The organiser behind huge festival Reading & Leeds, Melvin Benn, has spoken to NME on the opening day of the event and revealed the plans for the festival next year, stating they had already booked some of the headliners for 2026.
In the interview, he also revealed details of changes to the camping design with new sections, made specifically for solo punters, eco-friendly visitors, the LGBTQ+ community and many more.
He shared: “I think it’s not just the biggest overhaul in the festival’s history, but in all festivals’ history. I was reflecting, and I realised that I was here in the ‘70s, and the campsite hadn’t changed very much since then! Reading Festival is always perceived as just for 16-year-olds, but actually, there are a lot of other age groups here. So the idea that we would have a calm campsite for people who don’t want to stay up all night had been knocking on my door for a little while,” he adds. “So I had the idea that we would have a campsite that focused on the LGBT+ community, and a women’s campsite, and an eco campsite, and one for people that come on their own. The response has been wonderful. I mean, much better than I anticipated.”
“We invested a lot more money into the toilets and the showers and these ‘Get Ready With Me’ stations— and the idea that people would want to blow dry their hair at a festival is not something I would have anticipated 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago. But this new generation want to do that, and I’m glad to be able to provide it for them.”
The organiser also shared his excitement about receiving huge artists such as Bring Me The Horizon, Hozier, Chappell Roan and more whilst also taking pride in the very diverse lineup this year: “Ultimately, their popularity stands out because we have to book artists that will fill the audience, but it’s also about what today’s ticket buyer wants. I think across the three nights we’ve ticked absolutely every box.”
Melvin stayed honest in the fact that he kept his eye open for potential headliners this year, hinting that some acts might come back for the 2026 festival: “There are two or three on the bill this year that I think are future headliners… but I’ve stopped predicting that to the public because I think it’s a burden on the artists to say, ‘You’re tipped as being a future headliner… but will you be?’ One of the things that we do here is give acts a chance to go through the ranks. Let them start on one of the smaller stages and come all the way through.”
“I’ve already got headliners for two of the three nights booked already for next year, and I’m really confident about the artists. I feel like we’re in a stronger position than I can remember for an awfully long time. I can’t remember when I’ve ever had two of the three nights booked by this stage. We’ve had one booked by this stage, but I can’t remember ever having two of the three.”
Reading & Leeds took place last weekend and so an enormous amount of artists showcase their most incredible sets like Chappell Roan and her fairy magic or Bring Me The Horizon and their outspokenness for a free world and a free Palestine.
