No terms pertaining to the 2021 Reading Festival have been agreed on, according to the Reading Borough Council. Last week, Reading Festival organisers Festival Republic reacted to Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown with their own confirmation: the festival will go ahead. Taking to twitter, they announced: “Reading and Leeds 2021. Following the government’s recent announcement, we can’t wait to get back to the fields this summer. LET’S GO #RandL21″. However, Speaking at Reading’s Covid-19 Outbreak Engagement Board meeting on Friday, Councillor Graeme Hoskin downplayed the prospect of the festival taking place this summer, saying that “nothing has been agreed” despite the announcement.
READING n LEEDS c’mon you fuckers LG x
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) February 24, 2021
Hoskin said: “What’s become apparent from comments on social media and people contacting the council is that some people are under the impression that the council has approved Reading Festival taking place this summer. That is not the case. Reading has not, and nor has anyone else, agreed anything. But, certainly, the announcement is the intention of Reading Festival to happen. That is going to be a major item for our licensing department and various other national bodies to consider but nothing has been agreed by the council.”
Festival Republic director Melvin Benn told The Guardian “We’re enthusiastic, we’re excited, and we’re certain that it’s going to go ahead”. However, he added that the event is not insurance as it was then impossible to buy, but added that he is hopeful the government will include an insurance package “in some form or another”.
Earlier this year, organisers Michael and Emily Eavis of the Glastonbury music festival – the largest of its kind in Europe – announced the event would be cancelled for the second year in a row. Since 2020, the Reading and Leeds Festival has been on course to take place, with the the star-studded lineup – including headliners Stormzy, Post Malone and Liam Gallagher, as well as Yungblud, Doja Cat and Lewis Capaldi – revealed late last summer. Following last week’s confirmation, the event has now sold out all tickets. In a statement published on the festival website, the organisers wrote: “After the year we had, it was always going to happen. We never lost faith, and today we’re excited to say that – thanks to everyone who managed to purchase a ticket – Reading Festival 2021 is now officially SOLD OUT. It’s going to be a summer to remember, and we can’t wait to welcome you back into the fields.”
