Reading Festival

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Discussion

GranpaB

Original Poster:

9,022 posts

42 months

Monday 29th August 2022
quotequote all
Well, looks like Reading festival made it to the news again for violence and disorder etc.

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshir...

I can't imagine this event going on for much longer and may even end up in being shut down permanently with the refusal to issue a licence in the future?


ben5575

6,588 posts

227 months

Monday 29th August 2022
quotequote all
GranpaB said:
Well, looks like Reading festival made it to the news again for violence and disorder etc.

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshir...

I can't imagine this event going on for much longer and may even end up in being shut down permanently with the refusal to issue a licence in the future?
My 16yo son was at Leeds. If you scroll down this article https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/29/read... the tent they set on fire was around 20m from where he pitched. It was a tent, a couple of chairs and a deodorant can (the explosion). The fire marshals let the kids put the fire out with their extinguishers.

As the police are quoted as saying in the article:

“While some reports of antisocial behaviour were received, no reports were made to West Yorkshire police regarding any serious disorder at the festival during the final night. We are aware of sporadic tent fires, which were dealt with by fire marshals on site, with persons then ejected. Police assistance was not required.”

So a complete non story.

Piersman2

6,633 posts

205 months

Monday 29th August 2022
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I picked my son up this morning from Reading, we live within a mile of the site.

I asked him how the weekend went. Some mention of some rowdiness last night, a few fires being lit after 6pm (the fire curfew) and them being swiftly sorted out by security. He said there was one fire that was a bit bigger than the others and people were heading over to see what it was, but it was mainly tents and chairs being bunged on.

One lad in the camp next to where they were got taken away because he wouldn't listen to the security when they put out their fire and was lighting the spray from a deodorant bottle and generelly being a cock, so they just bundled the lad away. But he was back this morning so we assume they took him somewhere on site to cool down.

Overall he said it was all very chill other than a spell last night when some groups of lads were running around being overly rowdy, but no real trouble, just the usual drunken/drugged idiots being idiots.

bloomen

7,235 posts

165 months

Monday 29th August 2022
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I thought this happened every single year without fail at those joints.

Terminator X

16,015 posts

210 months

Monday 29th August 2022
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Smacks of old farts not wanting kids to have some fun. 2 years of wasted youth to make up for after all.

TX.

dvs_dave

9,003 posts

231 months

Monday 29th August 2022
quotequote all
Sounds like business-as-usual. Been to many a festival over the years where on the last day people just set their broken/trampled/saturated 20 quid tents/chairs on fire because CBA to take them home. And impromptu bonfires are fun! May have partaken in it myself on a few a occasions. Always seemed like a good idea, at the time…lol.

anonymous-user

60 months

Monday 29th August 2022
quotequote all
Piersman2 said:
I picked my son up this morning from Reading, we live within a mile of the site.
Is he in he a wheelchair (my condolences) or don't his legs work? 1 mile ffs rolleyes

Challo

10,722 posts

161 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
quotequote all
GranpaB said:
Well, looks like Reading festival made it to the news again for violence and disorder etc.

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshir...

I can't imagine this event going on for much longer and may even end up in being shut down permanently with the refusal to issue a licence in the future?
Thousands of people visit Reading & Leeds each year. You will always get some idiots, and problems will always happen. It’s not like Woodstock 99, for Christ sake.

The event will carry on for many years to come.

survivalist

5,835 posts

196 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
quotequote all
Challo said:
GranpaB said:
Well, looks like Reading festival made it to the news again for violence and disorder etc.

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshir...

I can't imagine this event going on for much longer and may even end up in being shut down permanently with the refusal to issue a licence in the future?
Thousands of people visit Reading & Leeds each year. You will always get some idiots, and problems will always happen. It’s not like Woodstock 99, for Christ sake.

