The ground is farmland, normally used for grazing and generally level but uneven terrain. It is likely that the site may be muddy, water-soaked or dusty – it is not a stadium or hardcore flooring. The Festival arena is a large space with stages, food, bars, merchandise, market stalls and other facilities are spread around the arena and campsite areas.
Being found in possession of a flare or firework at a music event is now a criminal offence. Anyone found in possession will be removed from site and could face up to 3 months in prison and / or a fine.
At Reading 2021 we have a number of services in place where you can go for help 24/7. Maybe you or the people you were with had taken something or were too drunk and you felt uncomfortable in your situation.
The services we offer onsite are there for you to ask for help, without being judged and the appropriate help will be given.
All of the services listed below are here to help you. You are our primary concern and we want to ensure you are safe and well first and foremost. These services are confidential and we will put you first, so please don’t be afraid to seek help no matter what your problem is.
At Reading many people will be having a great time but inevitably there will be some who are not. Sometimes people can arrive hoping to forget about their problems, but being at an event can sometimes make them feel even worse. Others can arrive feeling relatively OK, but something happens during the event which leaves them feeling low.
That’s where Samaritans fit in. Samaritans will give you the time and space to talk things through, so you can find a way through your problems.
Samaritans help you to explore your options so you can make decisions that are right for you.
Talk to us any time you like, in your own way, and off the record – about whatever’s getting to you.
If you feel you need to talk, in complete confidence, please come by and see Samaritans in the Green Campsite by the Captains Cross Roads or call 116 123 for free.
The Salvation Army marquee is located at the end of Scott Street (Green Campsite) and will be open during the afternoon and evening of Wednesday 26th August and then 24/7 from 7am on Thursday until mid-morning on Monday 31st.
Our volunteers will be selling tea, coffee, soup and a roll and muffins at ‘not for profit’ prices. For a small donation, we’re happy to fill up your Pot Noodles (other brands are available!) with hot water. We also have a small stock of blankets, sleeping bags, tents and socks that we can hand out if needed.
As well as serving reasonably priced refreshments, we are also open as a safe space for festival-goers who just want to come along and have a chat. We are good at providing a listening ear and will do our best to help sort out any problems and if we can’t help, we’ll use our knowledge and experience to signpost people to someone who can.
Street Pastors are on site to care, listen & help anyone that comes our way. We will have two tents, one in Orange campsite and the other in Brown. We are open from Wednesday 26th August through to Monday 31st August. Our tents are seen as “chill out” areas where people can relax and come and have refreshments and snacks. It is a safe place for people that are often feeling overwhelmed by the number of people on site or just need somewhere to go and sit. We have various games on offer including a football table and Connect Four. We will happily fill up pot noodle pots too!
We patrol the campsite from Thursday lunchtime through to Sunday/Monday 2am, looking out for vulnerable people and signposting them to the right places.
The Safe Mates campaign has been introduced to encourage festival-goers to look after each other and spot warning signs early.
The Safe Mates campaign will be promoted via ‘Safe Hubs’ in each campsite. These hubs will be staffed by the British Red Cross 24/7 and will serve as a safe and confidential space where you can go if you need a bit of help or are concerned about one of your mates or another festival-goer.
The British Red Cross will be providing onsite support through Safe Mates. This is a service to encourage festival-goers to look after each other and gain peer to peer support from British Red Cross youth volunteers. We provide a safe confidential space for people to come and ask for help or just have a chat.
Please remember that it is our goal to help you. If you are living with mental health and need a chat or a safe space to chat the Safe Hubs are here to help. If you have taken any drugs and feel like you need some help without judgement, then the team from the Red Cross are there to assist you to get the help you need. Remember – do not be afraid to get help. Your well-being and safety is our number 1 priority.
Safe Gigs for Women is an initiative established by regular gig goers with the aim of creating a safer environment for women at gigs. Our aims are to work with gig-goers to spread the word that it is not okay to grope, threaten or harass others. Encourage victims to speak out, and supporters to advocate that this behaviour will not be tolerated
Safe Gigs for Women will be based in the Green Campsite and will feature heavily on the Festival Republic help map. They will tackle all sexual harassment, not only against women.
We hope you have a fantastic festival but sometimes people do need some help and advice. Our friendly team of staff from TLC Welfare are dedicated caring professionals who offer information, advice, health, wellbeing and emotional support. We will be open 24hrs from when you arrive until 1pm Monday 31st.
Our staff and volunteers will make you feel welcome and provide a listening ear. If you just need a place to sit and relax or are feeling anxious, unwell, overdone it from the night before or have lost your friends then come to welfare. We are happy to help. Other services on offer include free sunscreen, earplugs, condoms and a rest area. Welfare is also the place to come to for lost children and crime reporting. The welfare tent is located in Yellow Campsite on Baker Lane.
