave their memories of the year on the official websites.

As with many festivals, Reading & Leeds have traditions that happen almost every year.

Bottling Off:

With the festival running since the 60's, promoters and organisers are always looking for ways to keep the lineups fresh and interesting, sometimes this has worked to their benefit, other times it has been detrimental to their reputation.

And with the times that haven't worked, unpopular acts have often found themselves the target of Bottling.

Although it is not of the same level as the mass-participation during the 70's and 80's, Bottling at Reading and Leeds still makes an appearance if audience members feel an act do not have the right to be there.

Famous incidents include:

• 1988: Bonnie Tyler performed a whole set regardless of the bottles and turf audiences bombarded her with, that same festival Meat Loaf was bottled of stage 20 minutes into his set.
• 2000: After two songs, Daphne and Celeste had to leave the stage after constant bottling, as you can see below. (Watch the clip here)
• 2003: Good Charlotte performed a whole set through bottling, even stopping at one point to encourage fans to chuck their bottles at the same time.
• 2004: 20 minutes into 50 Cent's bottling he chucked his microphone into the crow, whereas The Rasmus left after one song.
• 2006: The Panic At The Disco Set was stopped temporarily while Brandon Urie received treatment after being struck on the shoulder, the band continued to play from the point the song was interrupted.

Secret Sets

From time to time big name acts will appear on smaller stages under different names, much to the audience's surprise. in 2007 the Kaiser Chiefs appeared in the Carling Tent at Leeds using the name Hooks For Hands.

In 2011 Green Day played a semi-secret gig in the NME/BBC Radio 1 Introducing tent.

Past lineups

2012 boasted Foo Fighters, The Cure and Kasabian are the confirmed main headliners, with the likes of Paramore, Bombay Bicycle Club, You Me At Six, Florence + The Machine, Kaiser Cheifs and many many more. To view the full line-up as it is confirmed, click here.

2011 - My Chemical Romance, Muse, Pulp, 30 Seconds To Mars, The Strokes, Elbow, The Offspring, The National, Interpol, Beady Eye and Peter Doherty.

For more details on the 2011 line-up and past line-up highlights click here