The annual Readipop festival will not occur in 2025 due to the financial strain. The festival is put together and run by the charity Readipop. According to the official Readipop Instagram, the 2024 festival costs were a lot more than the income and they simply cannot keep ticket costs down and run the festival despite usually attracting around 5,000 people to the event.
Readipop is a registered charity created in 1998. It aims to improve people’s lives by helping them make music. They work with young people, older people and aspiring artists to improve their outlook and the communities around them. Their work is based in Thames Valley and Reading, and according to their website, from 2022-2023, they provided 310 hours of music mentoring, had 5248 attendees, and put on 14 performances by their young people. In 2024, the festival went ahead from 12-14 July in Reading.
Artists such as Fabio & Grooverider, Northern Irish group Ash and Britpop group Echobelly all headlined across the three days. The festival also offered ‘AAA Takeovers’, or access to all areas takeovers, to show the behind-the-scenes of artists signed to the charities’ Riser music label and a family area where there were dance workshops. Reading’s Indie Market also came to the festival over the weekend section of the festival, offering crafts and clothing stores, and Purple Turtle bars sold craft beers.
In an official statement on the Readipop website, the founder, Gavin Lambos, has said that they will be taking time to evaluate the festival and it’s inner workings to make it more effective for everyone. According to the BBC, in a radio interview, Lambos raised the point that similar things are happening across the UK with independent festivals, especially after the pandemic. Whilst they took the time and recovered, there are other things such as other bigger festivals and rising costs for most things in the UK that they cannot contend with at the moment. They simply cannot afford the costs and keep ticket prices down, which ultimately leads festivals to be cancelled or postponed.
It’s not all bad news though, as Readipop have revealed that there will be a newly opened studio at Trafford Road for which they will be having a launch event.
Whilst talking to the BBC, the founder said “We’ll be taking time to re-evaluate the structure and inner workings of the festival to make it more effective for everyone involved.” Hopefully the festival will be back in the future and better than ever in a different format, depending on costs and other obstacles. But for now, the Readipop Festival 2025 will not go ahead.