We will also have a welfare team based in the Main Arena Friday – Sunday located near the Main Stage – just look for the welfare sign or ask stewards for directions. Want to find out some more about TLC visit www.tlcwelfare.co.uk
In an emergency:
Alert a steward or a security person who will know the way to the nearest medical facility and will be able to contact Medical by radio.
Depending on the problem, you may be advised to go to a medical point, or a medical response may be sent to you. This could be an ambulance, paramedic or first responder.
Main Medical Centre (24 hours)
Staff at the medical centre are fully qualified professionals who are experienced in working at festivals. The centre is equipped to deal with everything from cuts and bruises to major trauma and cardiac arrest. Whenever it can be done safely, people are treated on site and very few have to be sent to hospital.
As well as doctors and nurses, the medical team includes physiotherapists, podiatrists, a mental health team and an X ray unit. There is a 24-hour pharmacy.
White Campsite Medical Unit (24 hours)
This is a smaller unit staffed by nurses, paramedics and first responders. It is set up to deal with minor injuries and illnesses; more serious conditions may need to be referred to the main medical centre.
Arena patrols (during Arena opening hours)
Teams of first responders in Hi-Vis jackets patrol the arena, providing first aid, advice and basic life support.
At other events this year, FMS have encountered very serious problems caused by drugs of unusually high strength and purity. The effects of these, particularly when mixed with alcohol and other substances, are unpredictable and have resulted in sudden, life-threatening reactions.
If someone you are with seems to be having a bad reaction, GET HELP QUICKLY. They may need immediate treatment and a brief delay can cost a life.
The team at the main medical centre is experienced in dealing with the effects of drugs and alcohol and works closely with the welfare service next door. All help is provided in a confidential and non-judgemental way, so don’t worry about coming.
If you are worried about pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, the medical centre team can give you help and advice and emergency contraception if needed.
If you think you may have been the victim of sexual assault, come and see us, even if you don’t want to report it. You will be treated sensitively and given all the help and advice you need.
All medical services at the festival are operated by Festival Medical Services. For further information on keeping safe and well at the festival, visit us at www.festival-medical.org and click on Festival Health.
Click here for Health Advice at Reading Festival.
We don’t accept any discrimination towards any individual or groups of individuals.
Irrespective of the background of the individual, be that gender, race, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity. We are proud of the diverse nature of our festivals and their customers, if you see or experience anyone undermining this – no matter the severity – please report it immediately to one of our onsite staff.
For 2021 festival goers will no longer be able to bring their own firewood into the campsites. We are doing this to assist our own sustainability policy, as well as support the local Air Quality Action Plan.
A lot of wood comes treated with a high water content and this causes air pollution from the smoke. The wood we sell on site is dried and has an ultra-low water content which makes it much more sustainable. We do ban large fires though and please do not burn anything else on the campfires – plastic and synthetic fabrics release many harmful toxic chemicals into the air, that we all then breathe in.
Campfires lower than knee height, and less than one pace wide are permitted in the campsite. Any fires larger than this are not allowed.
There are no campfires or BBQs permitted after 8pm on Sunday. No firewood will be on sale from 6pm on Sunday.
Fires are not permitted in the arena at any time.
Unauthorised bonfires are not permitted anywhere at all at the festival.
Anyone seen creating or fuelling a bonfire will be evicted from the festival site on the spot.
Anyone found burning any unsuitable materials such as toxic materials, other people’s possessions or the fencing, trees or hedges onsite will be liable to eviction/prosecution
There are over a thousand security, stewards and campsite staff on duty, all of which wear our festival tabards. Locate a member of staff for any emergencies, who will be able to assist or locate the correct assistance.
If you need to contact Thames Valley Police to report a non-emergency crime or to provide information on a crime while at the festival, please go to the welfare tent (located on Baker Lane or in the Arena by the main stage.
If a serious or life-threatening crime is being committed, please contact a member of staff or police officer immediately. If in the unlikely event you cannot find someone, please call 999.
If you have lost a child, please contact a member of staff or police officer immediately who will be able to help you or go to the Welfare Tent on Baker Lane. If you do bring young children please ensure that on entry you get a child’s wristband to write your contact number on so that if you are separated you can be quickly reunited.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, highly poisonous gas that can kill in minutes. Never take a portable barbecue – or lit charcoal – into an enclosed space like a tent or caravan. Make sure exhaust fumes from generators are properly vented away from occupied areas.
If you think you have potentially be exposed to carbon monoxide gas from a BBQ or gas powered heater whilst at the festival, please contact a steward immediately.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include:
Bridge jumping is an extremely dangerous thing to do. If you are found attempting to jump off, you will be taken to the police immediately.
