Reading and Leeds Festival 2024 line-up, dates, location and how to get tickets today
Don’t let festival season fade into a distant memory; book tickets for Reading and Leeds Festival 2024 to see you through the winter months.
The summer of muddy soles, sweaty foreheads, unwashed hair and lost voices now feels like it was lightyears ago. After months of experiencing some of the best music festivals in the UK, whether that’s huge festivals such as Glastonbury and Download or fantastic smaller ones like Latitude and All Points East, we've long since hung up the wellies in preparation for the next festival season.
If you’re like us, and would like to book festival tickets to see you through the doom and gloom of winter, let us point you in the direction of Reading and Leeds Festival.
This RadioTimes.com writer was lucky enough to visit Reading Festival this summer with Three UK. They spent three days in the sunshine — with the occasional downpour of rain — listening to the likes of Arlo Parks, Rina Sawayama, Steve Lacy, and of course headliners Sam Fender, The Killers, and Billie Eilish.
In fact, seeing Eilish perform on the final night of Reading Festival was the highlight of their whole weekend, specifically hearing Happier Than Ever.
We can’t forget the moments besides the music which make festivals so special, too. Moments such as sitting at the campsite chatting and laughing with your friends, tucking into food from the many great food trucks (chorizo macaroni cheese and Korean BBQ wings being a favourite), and bonding with strangers in the queue to use the portaloos.
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Tickets for Reading and Leeds 2024 have already been released, so get ahead of the curve and book tickets today. There are plenty of ticketing options available at different price points, and we’ve broken them all down below, as well as answering your most-asked questions about the Reading and Leeds festivals. The countdown to a bank holiday weekend of fun starts now!
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Jump to:
- Are Reading and Leeds festivals different?
- Do the same bands play Reading and Leeds festivals?
- Reading and Leeds 2024 line-up
- When do Reading and Leeds 2024 festival tickets go on sale?
- Where and when are Reading and Leeds 2024 festivals?
- How much do Reading and Leeds 2024 festival tickets cost?
- How to get Reading and Leeds 2024 festival tickets
Are Reading and Leeds festivals different?
The short answer to this question is yes, and no. The two festivals are different in that they take place in two different locations, but they are the same in that they have the same line-up and happen on the same days. To answer the long way, let’s take a history lesson.
Amazingly, Reading Festival is the world’s oldest popular music still in existence. It originally began as a jazz music festival, known as the National Jazz Festival, in 1961, and it moved around various sites in the south of the UK before settling in its permanent home of Reading in 1971.
After establishing its roots in Reading, the music festival’s lineup moved away from jazz and began booking progressive rock and blues music. It then became the first music festival to incorporate punk rock and new wave in the late 1970s.
Due to its immense popularity, in 1999, Reading Festival added a second venue at Temple Newsam in Leeds, which was the site of V Festival in 1997 and 1998. Since 1999, the two-site festival has featured predominantly rock, alternative, indie, punk, and metal music genres in its line-up. With the addition of a little bit of hip-hop, of course; we remember seeing Kendrick Lamar at Leeds Festival in 2015 and he was phenomenal.
If you're looking to switch up your music streaming service, take a look at our guides comparing Apple Music vs Spotify, Spotify vs Amazon Music, and Amazon Music vs Apple Music.
Plus, here are the best Apple Music offers for this month.
Do the same bands play Reading and Leeds festivals?
In 1999, every band performed at Leeds Festival the day after they played at Reading, with Reading Festival running from Friday to Sunday, and Leeds Festival running from Saturday to Monday. In 2001, the festival moved to its current (and, in our opinion, better) format, which sees the Reading line-up play at Leeds the following day, with the opening day line-up from Leeds playing the final day in Reading.
To give a real-life example from last year, acts such as Central Cee, Holly Humberstone, Foals, and The 1975 performed at both Reading and Leeds festivals, with headliner Billie Eilish performing at Leeds Festival on the Friday and closing Reading Festival on the Sunday.
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Reading and Leeds 2024 line-up
Although it's still a while until the festival begins, the first ten names have already been announced. Fans can expect to see Blink-182, Gerry Cinnamon and Spiritbox on Friday 23rd August at Reading and Saturday 24th August at Leeds, while Fred again.., Lana Del Rey and Digga D will perform on Saturday 24th August at Reading and Sunday 25th August at Leeds, and Sunday 25th August will see Liam Gallagher, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Skrillex take to the Reading stage after performing on Friday 23rd August at Leeds.
Plenty of other artists have been announced from the Reading and Leeds lineup, including Raye, Two Door Cinema Club, Renee Rapp, The Last Dinner Party and Jorja Smith.
There are still plenty more announcements to come, but that doesn’t stop the rumours from circulating…
When do Reading and Leeds 2024 festival tickets go on sale?
General sale tickets went on sale at 8:30am on Thursday 30th November. and can be purchased from the Ticketmaster website.
Where and when are Reading and Leeds 2024 festivals?
This year, Reading and Leeds Festival will take place Wednesday 21st to Sunday 25th August 2024. The summer bank holiday next year falls on Monday 26th August, so you’ll have a day of recovery before heading back to work or school.
Where is Reading Festival in 2024?
Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, and it’s near Caversham Bridge. When this RadioTimes.com writer’s friend drove them to Reading Festival, the car park was easy to find following the instructions on the car parking pass.
You can also reach Reading Festival via coach, train, shuttle bus, and even by boat.
Where is Leeds Festival in 2024?
Leeds Festival is held in Bramham Park, near Wetherby in Leeds. You can reach Leeds Festival by car, coach, train, and shuttle bus.
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How much do Reading and Leeds 2024 festival tickets cost?
As tickets went on sale back in November, there are only Tier 1 tickets left for Reading and Leeds festivals, which are more expensive. A Tier 1 camping ticket for both Reading or Leeds festival will set you back £325, while weekend camping plus early entry is £361.
There's also the cheaper option of booking a ticket for one day only, which ranges from £115 to £150.
How to get Reading and Leeds festival tickets 2024
Reading and Leeds festival might still be a few months away, but that shouldn’t stop you from purchasing tickets!
At Ticketmaster, you can buy camping, plus camping and early entry tickets for both Reading and Leeds festival. There’s also the option to pay in instalment plans, as we appreciate the run up to Christmas is an expensive time for all of us.
If camping isn’t your bag but you’re still keen on attending the festival for the whole weekend, why not check out Camping Plus?
This is an additional cost, and will get you access to the private Camping Plus campsite, which comes with 24 hour reception and security, toilets and warm showers, a pamper area with blow dryers, straighteners and a mirror, and phone charging.
First time at a festival? We have you covered with our top festival essentials guide, as well as our guide to the best UK festivals.
