Your first festival is a very special experience. My first festival saw me travel four hours only to find that we’d forgotten to pack the poles to our tent. I eventually ended up face down in a field after downing an entire box of wine. Reading and Leeds Festival is, for many, the first taste of a true festival blow-out. And this year was no exception. We’ve trawled through the socials to bring you the hot-takes from the festival virgins who hit R + L. There are tears, a lot of mud and a lot of Friday Night Dinner references, apparently. To be young again! Some embraced the inevitable mud Advertisement Is anything more closely entwined that the British festival experience and a lovely double helping of a downpour and the inevitable mud that follows? While things this year weren’t quite as bad as that one year in Glastonbury where no-one could actually leave, some people found it within them to embrace the muddy chaos. I think the highlight of reading is a girl trying to get past Sarah at the vaccines by crawling in the mud through Sarah’s legs — terry (@tezzzarr) August 27, 2018 has leeds fest ruined me? yes. but do i regret mud sliding down red camp hill last night and not getting back to the tent till 7? absolutely not. — chlo (@_chlotate2) August 27, 2018 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm8po4BHiFu/ Some got a bit crushed watching Brockhampton The self-proclaimed best boyband in the world, Brockhampton brought their singular vision for pop to Reading, which proved to be a surprising revelation to many who may have been unfamiliar with the boys’ work. The only hitch? It all got a bit messy for those in the crowd. brockhampton destroyed reading fest today they were so god damn good the pit to boogie was just so fucking FUN — pete (@petexciv) August 25, 2018 Advertisement https://twitter.com/lesbianner/status/1033384371900899328 I survived Brockhampton at Reading 2018. — David (@WrittenByDavid) August 25, 2018 Some discovered new culture A festival like Reading and Leeds – where, for one brief weekend, all the teenagers in the UK seem to congregate after GCSEs and A-Levels – is always a good opportunity to discover what’s at the very cutting edge of youth culture at this moment in time. In previous years, there’s been widespread calls of ‘morning campers!’ and the actually iconic ‘ALAN?! ALAN? !’ Apparently, this year it’s ‘nice one bruvvvva!’ and Friday Night Dinner? And they say culture is dead. If you ever decide to go to reading festival for the first time be prepared to hear “nice one bruva” shouted every 30 seconds. — Harry (@DaveSavesSZN) August 28, 2018 First time at reading festival: – had 4 chairs stolen all together – alcohol stolen from my tent – a puddle of rain in my tent – heard “nice one bruva” shouted every 2 minutes when trying to sleep But I’ll still go again next year ? — Harry ?? (@Hahaurawoffler) August 28, 2018 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm_o9JfnhjA/ It’s hard trying to sleep at reading when all you can hear is – ‘shalom Jackie’ – ‘shit on the bloody thing’ and ‘nice one bruvva’ — Jonathan Toogood (@JonathanToogood) August 23, 2018 Some saw their faves for the first time Let’s not forget that the main attraction of Reading and Leeds will always be the music, and never mind the politics or the controversy that surround it. For many, these faves included punk-pop gods Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy the Courteeners and Post Malone. Of course, a lot of focus was on this year’s bill, with many older music fans lamenting that the line-up had shifted from the more traditional rock-based fare to incorporate some of the biggest stars of pop, hip-hop and grime. This didn’t seem to bother those new to the festival though – sets by Dua Lipa, Krept & Konan and J Hus had a rapturous reception, despite there not being a guitar in sight. Although the less said about the weird, quasi-cult Bring Me The Horizon organised for their not-so secret set, the better. My voice hurts so much today and I can't wait to sleep in an actual bed but @OfficialRandL has been so amazing this weekend my first time going and all the bands where soooo good!Especially @falloutboy I've wanted to see you guys live for about 6yrs now so thank u for playing?? — Alex ? (@alexddww) August 27, 2018 https://twitter.com/shlongdotcom/status/1034066681319120896 I’m never getting over this video of my 51 year old Father in a mosh pit to Courteneers @OfficialRandL pic.twitter.com/t7uT5YCo0V — Poppy Cleary (@poppycleary1) August 27, 2018 the level of absolute wankerism on the timeline surrounding reading and leeds was wild. here's some facts for y'all: teenagers are the future, get the fuck out of here thinking they're anything