Your guide to Reading Festival 2026

One of the UK's biggest festivals returns to Berkshire this week.

Reading Festival will welcome about 100,000 people, with headliners Charli xcx, Chase & Status, Raye, Florence and the Machine, Fontaines D.C. and Dave taking to the stage.

The annual festival will run from Thursday 27 August to Sunday 30 August at Richfield Avenue.

Here is some information to help you prepare for the event.

In addition to the headliners, this year's line-up includes Skepta, Declan Mckenna, Sombr, Gunna, Loyle Carner and Role Model.

Other artists taking to the stage include:

• Geese
• Skye Newman
• Josh Baker
• Viagra Boys
• Max Dean b2b Luke Dean
• Kneecap
• Men I Trust
• Kettama
• Chris Stassy
• Special Guest
• Hybrid Minds
• Arthur Hill
• Mall Grab
• Hedex
• Jade
• Rossi.
• Bou
• Kingfishr
• Nine Vicious
• SINN6R
• Duke Dumont
• Maisie Peters
• Holly Humberstone
• James Marriott
• Paris Paloma
• Silva Bumpa
• SOTA
• Slayyyter
• Clara La San
• Julia Wolf
• YT
• Niko B
• Keo
• Wisp
• Florence Road
• Omar+
• Luuk Van Dijk
• Overpass
• Beth McCarthy
• Absolutely
• After
• Notion
• Riordan
• WHATMORE

The full list can be found here.

Weekend and Early Entry ticket holders can enter the campsites from 18:00 BST on Wednesday.

Weekend ticket holders can enter campsites from 08:00 on Thursday.

The campsite is open 24-hours-a-day and individuals can arrive at any time after they are permitted to enter.

The campsite will close at midday on Monday.

Those who are leaving and returning after 20:00 on Sunday will need to get their hands stamped on their way out to be able to return later.

Those with day tickets cannot re-enter the arena once they leave.

However those with a weekend ticket can leave and re-enter the arena and campsites.

Thursday: 17:00 – 03:00

Friday: 11:00 – 03:00

Saturday: 11:00 – 03:00

Sunday: 11:00 – 03:00

Disposable BBQs are not permitted on site due to the hot weather and dry ground conditions.

Campfires are also not permitted and anyone found lighting one will be evicted.

Organisers are urging festivalgoers to be mindful of cigarette disposal and to not dispose of cigarette butts on the ground.

Prohibited items for the arena and campsites include:

• Aerosols (over 250ml)
• Air horns
• Animals (other than registered hearing dogs or guide dogs)
• Balloons
• Barbecues of any kind
• Blowtorches
• Drones and other flying devices
• Fitted gas canisters/cylinders are only permitted in camper vans in the campsites
• Firewood
• Fireworks/pyrotechnics, flares/distress flares, smoke bombs
• Gas cylinders/canisters of any size for non-cooking purposes (including nitrous oxide)
• Glass bottles, jars, containers over 100ml. Items under this measurement, such as small perfume bottles, nail varnish, and small mirrors will be permitted
• Illegal substances (drugs) and legal highs, herbal highs, new psychoactive substances and unidentifiable substances.
• Megaphone
• Motorcycle helmets

Drug detection dogs will be operating throughout the event.

All customers are permitted to bring a small amount of food for personal consumption into the arena.

Accessibility customers are permitted to bring additional food in excess of the usual amount into the arena.

All customers are permitted to bring a sealed, unopened 500ml bottle of water or soft drink into the arena.

The full list of what you can and cannot bring can be found here.

Reading Borough Council has asked people travelling to the town centre ahead of the festival to be prepared for longer travel times.

Parking restrictions, including no stopping for pick-ups, will be in place around the Richfield Avenue site as normal.

The Hills Meadow Car Park will be the dedicated area for drop offs and pick ups and people attending the festival can either walk to the site or use free shuttle buses.

Other festival car parking will be available at Kings Meadow and Mapledurham and a pedestrian bridge has been built to ensure easy and safe access at the latter.

Reading Buses are running a shuttle bus service which picks up and drops-off at:

Festival Side

Service 97/98 – Thames Side Promenade, Reading

Reading Town

Service 98 – Reading Station North, stop ND

Service 97 – Sainsburys Friar Street, Reading

At Kings Meadow, an official festival boat service will be provided free of charge for people going to the site.

The Thames Path will be closed between Scours Lane and the far end of Thameside Promenade from 19:00 to 06:00 on Thursday to Monday.

The council and festival organisers have produced official travel information, along with a wider information page.