Reading and Leeds Festival organisers have reportedly amped up their security measures in an attempt to “weed out” illegal onsite drug dealing operations. In an online article by the NME representatives/organisers say that the crackdown comes after the death of 16 year old Micheal Celino, who died last year at Leeds festival after taking MDMA that he had purchased from an on site dealer.
After taking the drug the teenager fell ill and was taken to hospital where he unfortunately died. The teenager’s parents called for a ban on under 18s attending future festivals. As part of an ongoing inquest into festival safety Festival republic managing director Melvin Benn said that it would be “very unlikely“ that an under 18 ban would be implemented, instead he proposed that “the festival will operate a drugs operation aimed at weeding out dealers and having them removed from site“.
New additional measures of high security have also been implemented in response to the teenagers death, these new measures include on site support hubs, beefed up security staff, sniffer search dogs on every entrance, all of which of course aim to reduce the risk of death to attendees who intend to imbibe illicit substances. Benn elaborated further explaining that “the intention is that no camper is 200m from a support hub“.
In recent years, despite its illegality, the reality of recreational drug uses relationship with music festivals has been reluctantly acknowledged but ultimately accepted by festival organisers, the official Reading and Leeds website even states that: “We do not recommend you take drugs, but if you do please bear the following in mind” on its drug policy page.
Practical precautions started to appear in the mid 2010s with the introduction of drug check kits distributed by British non-profit organisation The Loop in an attempt to reduce harm to drug takers. However despite the existence of progressive benevolent precaution providers like The Loop, according to The Guardian at least 14 younger people aged 18 or under have died as result of taking illicit drugs at a music festival, a statistic that points further towards the need for honest and open drug education and awareness instead of inspiring endless debates that subject those that willingly choose to use drugs to supplementary stigmatisation.
On a lighter note last month Reading and Leeds festival confirmed that The 1975 would be the events final headliners after Lewis Capaldi dropped out. This years other headliners include Billie Eilish, The Killers, Foals, Imagine Dragons and Sam Fender. Other acts also included in this years line up are Wet Leg, Steve Lacy, Bicep, Becky Hill, Central Cee and many many more. Reading and Leeds Festival takes place on 25th-27th of August 2023.
