A complete rundown of all the carnage that took place inside Reading and Leeds festival

Whoever did a number two right outside someone’s tent deserves hell


Reading and Leeds Festival 2022 was pure carnage and anyone who was there can vouch for that. Since the festival ended, reports have surfaced online claiming bottles of piss were thrown, tents were ripped to shreds and set alight, armed officers came in and someone even did a poo right outside a randomers tent. It was evil.

So in case you’re too old to go or your parents refused to buy you a ticket, here’s everything that went down inside Reading and Leeds Festival.

It started in the pouring rain

Right from the get go we should have known this festival was going to be cursed considering how many viral TikTok videos we all saw of people standing ankle deep in the rain inside their tents.

Throwing bottles of piss

Someone described the festival as being “like a scene from the Walking Dead” as tents were torched and bottles of urine were lobbed about. In this TikTok below you can see bottles of urine flying across campsites above tents.

@yxng.trenz

Let’s not talk about the tents on fire or that guy who got tapped to a pole in midair💀 #readingfestival #readingfestival2022 #madness #rugbyunion

♬ Free – Ultra Naté

Tents were set alight

Tents were set on fire and other objects like bottles of urine were thrown across campsites at Reading and Leeds festivals this year. Several videos have surfaced online showing tents being set on fire on Sunday night, a night known as “purge night”.

People were also filmed throwing chairs and even more tents into the open flames. One woman claimed she had to pull her sleeping friend from her tent which was so close to another one that was set alight. Someone who attended Leeds Festival told Mail Online it was all down to kids being out of control. They said: “Sixteen-year-olds were running around, messing with things and starting fires everywhere. Fires were popping up nonstop from 12 until 2am. They would get so big that the officials would come over.” People were apparently checking inside tents before lighting them up but others were scared to even sleep in case they would be set alight in the middle of the night.

Also not to mention tents were literally exploding in orange camp up in Leeds.

@_jenko1578

Spent my whole shift today dealing with fires today, got no arm hair left after this 😂 #leeds #leeds2022 #orangecamp #fyp #UnlimitedHPInk #GenshinTeleport

♬ Oh no, oh no, oh no, no no – Hip Hop

Regarding the tent fires, a spokesperson from Reading and Leeds Festival told The Tab: “There were some fires in the campsite on Sunday, but festival security had water pumps and extinguished these within minutes. There was some disorder in the campsite at about 4.30pm on Sunday, but this was dealt with within minutes by festival security and about fifty people were ejected from the site. Those ejected were safeguarded by the festival organisers, Thames Valley Police, and British Transport Police to ensure they could get home safely.

“While some reports of anti-social 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.

People were ‘told not to sleep because it’s not safe’

23-year-old Sarah told The Tab members of staff at Reading festival warned her to look after her belongings, and another festival-goer said staff advised her to not sleep as it wouldn’t be safe.

Chloe Rocke posted a video of a tent on fire and said: “The fire I filmed was a couple of paces from our tent, and everyone was adding more and more stuff to it. When the wardens came around to get everyone away, everyone booed them and called them names. Security told people to just stay awake in case there were more fires and didn’t really seem to be doing anything. We didn’t feel safe and left the festival at 2am.”

Someone did a poo outside another person’s tent

This is so, so evil. How can so many people be this uncivilised? I get festival toilets aren’t great at the best of times but there’s no need for this.

Armed police carrying assault rifles

A video posted onto TikTok showed armed police carrying assault rifles swooping in and removing an alleged suspect from the event. The Thames Valley Armed Response Unit entered the festival and arrested someone behind a food van. The TikTok then showed the alleged suspect being escorted out of the festival grounds, followed by the suspect on the ground with his hands behind his back, surrounded by officers.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

Reading and Leeds Festival ruined by tents being set on fire and antisocial behaviour

Tributes paid to ‘beautiful, fiercely independent’ 16-year-old boy who died at Leeds Festival

Bucket hats, homemade garms, and Greggs: All the best outfits from Reading Festival 2022