Reading Festival organisers have abandoned some of the campsites for this year’s event starting on Friday (August 24), as recent floodwaters in the area have failed to recede.
Situated next to the river Thames, Reading was severely affected by last month’s floods and some of the site remains under water.
“We have recovered to a large extent but not fully and a fair amount of the site is still not campable today,” festival organiser Melvin Benn warned the fans on the official website.
He added: “It has been a challenge. The summer has been bloody awful.”
Main stage and all the arenas where the Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Arcade Fire will play, should be “fine” according to the organisers but some campsites are ‘boggy’ and others will remain “unusable” throughout the weekend. To counter the lack of camping space, Orange car park has now become a campsite for the fans.
But festival goers need not fret about the weather during the bash. Weekend forecasts have been quite favourable, some sun is expected, and organisers are adamant that the festival will pass without a hitch despite the difficulties.
Organiser Melvin Benn optimistically concluded: “We will be able to stage the world’s greatest rock festival despite what climate change and the weather have thrown at us.”
“I always said the festival was more important than the weather!”
To see what campsites are unusable and are being rearranged, visit the official Carling Reading/Leeds Festival Weekend website here.