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

Tents were set on fire and other objects such as 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.

23-year-old Sarah who camped in yellow in Reading over the weekend told The Tab she and her group of mates ended up staying away on Sunday as they were worried they would “get trampled over or raided and the staff told us to watch our things.” Although the staff were reportedly quick at putting the fires out, by the time they had someone else had started another fire in a different area of the campsite.

In this TikTok you can see a tent up in flames whilst fireworks are let off and two other tent fires as well. It looked wild to say the least. One person in the comment section said: “What in the Woodstock 99?” and someone else described the event as looking like a “purge movie”. Others said they were literally fearing for their own lives. Chloe, who went to Reading festival, told The Tab they think the festivals have gotten worse over the years, “with everything being post pandemic, it’s escalated the antisocial behaviour.”

Someone else can be heard asking “Where’s security?” whilst an official staff member tried to put the flames out with water from a backpack.

Reading and Leeds Festival have been contacted for comment.

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