but. guitar music isn't dead, it just doesn't bang half as hard as Dua Lipa. — charlie simmonds (@charliesimmondz) August 28, 2018 Older veterans had some sage words of advice Attending your first festival can be a very eye-opening experience. There is of course the struggle of finding a place to camp that’s not too near the portaloos, but there’s also the question of endurance – can you, actually, live your life as a boozed up, glittery cave-person for five whole days? https://twitter.com/Pete_Allison/status/1033015116441300992 My cute and innocent little cousin is off to leeds fest tomorrow for the first time and I’m honestly scared for him to return — courtney (@courtneydddd) August 21, 2018 doing a q&a about going to reading and leeds, send me your questions pls! first time going? tips/tricks, general questions? ask away! — Zoe London (@zoelondondj) August 13, 2017 Everyone loved a bit of Kendrick, alright Forget all the noise about his headliner status and the rumblings of a poor reception to his set, it turns out that people actually turned the f down to a bit of Kendrick, ok? Can’t express how good Kendrick was at Leeds — Louis Pepper (@LouisPepper) August 28, 2018 https://twitter.com/robbysleep/status/1034449800182341632 Everyone’s saying how disappointed they was with Kendrick Lamar at Reading. I thought he was brill but idk if that’s because I was off my tits ?? — mol ? (@mollrowe) August 29, 2018 Seeing Kendrick Lamar singing King Kunta live at reading was honestly the most insane and unreal experience ever — Mia ? (@miapalmerrr) August 28, 2018 The only question now, of course, is if it was your first time in Reading and Leeds this year, will you be going back for more? There’s no telling who will be headlining next year… Words: George Griffiths<doc-sep>AMAZING aerial pictures released today show the scale of the mess made by Reading Festival. At least 60,000 tents were abandoned at the site along with other camping gear worth an estimated £1million. 13 The Reading Festival campsite alongside the River Thames is covered with AT LEAST 60,000 abandoned tents Credit: INS News Huge mounds of rubbish were also shown to be scattered across the festival camping grounds. The pictures were taken from a helicopter earlier today, capturing the enormous scale of the clean-up operation now facing the festival's organisers. The 57th Reading Festival took place over three days during the August bank holiday weekend, with its sister festival in Leeds occurring at the same time. Headliners this year included Fall Out Boy, Kendrick Lamar, and Kings of Leon. 13 One and two-man tents are being piled up in mountains before being cleared away Credit: INS News 13 More than 100,000 people attended Reading Festival across the three day bank holiday weekend Credit: INS News The poor weather conditions over the weekend meant that Leeds Festival in Bramham Park, which shares acts with Reading Festival, became a mud bath. Some of the attendees were pictured using tents and blow-up mattresses as sledges on the festival's muddy slopes. Festival organisers said that most of the items left at the site will be sent to landfill sites rather than being recycled or given to charity. Tickets for the event cost up to £250, but some punters could also clearly afford to leave their tent and other gear behind at the site. 13 Photos from the ground show a wasteland stretching as far as the eye can see Credit: Paul Jacobs/pictureexclusive.com 13 Diggers have been brought in to aid the enormous clean-up job Credit: INS News 13 The amount of camping equipment left at the site is believed to be worth £1million Credit: INS News 13 Volunteers and contracted rubbish collectors will be slaving away at the site over the coming days Credit: Paul Jacobs/pictureexclusive.com A spokesman for Reading Borough Council said of the clear-up: "The festival organisers oversee any clean up on the festival site. "The council cleans outside of the event area in the surrounding parkland and roads. The cost of any additional clean-up work required is covered by the festival organisers. "This work begins on the Tuesday prior to the event and finishes on the Monday bank holiday evening, operating for 21 hours each day." A 10ft green barricade around the site that housed music lovers over the August bank holiday acted as an unsightly backdrop to the Thames. 