Do not bring illegal drugs or ‘legal’/psychoactive substances to the festival. You may be ejected from the event and be handed over to the police.
There will be a gate review policy in place. Drugs dogs will be searching at all gates and anyone found attempting to bring drugs into the site may be refused entry via our new gate review teams.
The contents of legal highs are toxic, even plant-based ones. They are untested on humans and they do kill.
The use of any gas canisters or nitrous oxide (NOs) is banned across our entire festival site. If found with them, or using them, you will be evicted from the site immediately and potentially banned from other events promoted by Festival Republic and Live Nation. This includes if you’re found throwing them onto any fire, or near any heated source, which can cause extremely serious injuries to you, your friends, or anyone nearby.
All drug taking is dangerous, the best advice is not to take drugs. Taking any drugs when you don’t know what is in it is a big risk and the effect on your body is unpredictable. By mixing different drugs together, the chances of having a bad time and needing hospital treatment are increased, as some drugs work in the same way and this can cause an overdose.
Last year, an 18-year-old needed intensive care treatment after being found collapsed by his friends at the festival. He had taken several different drugs, making him unconscious. Over the next few hours, his heart rate and temperature went up to unsafe levels, resulting in liver, kidney and muscle failure. Following prolonged treatment, he recovered but needed repeat blood tests for some time. He was very unwell, but luckily his friends got medical help. He now has no memory of his four day stay in hospital. The most important lesson for him was seeing the effect his drug-taking had on his friends and family, who thought he was going to die.
Please think twice before taking drugs, as sometimes, despite the Doctors best efforts, the drug effects are too severe, and they can’t stop the multi-organ failure resulting in death.
Please visit Talk To Frank for more information.
We do not recommend you take drugs, but if you do please bear the following in mind.
Remember if you take drugs and become ill, depressed or concerned, make sure you ask the nearest member of staff to direct you to our Medical Tent or Welfare Tent.
If you or someone you are with has a bad reaction and needs medical help, talk to the nearest member of staff immediately. Let the medics know what has been taken. You could save your friend’s life. We guarantee you will not get in trouble. People who are overdosing can go downhill very quickly so don’t delay in seeking help.
Ecstasy deaths appear to be rising year on year. There appears to be a link with the amount of MDMA found in tablets more recently. In 2005 each pill contained around 80mg of MDMA (an average adult dose is 80-120mg). Average pill strengths are now around 160mg MDMA i.e. twice an average adult dose and pills are frequently tested upwards of 300mg MDMA. In addition, your body weight, hormone levels, using other drugs or alcohol, and your underlying health can all have a significant impact on how you react to a drug. Your friends might have taken the same drug and not had any ill effects. There is no safe dose.
Mixing drugs intensifies the effects of each drug and makes them more dangerous and potentially fatal. Mixing drugs and alcohol is common but alcohol can have a big impact on the way many substances affect you. It could enhance the effects of the first drug but it could also create a dangerous or potentially fatal chemical reaction. Mixing ecstasy with cocaine can increase the high but also increases the risk of cardiac arrest. The more drugs that are used simultaneously including alcohol and including prescription drugs, the greater the risk. DO NOT MIX.
Alcohol can moderate the high from ecstasy and increase the intensity of the come down. Both drugs cause dehydration which increases the risk of heatstroke. There is a greater strain on the liver and kidneys which can lead to feeling / being sick. Both drugs impair judgment. Mixing alcohol with ecstasy has played a part in several drugs overdoses at music festivals in recent years.
This combination results in the formation of an entirely new chemical in the body called cocaethylene. This is then associated with liver damage, seizures and immune system damage. Some research suggests that immediate death from cocaethylene is 20 times more likely than from cocaine alone. The impact of alcohol can increase the levels of cocaine in the blood by as much as 30% increasing the strain on the cardiovascular system. There is also an increased likelihood of violent behaviour and suicide.
A combination of alcohol with other stimulants such as ritalin, adderall, amphetamine, some diet pills, some over the counter cold remedies and even some strong energy drinks can also be dangerous. As with cocaine they can obscure the sedating effects of alcohol enabling a person to get dangerously drunk without fully realising. Overheating is more likely which can lead to organ damage and overheating is associated with many drug-related deaths from stimulant drugs including MDMA. A person taking alcohol with these stimulants can lose their inhibitions but be irritable and aggressive.
Mixing alcohol with ketamine or other downers like valium is particularly risky for overdose.
Prescription drugs are not safe if not used according to the issuing doctor’s instructions. The benzodiazepine (benzo’s) group of drugs – valium, xanax, etizolam, temazepan etc are often used to come down from other drugs such as ecstasy or speed. This is a dangerous combination as the tranquilizers can be numbing and when taken with alcohol the combined depressant effects can cause fatal overdose by inhibiting breathing or slowing down vital organs.
