Reading and Leeds festival has joined up with the Just vote campaign and are offering the chance to win free tickets for those who register to vote. Festival republic, the festival’s organisers, are offering tickets as competition prizes for 18-34-year-olds if they are registered to vote, as part of the ‘Crash the Party’ movement which is part of the Just Vote campaign. This is an urgent campaign to get young people to vote.
Melvin Benn who is the managing director of festival republic said that “Reading and Leeds are among the country’s biggest gatherings of young people and sit at the very heart of youth culture.” When talking about this younger generation of adults he added that “it is vital that their voices be heard at the general election. He also highlighted the importance of the music industry for positive change saying that ” Just Vote is a great way to empower our audiences to channel their energy into exercising their democratic right at this historic moment.”
Dale Vince who is the founder of the Just Vote campaign, said that “This is the most important general election of our lifetime, and the UK music scene has immense cultural influence which can mobilise young people to make their voice heard on 4 July.”
He also encouraged festival headliners and performers to endorse the movement “We’re also calling on the UK’s musicians to use your platforms to rally young people to register and then get out and vote. Artists playing these festivals – if you see this please get involved and help spread the word about the Just Vote campaign: the future of our country depends on young people having a say!”
Reading and Leeds will take place on the August bank holiday weekend from the 23rd to the 25th and will see headliners Liam Gallagher, Blink 182, Fred again, Lana Del Rey, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon as well as many more huge names.
As well as Reading and Leeds, Glastonbury have also joined the initiative and are running a competition to win tickets to the festival later this month where young people will have the chance to win 2 tickets if they are registered to vote and sign up for reminders about key election moments. Glastonbury will also have a ‘Crash the Party’ installation that will be interactive, reminding people at the festival to vote in the week following.
Glastonbury will be headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and Sza with the organisers revealing the full lineup earlier this week including the full set times for the festival.
Other ‘Crash the Party’ participants include Boomtown Festival, Love Saves The Day Festival, Music Venues Trust, Night Time Industries Association, The O2, OVO Arena Wembley, Rough Trade, Save Our Scene, Secret Garden Party plus many more.
