COVID vaccinations will be offered at Reading from 9:30 am-5 pm from the start of the festival through to Sunday (August 29), and from 9 am-1 pm on Monday (August 30). Whereas at Leeds, jabs will be available between 10 am and 4 pm from today through to Sunday, and from 8 am-11 am on Monday.

Health professionals will also be present at the festivals in order to offer advice and answer any questions that people may have, however anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be given the vaccine.

According to NME Dr Nikki Kanani, a GP and deputy lead for NHS England’s vaccination programme, stated “Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff and volunteers, more than half a million young people aged 16 and 17 have had their first dose as teams across the country have worked tirelessly to get their communities protected, vaccinating at convenient pop-up clinics in the park, at places of worship and stadiums, and now at Reading and Leeds. It is great to see the return of live music and performances, and as festival-goers head to the main stage this weekend to see their favourite headliners, I am also urging anyone who hasn’t to add the ‘vaccine tent’ to their festival itinerary to get that lifesaving vaccine as the best protection we can get from coronavirus.”

It should also be noted that if you decide to leave the site at any point you will need to again provide proof of your COVID status.

Please note: If you are leaving the site at any point over the weekend to go to your car, the shop, or elsewhere you will need to show proof of your Covid status again on re-entry. So don’t forget your lateral flows ‼️ pic.twitter.com/lf9JDQhroO

— Reading & Leeds Fest (@OfficialRandL) July 30, 2021

Festivalgoers were also previously offered the vaccine at Latitude 2021, which was one of the first festivals to be held at full capacity after the COVID restrictions were lifted.

For those attending the festival according to the Met Office,  both Reading and Leeds are likely to enjoy a dry weekend. There is a less than five per cent chance of rain across the entire period, though there is a slight increase to 10 per cent at some points. Attendees from both southern and northern legs could see highs of 21°

BREAKING: The 4 steps to lifting lockdown in England.

There will be weeks between each step: 4 weeks to reflect on the data followed by 1 week notice to be given to relevant sectors and the public. pic.twitter.com/7RTql0pV7S

— Daniel Hewitt (@DanielHewittITV) February 22, 2021

Music Venue Trust Mark Davyd has stated the the governments road map plan has given the organisation the go-ahead to begin ‘imagining how we revive live music in grassroots music venues and develop that work into the full return of the domestic music scene.’

From the 17th May, large performances up to a capacity of 1,000 people or half-full (whichever is lower for the venue) will be allowed. This could mean that smaller music venues and theatres will be allowed to put on shows and gigs to small crowds. This follows on from Johnsons discussion last week of having rapid testing for music venues and nightclubs to ensure these parts of the sector can open as they were unable to last year. Out-door venues of 4,000 people will also be allowed, or at hall-full capacity – whichever is lower.

Many in the music industry have called out to the government and Johnson to ensure that the music sector is not forgotten and supported equally throughout the rest of the pandemic. Greg Parmley, the CEO of LIVE has stated “While it is good to get some clarity following almost a year of confusion, as predicted our £4.5 billion industry is at the back of the queue to reopen. Any return to normality for live music could be months behind the rest of the economy. The Chancellor must acknowledge our extended closure in the Budget and provide the economic support needed to ensure the jobs and livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of people that work in our industry exist as we come through this pandemic.”

This includes extending the current 5% rate VAT on tickets sales, which was discussed to be risen to 20%, financially hurting those in live music extensively. Similarly, David Martin CEO of Featured Artists Coalition agrees with Parmley stating ‘there is some way to go’. Acknowledging a slower approach was correct, Martin said “the government should learn from its “slow response on income support and other financial assistance” last year.”

Smaller festivals such as Maiden Voyage have been 100% confirmed to go ahead by the government. Maiden Voyage have stated that they have been given ‘provisional confirmation from the government that our festival will be going ahead as planned this year.’ 

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A post shared by Maiden Voyage Festival (@maidenvoyagefestival)

However, the roadmap is reliant and based upon England passing four tests. These are the success of the vaccine rollout, the effectiveness of vaccines, how the NHS is coping with the current infection rate and any potential threats from new variants.

The story came from Billboard Magazine, who said the company wanted to use smartphones to verify fans were COVID free. This comes following news that drug company Pfizer had announced that it had developed a coronavirus vaccine which, in preliminary tests, was 90% effective.

Exclusive: How Ticketmaster plans to check your vaccine status for concerts https://t.co/A0wEC1uxbO

— billboard (@billboard) November 11, 2020

Ticketmaster have clarified in a statement to the BBC that they “are not forcing anyone to do anything” and the plan they had discussed with Billboard was just an idea they were exploring in order to bring live music back to it’s full capacity in the near future, after the music industry was basically destroyed by the ongoing global health crisis.

In a statement Ticketmaster have said; “Ticketmaster does not have the power to set policies around safety/entry requirements, which would include vaccines and/or testing protocols. That is up to the discretion of the event organiser. Ticketmaster continues to work with event organisers on all Covid safety measures and it will be up to each event organiser to set future requirements, based on their preferences and local health guidelines.”

According to the Billboard article Ticketmaster’s plan which would involve their own ticket app, third party health information firms and vaccine distribution providers. After purchasing a ticket, fans would need to verify they had been vaccinated or had tested negative for coronavirus 24 to 72 hours before a concert or sporting event. Test results would be delivered to a health pass company, such as CLEAR or IBM, at fans’ request, who would pass the information to Ticketmaster. If they are negative or vaccinated, Ticketmaster would issue digital tickets via their app, if positive, a fan would not be allowed access. 

There was a mixed reaction to these claims. Some people welcomed the plan as it meant they would be allowed to get back into the world quicker and back to live music. Others felt that this was an invasion of privacy and that Ticketmaster shouldn’t have access to your medical records. It is important to note that in this plan, Ticketmaster would not have access to medical records and would only receive verifications of whether a fan could attend an event or not.

People took to Twitter to share their opinions, US political commentator, Liz Wheeler said; “This is so creepy to require people to show proof of COVID vaccine. You shouldn’t have to reveal private health info in order to participate in society.” On the other hand, another person said; “I saw a tweet yesterday that said “Ticketmaster are gonna require a negative covid test or vaccine proof for concerts” and I was like THAT IS FINE JUST BRING THEM BACK. I miss seeing my friends and losing it together over our faves.”

Am I the only person that doesn’t have an issue with Ticketmaster requesting a COVID test or a vaccine? They’re not telling anybody to do anything, it’s completely your choice. I for one would like to enjoy concerts again and feel safe rather than panic about being in a crowd.

— Gabby M (@LittleEin) November 12, 2020

And there it is folks…the surveillance state now owns you.https://t.co/VKcfpuRfPQ

— Pomp (@APompliano) November 11, 2020