When you’re camping out at a music festival, you simply have to accept and embrace the fact that you will become increasingly stinky and dishevelled over the course of the weekend. Reading and Leeds Festival, often full of teens fresh from GCSE and A-Level exams, has a reputation for being one of the messier, sweatier events on the UK festival calendar.
But as the two fests prepare to welcome Travis Scott and Chappell Roan as their 2025 headliners, the sister festivals have announced the biggest shake-up to camping in their 55-year history. And the upgrades mean that R&L could become all-round cleaner, more wholesome experiences.
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At both festivals there will be five brand-new campsites to replace the old ones. They’ll all have sustainable ‘first-class’ flushing toilets, more shower facilities and free ‘get ready with me’ stations decked out with mirrors, dressing tables, plugs and toiletries to help punters stay fresh.
Each pitch will also have its own distinct character and events. There’s the Fields, the liveliest of the sites with its own football pitch; the Garden for people after a quieter, more wholesome campout; the Meadow for the more eco-conscious; the Grove, which is run by gender-inclusive teams committed to creating a safe environment and the Valley, which is especially for people coming to the festival on their own or as a pair.
R&L is also adding a host of non-music events to its lineup, including morning run clubs, yoga sessions, upcycling workshops, clothes swaps and open-mic sessions. Because which abominably hungover 18-year-old doesn’t want to go on a jog the morning after the night before?
Everyone going to either Reading or Leeds fest can pick your campsite at no extra cost. Ticket-holders already have automatic access to the Fields but you’ll have to book online if you fancy pitching up at one of the other sites.
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