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The Essentials
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The Essentials

We welcome all ages to the festival. However, there are entry restrictions for under 16s and we do advise not bringing young children. All under 16s (15 years and under) must be accompanied by an adult ticket holder aged 18 or over who must remain on site throughout the weekend as the under 16-year-old's guardian. No unaccompanied under 16s are allowed on site. Under 13s (12 years and under) are admitted free but must be accompanied by a paying ticket-holder aged 18 or over at all times. ID may be required to prove Under 13's. It is the responsibility of the adult(s) to determine the correct ratio of supervising adults to under 18s, taking into account the age, needs and abilities of the children, the nature of the Event and any applicable guidelines. We do not act in any parental or supervisory capacity for under 18s on site. This does not affect our legal duties to any attendee in respect of, or obligation to comply with, any applicable laws including health and safety or licensing laws.

For information purposes only, age checks will also be carried out on the entrance gates.

Please note our policy has changed from Challenge 21 > Challenge 25.

Please bring ID if you look under 25 years old and remember that legally there is no automatic right to be served alcohol. Service is always at the discretion of the licensee for whatever reason they decide, and the licensee is under no obligation to explain the reason.

The following forms of identification are accepted:

A Passport (Not a photocopy)
Full Driving Licence or Provisional Licence
A Proof of Age Card bearing a PASS hologram
A Ministry of Defence identity card
A National identity card issued by an EU member state
Please bring the original document as you won’t be able to use a photocopied version. If you don’t have any of these, or don’t want to lose valuable documents on site, we suggest that you apply for a PASS approved ID, some of which are free to get.

Please note, your ID must be in date in order to be valid.

Young Children
Whilst we do allow under 13s to attend for free, we do suggest that this event is not suitable for young children. If you do want to bring children along we advise camping in one of the White Campsites which tend to be our quieter campsites.

On entering the event, children will be given paper wristbands which have space for you to write your telephone number (as a parent or guardian). We can use this as a primary contact to reunite you. Replacements can be picked up at the Welfare Tents or info points.

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Pleaste note:

‍Empty Resuable Plastic and Metal Bottles areallowed into the campsite and arenas

Coffee cups must be empty

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CAMPING STOVE UPDATE

Reading festival have decided that due to the change in weather conditions, camping stoves compliant with the ‘What You Can and Can’t Bring’ section of the website will be permitted into the campsites.

Only permitted types of camping stoves will be allowed, so please take time to check the requirements in advance or your stove may not be allowed in.

Reminder: Disposable BBQs are not permitted on site. Please do not bring them.

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

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Please be mindful of cigarette disposal and do not dispose of cigarette butts on the ground.

There will be no receipts issued for any confiscated/surrendered items and they will not be available to collect after the festival.

You may be subject to more enhanced searches of bags and personal belongings. We request that you cooperate with any security requests and searches. Please pack light!

Please note, campfires and disposable BBQs are banned from both the campsite and the arena in 2026 For detailed guidance on camping stoves and fuels please see here.

Prohibited Items for Arena & Campsites

Aerosols (over 250ml)
Air Horns
Animals (other than registered hearing dogs or guide dogs)
Any goods for unauthorised trading with unauthorised Reading Festival logos
Anything that could reasonably be considered for use as a weapon including oversized lighters or any item which may cause danger, offence or disruption to any other person
Balloons
Balaclavas, ski masks, face coverings
BBQs of any kind
Blowtorches
Candles & Incense
Catapults
Chinese / Sky lanterns / Paper Lanterns / Kites
Clothing/Garments/Items which promote Cultural Appropriation
Drones and other flying devices
Excessive amounts of food (i.e. more than for personal consumption)***
Fitted Gas Canisters/Cylinders are only permitted in Campervans in the campsites
Firewood
Fire / Campfire / Fire baskets / Fire Pits / Chimeneas
**Flat based cooking stoves (for personal use only): Meth Stoves, Trangia Stoves, Solid Fuel Stove / Hexi Stoves (with fuel blocks/firelighters), Gel Fuel, Greenheat Basecamp Cooker, Firelighter Stoves are only permitted in the campsites. Please note – fuel limited to maximum of 1L per stove and maximum and only gas canisters of 250g or less
Fireworks/Pyrotechnics, Flares/Distress Flares, Smoke Bombs
Gas Canisters for cooking stoves (250ml or less – maximum of x4 per stove) are only permitted in the campsites
Gas cylinders / canisters of any size for non cooking purposes (including nitrous oxide)
Generators (unless fitted in campervans)
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
Nitrous Oxide and any items associated with the taking of NPS and/or NOS (including but not limited to balloons, whipped cream dispensers, water crackers/CO2 dispensers)
Penknife / Multi-tools
Petrol Burner
Laser equipment and pens
Large sound systems are prohibited. Small, battery-powered portable speakers are permitted for personal use only in the campsites if they are handheld (max 20cm x 20cm x 20cm), cannot be linked to other speakers, and are used at a low volume that does not disturb others; non-compliant items will be confiscated.
Single use Vapes – refillable vapes still permitted.
Skateboards and rollerblades, hover-boards, scooters, bicycles, and other personal motorized and non-motorized vehicles
Spray cans
Unauthorized professional cameras, film or video equipment. Including professional camera equipment (e.g., camera stand, lenses), radios or walkie talkies
Unauthorized solicitation or marketing materials (e.g., handbills, flyers, stickers)
Unofficial tabards and reflective/high vis jackets
Weapons
Cameras, film or video equipment with lenses more than 6 inches. **Please note, professional cameras and video / audio equipment are strictly prohibited
Excessive amounts of cigarettes (ie. more than for personal consumption) will be confiscated

Prohibited Items for Arena ONLY

Alcohol for personal consumption
Audio Recorders
Bags larger than A4 size***
Blankets
Camping Equipment including cutlery, tin openers (permitted in campsites for weekend camping ticket holders only) - Leatherman style multi tools are not permitted
Cans
Chairs / Stools / Inflatable Loungers/ Floor Seating / Shooting Sticks
Sealed drinks bottles (No Glass) - Only sealed soft drinks under 500ml are permitted into the arena***
Flags, flags with poles, banners
Gazebos and parasols
Selfie Sticks
Golf Umbrellas

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** Stove fuel limited to maximum of 1L per stove and maximum of x4 gas canisters of 250mls or less per stove. Any liquid fuel such as Meth Stoves (with 1L methylated fuel/spirit max) and/or Trangia Stoves (1L Trangia fuel max) should be in an appropriate approved container to ensure that it can be used and stored safely.

