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Reading & Leeds festivals 2010
The joint three-day Reading & Leeds festivals conspire to form one of the biggest musical events on the UK festival calendar. Here's a brief look at what you can expect in Reading & Leeds 2010...
As the UK's only major three-day dual-venue music events, the Reading & Leeds festivals attract tens of thousands of music fans in what's become one of the biggest blow-outs of the UK summer.
What is it and where did it come from?
The Reading & Leeds Festivals - formerly known as the Carling Weekend - are dual festivals which take place in Leeds and Reading (surprisingly) over three days on August bank holiday weekend every year. Both events feature identical lineups, with bands travelling between the two venues to perform on alternate days. The Reading & Leeds festivals are designed to cater to gig-goers in the north and south of England, but also attract thousands of revellers from across Europe, America, and beyond. Of the two venues, the Reading site at Little John's Farm attracts the biggest crowd, packing in over 80,000 over the course of the weekend. The Leeds leg moved from its original home at Temple Newsam to Bramham Park in 2003, after the license for the Temple Newsam site was revoked following repeated violence and riots. Since taking up residence on the beautiful Bramham Park estate near Wetherby, there has not been a repeat of the problems that dogged the event at its original venue.
Although a three-day event which starts on the Friday and ends on the Sunday (something which confuses many folks, given that the August bank holiday weekend runs from Saturday to Monday) , the Reading & Leeds festival venues open their doors at 3am on the Thursday, allowing the crowds to filter in and pitch their tents in good time. The camp sites at both venues are huge festival tent cities spread over wide areas and, in some cases, quite a way from the stages, making it essential for attendees to make a note of exactly where they are (add beer and darkness to the equation, and finding your tent can prove to be nigh-on impossible!).
Who can I see at the Reading & Leeds Festivals 2010?
Being a three-day lineup spread over no fewer than seven stages, the number of bands appearing at Reading & Leeds Festivals in 2010 is huge. Main stage highlights include: Guns N Roses, Queens of the Stoneage, Blink 182, the Libertines and Arcade Fire. Across the other stages, the likes of Klaxons, Pendulum, Lost Prophets and Limp Bizkit are perhaps the main pullers, with a notable lack of pop acts creating something of a variety gap not found at other major festivals this summer. However, the campsite DJs, comedy tent, 5-a-side football pitches, and huge funfair all make up for the slight lack of variety on the music bill, making Leeds & Reading more than just music festivals, and instead something of a halfway house between the outright commercialism of the V Festivals and the much more indie Glastonbury.
The first thing to know is that weekend tickets for both venues are now sold out, so there'll be no rolling up on the Thursday with a brand new festival tent under your arm expecting to buy a weekend ticket on the gate. If you have got a ticket, it's worth knowing the Leeds & Reading Festivals are hotbeds for new talent, so if you want to be able to come out with the old favourite and incredibly cool "I saw them before they were big" line in years to come, then get down to the smaller stages and put down roots for the afternoon. The weather is generally pretty good over the August bank holiday weekend, but if the heavens do open you'll need to make sure you're adequately covered, so a decent festival tent is essential, as are key camping essentials such as sleeping bags, stoves, and for those 'champagne' campers amongst you, inflatable mattresses. Shuttle buses to both sites run from various points around Reading and Leeds, but beware that regular local bus services might be subject to change due to temporary traffic arrangements close to the venues.
Looking for tents and camping gear for Leeds & Reading Festivals 2010?
If you're going to be pitching a tent at Reading or Leeds, check out our range of high quality branded outdoor and camping gear before you go. All of our products have been rigorously tested, and we're totally confident that when you buy from us, you won't be disappointed. To see our full range of gear from some of the world's leading brands, including Coleman, Gelert, Camping Gaz, and many, many more - go to our homepage. Alternatively, give us a call us on 08452 577293 (local rate).