13 The roadways used to navigate the muddy fields are utterly surrounded by waste in every direction Credit: INS News 13 The pictures were taken 24 hours after the campers had gone home at the end of the festival Credit: INS News 13 People poured in by the thousands to the Reading Festival campsite carrying large amounts of camping gear Credit: Paul Jacobs/pictureexclusive.com 'GOBSMACKED' Queen 'gave Harry OK for Oprah series after misleading pitch about soldiers' ROD LIDDLE Ousting right-on National Trust boss is a victory against wokery DRUMMER DEAD School Of Rock star dies at 32 after being hit by car as Jack Black mourns HOUSE ABOUT IT You won't believe what this ordinary London home looks like on the inside Exclusive TOM'S LEGACY Captain Tom Moore — who raised £39m for charity — left family £73k in will JABS HOPE Scientists 'crack cause of blood clots linked to Covid jabs & know how to fix it' 13 The refuse appears to be made up of inflatable mattresses, tent poles and other camping gear Credit: INS News 13 Workers at the site have the daunting job of tidying up all this mess - which took just three days to make Credit: INS News 13 Weather conditions over the weekend made for a particularly muddy Reading and Leeds Festival Credit: INS News We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.<doc-sep>
Reading & Leeds Festival may have come to a close for 2018, but we’re already looking ahead to 2019’s outing. This year saw Fall Out Boy, Kendrick Lamar and Kings Of Leon all top the Main Stage – but who could follow them next time around? What’s the latest news? The first announcement is coming on Wednesday November 21… Foo Fighters are now being strongly rumoured to be announced as headliners Have the dates been announced for 2019? Yup! Reading & Leeds Festival 2019 will be held on August 23-25. When are tickets on sale? Tickets went on sale on August 31, 2018 via the official Reading & Leeds website. What can we expect in 2019? The first announcement will be rolled out from 7.30am on Wednesday November 21. 2018’s line-up was one of the most diverse and divisive in Reading & Leeds history and it looks like 2019 will follow suit. “The key thing about any festival is that you don’t stand still. I’m very clear on that,” festival boss Melvin Benn said earlier this year. He added: “You can’t keep drumming up the same acts and expect people to continue to come and see them. Festivals have to be a reflection of what the public are listening to.” So expect to see more hip-hop, pop and grime acts playing the traditionally rock and indie-leaning event next year. Who could headline? Foo Fighters Dave Grohl and co have just announced a string of Ireland dates for late August, just ahead of Reading & Leeds weekend. Could the band return to top the bill yet again in 2019? Arctic Monkeys Alex Turner and co have had a very busy summer since the release of ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’, headlining festivals across Europea including TRNSMT Festival in Glasgow during June. With a UK headline stint still to come in 2018, don’t be surprised if their touring plans extend to 2019. AM last headlined Reading & Leeds in 2014, so it could be about time they returned for a well-timed ‘Tranquility Base’ victory lap. The 1975 The 1975 have played Reading & Leeds three times in total, with the last time in 2016 seeing the group headline the NME/Radio 1 Stage. With two new albums on the way, Matty Healy and his band will have no shortage of tunes to plough through atop the Main Stage. Bring Me The Horizon Reading & Leeds has a history of secret sets from artists that would later go on to headline: Green Day and Foals to name a couple. Bring Me The Horizon surprised us by helping to open the first day on the Radio 1 Stage this year. Next year though, will Oli Sykes and gang be conquering the Main Stage? Their new album, ‘Amo’, has a 2019 release date, so don’t bet against it. They even recently spoke to NME about the possibility… Guns N’ Roses Guns N’ Roses may have headlined Reading & Leeds in 2010 and 2002, but neither of those were with their classic line-up. Slash and Duff are now back with Axl and such a booking would be a real crowd pleaser for the festival’s loyal base. Dua Lipa Dua’s had a massive 2018, and this shows no sign of stopping. She’s already reached the peak of the pop charts, but how would she fare topping the Reading & Leeds bill? If her 2018 rehearsal was anything to go by, then she’ll undoubtedly handle it with swagger and effortless cool. Green Day Green Day album ‘Dookie’ turns 25 in 2019 and the band have been busy recently rehearsing the classic record in full. Could they be preparing to bring ‘Basket Case’ and ‘When I Come Around’ to this side of the pond? We really hope so. My Chemical Romance Fans have been looking forward to a My Chemical Romance reunion ever since they called it a day back in 2013. Frontman Gerard Way has said he wouldn’t rule it out, so there’s reason to be somewhat optimistic. Make no mistake: MCR reuniting for Reading & Leeds would be absolutely huge. What are the latest bookies odds?