The event will carry on for many years to come.
This. Slow news day. There’s only so many times they can ‘report’ on energy prices.

rscott

15,202 posts

197 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
quotequote all
speedyguy said:
Piersman2 said:
I picked my son up this morning from Reading, we live within a mile of the site.
Is he in he a wheelchair (my condolences) or don't his legs work? 1 mile ffs rolleyes
You want him to carry the tent, etc 1 mile home?

DMN

3,016 posts

145 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
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Been happening since the 1990's. Part of the reason Leeds is no longer in Leeds.

Tankrizzo

7,471 posts

199 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
quotequote all
dvs_dave said:
Sounds like business-as-usual. Been to many a festival over the years where on the last day people just set their broken/trampled/saturated 20 quid tents/chairs on fire because CBA to take them home. And impromptu bonfires are fun! May have partaken in it myself on a few a occasions. Always seemed like a good idea, at the time…lol.
I've seen a few Le Mans campsites where morons start burning stuff too. It's not confined to teenagers.

Jamescrs

4,790 posts

71 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
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bloomen said:
I thought this happened every single year without fail at those joints.
I had the unfortunate experience of working at Leeds Festival around 16 years ago and it was just the same then. I know lots of people allow their 16yr old kids to go to the festivals as a post GCSE treat, no way in hell I would allow my own kids to go at 16 having seen it first hand.

A family friend allowed her 16 yr old son to go this year on a full weekend camping ticket, he's a sensible lad and left Saturday evening because all his mates were taking ketamine and he didn't want to be involved because he's hoping to turn pro as a rugby player and gets drug tested regularly.

ZedLeg

12,278 posts

114 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
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He could’ve just not taken the ketamine laugh

fridaypassion

9,200 posts

234 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
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I was amazed to see a few of my Facebook friends proudly packing off 16 year olds to the Leeds festival. These festivals are no place for 16 year olds! I say that as a retired raver and all up for kids enjoying themselves but unsupervised attendance of a festival is not something our kids will ever be able to do. That poor lad died at Leeds too. They should really not allow it I would guess this might rightly be a licensing issue for next year but honestly don't know what people are thinking allowing school leavers to go on their own.

ZedLeg

12,278 posts

114 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
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I started going to T in the Park when I was 14 in the mid 90s, had some amazing times. Aye the campsite was the wild west but I never saw anything worse than I would’ve seen going into town for a night out.

Dracoro

8,782 posts

251 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
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rscott said:
You want him to carry the tent, etc 1 mile home?
How heavy is that tent!! biggrin

PhilboSE

4,684 posts

232 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
quotequote all
My son went to Boardmasters this year. He said that the last night in the campsite was like The Purge, antisocial behaviour because there weren't any real consequences (like getting ejected).

People were running through the campsite just throwing themselves onto tents. Someone did this to my son's tent, breaking all the poles and ripping the fabric, and using the occupants to cushion their fall. Whoever it was landed on my son's girlfriend's knees, damaging the ligaments quite badly. She's been on crutches since, the rest of her summer is ruined and she had to pull out of some work experience she had lined up which was useful for her degree.

cossy400

3,252 posts

190 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
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As with festivals every year its "rince and repeat"

Violence
Disorder
Some young adult dying from drugs
probably some theft thrown in.

ben5575

6,588 posts

227 months

Tuesday 30th August 2022
quotequote all
fridaypassion said:
I was amazed to see a few of my Facebook friends proudly packing off 16 year olds to the Leeds festival. These festivals are no place for 16 year olds! I say that as a retired raver and all up for kids enjoying themselves but unsupervised attendance of a festival is not something our kids will ever be able to do. That poor lad died at Leeds too. They should really not allow it I would guess this might rightly be a licensing issue for next year but honestly don't know what people are thinking allowing school leavers to go on their own.
Leeds is basically just 16yos (like my son and the 30 other friends he went with from school). All came back safe and sound having had the time of their lives.

If you bring them up right and teach them how to look after themselves, you’ve got nothing to worry about.