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.”

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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.

Benn, in referencing the stage changes, told NME, “There are always changes in the artists, but there will be to the stages as well. It’s a mix of all sorts of things, really. I’m not quite ready to announce it yet, but I’m really very excited about it.”

As for the possible headliners for next year’s Reading & Leeds festival, Benn was quick to rule out the likes of Yungblud, Paramore, Dua Lipa, Drake and Queens Of The Stone Age, lightheartedly replying, “You’ve lost a lot of money” in response to the interviewer’s claim of betting on the aforementioned acts to perform at next year’s event.

Others, though, may be well in the mix, including Central Cee, whom Benn has said of, “The trajectory of Central Cee is just incredible. He played Wireless Festival last year and it was an explosion in that sense with a really big crowd compared to what he’d been having. He’s really worked it since then. He’s getting breakthroughs in the US and working with some really important artists, and it just feels like he’s got a great future. I’m not going to say he’s going to be a future headliner because I don’t want to give anyone that burden. I felt like it was a burden I’d given to Foals. They came through with it, but I don’t want to do that again.”

Lewis Calpaldi, who unfortunately had to pull out of this year’s festival, and who was ultimately replaced by The 1975, is always welcome back to perform a headline show at Reading & Leeds, with Benn stating, “I think there will always be an open offer, but at the same time the only thing that needs to be thought about is Lewis’ health. We certainly wouldn’t be having a discussion prior to Lewis’ health being right.”

Rage Against The Machine, however, are a band that are unlikely to feature after cancelling last year, as Benn spoke about their potential return, “It’s not an agenda item at the moment, let’s put it that way. Rage are a US-based act and would very rarely do one-off shows, so it would need to fit in to a lot more scheduling.”

Additionally, Benn has also confirmed that a headliner has in fact been chosen for 2024 already, stating, “We have one of the headliners confirmed, and have had them confirmed for a little while actually. They’ve headlined in the past so we know their strength with it and we’re pleased with that.”

‘While the club shows and the Sefton Park pilot were effectively events that were designed to ensure the enablement of reopening on June 21, the camping event, because it’s three or four days, will actually be about testing the protocol of how to deal with anyone that might have Covid at the event. It’s about testing the protocols around using Covid certification on the NHS app, and it’s also around testing the protocols of what the SAGE [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] scientists here in the UK want, which is at-home testing for all attendees that don’t have the vaccination and that are not immune.’ The organiser explains.

The area that could cause potential trouble is not the venue itself, because the organisers will know how to look after the crowd while respecting the guidelines, but public transports: ‘It’s large amounts of people squashed, with no circulation, on buses coming into Glasgow city centre, or coming on tubes into Wembley Stadium,’ he stated. ‘I believe that’s the area they are more concerned about, compared to the actual venues themselves – particularly outdoor venues.’

Benn hopes that the event could potentially take place in mid-June. While being aware that politicians are ‘are a little more reticent’ about this proposal, he is sure that ‘the scientists will persuade them, because [home testing] is the only practical way forward’ he stated, admitting that enough of the UK population is vaccinated. ‘Remarkably, the UK Government appears to have a coherent plan, and it seems like we’re going in a good direction.’

‘It could have easily been two years without festivals. If this event hadn’t happened, I’d have been worried it would have been a long time before we got back to a festival. For me it’s very emotional, a lot of my staff were in tears, tears of joy really so fantastic.’ He stated. ‘This is a pilot event and I’ve been pushing to create something like this for a year now’ the organiser told NME. ‘What I’ve been saying for the whole year is, if we adequately test people before they come into a gig, there’s no reason why the gig can’t happen.‘

Although COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the music industry, the managing director remained positive: ‘I never lost hope to be honest,’ he stated. ‘Will everybody still have to be tested by then? I suspect we will still have to test people, but of course a lot of people will have the vaccination already and that will probably mean they won’t need to be tested. We’ll wait and see what the government say but what we will know is that if it’s done properly it won’t increase the spread of the virus.’

Reading and Leeds Festivals are also ready to host international acts, and Melivn Benn previously shared his positivity in regards to them traveling and performing safely. ‘I can’t comment on other festivals, but the international acts that are playing Reading & Leeds are telling me that if it’s safe to come then they’re coming. That’s all I know. They’re being very explicit at this point in time. I’m very much looking forward to them fulfilling that. The reality is that we’re going to have a great line-up and a great festival come what may.’