Accessibility Customers – Prohibited Item Policy

Food:
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.
(This increased allowance applies to accessibility customers only and not to essential companions or friends and family).

Drink:
All customers are permitted to bring a sealed, unopened 500ml bottle of water or soft drink into the arena.
Accessibility customers are permitted to bring one sealed, unopened bottle up to 1.5l of water or soft drink into the arena.
(This increased allowance applies to accessibility customers only and not to essential companions or friends and family).

Bag Restrictions in the Arena:
For security reasons, we ordinarily only permit customers to bring a small bag (A4 size) into the arena.
Accessibility customers are entitled to bring a bigger bag into the arena.
(One bag only per accessibility customer).

Festival Republic do not condone any usage of drugs at Pepsi MAX presents Reading Festival. Drug Detection Dogs will be operating throughout the event. Please don’t be alarmed; they are here for the safety of everyone.

The Event is produced for the enjoyment of all attendees. We reserve the right to evict anyone from site for the reasons outlined below. The decision whether to evict will be at the discretion of the Eviction Team / Security Coordinator following advice from security personnel.

Reasons for eviction:

Entering or being inside the Event without a ticket or relevant pass/ wristband;
Unacceptable, disruptive or anti-social behaviour; *
Having been arrested or cautioned in connection with a criminal offence, pending or post-hand-over to the Police.
*Unacceptable behaviour that can lead to eviction includes but is not limited to:

Illegal activity;

breaching the terms and conditions of entry;
failing to submit to a search as a condition of entry:
harassing or causing distress to staff or other attendees including (but not limited to) sexual harassment, discrimination, abusive behaviour, and offensive language;
filming or photographing staff in a manner likely to constitute harassment or cause distress
throwing any objects in the direction of people;
encouraging others to behave badly by incitement;
preventing security or emergency responders reacting to a situation;
building or fueling fires including throwing gas canisters onto fires;
committing a criminal offence but not arrested by the police;
in possession of unlawful drugs;
unofficially selling alcohol, tobacco, counterfeit goods or any other unauthorised goods;
ticket touting;
any other behaviour that leaves the Event open to prosecution or is not conducive to maintaining a safe Event.
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All evictees will be processed via Eviction Team / Security Coordinator, and their wristbands / tickets will be removed to prevent them from re-entering the Event.
All persons presented for eviction by security will be interviewed by the Eviction Team / Security Coordinator who are independent of security, and their details will be recorded in a database with their full personal details, a photograph, date and time and the reasons for eviction.
All evictees will be able to make a free telephone call if they do not have a mobile phone to contact members of their group and/or family.
Evictees will need to phone a friend at the Event to collect their belongings before their eviction as they will not be permitted back into the Event to find them. We will not be responsible for ensuring that they leave the Event with their belongings.
Evictees will receive a letter detailing the eviction process.
Evictees are liable to receive a life time ban from purchasing tickets or working/volunteering for any LNE / FR Events.

Tickets

For information purposes only, age checks will also be carried out on the entrance gates.

Please note our policy has changed from Challenge 21 > Challenge 25.

The following forms of identification are accepted:

Please note, your ID must be in date in order to be valid.

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Accessibility

Accessible Campsite

Our accessible campsite is a dedicated camping area for accessibility customers and their friends and family. You can request to stay in this campsite when completing the application form. The following facilities are available within this campsite.

• A dedicated accessibility information hub staffed by the accessibility team.

• Wheelchair accessible and standard unisex toilets.

• Wheelchair accessible and standard unisex showers.

• Hard standing or temporary pathways.

• A changing places unit featuring an adult changing bed, toilet, sink and hoist. (Please note that hoist slings will not be available. Please remember to bring your own if you wish to make use of this facility.)

• Charging facilities for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and medical equipment.

• A sink and drinking water points.

• Access to a kettle and/or hot water.

• A secure fridge to store medication that requires cold storage.

• An electric power supply to your tent for medical equipment (if requested and approved as part of your application).

Campervans

Accessible campervan spaces are limited and sold on a first come first served basis. You will be able to apply for one when you complete the accessible facilities application form.

If a space is available, you will be sent a link to purchase a ticket. This is separate from your festival ticket.

Accessible viewing areas

There are raised viewing platforms and ground viewing areas available within the arena.

Accessible toilets

Wheelchair accessible and standard toilets for accessibility customers are located across the festival. They are available to all accessibility customers.

Changing places units

There are changing places units featuring an adult changing bed, toilet, sink, and hoist. Please note that hoist slings will not be available. Please remember to bring your own if you wish to make use of this facility.

Accessible entrances and queuing lanes

There are dedicated entrances and/or queuing lanes for accessibility customers to access the festival.

Sensory Calm Tent

A Sensory Calm Tent is provided at the festival. This space provides a safe, low-level stimulation and recalibration zone for any customers who need to use it.

Bars

Dedicated accessible queuing lanes are available at each main bar. This section of the bar has a lowered counter.