Urgently need photos of riots last night

[happinessisawarmgun]

From my experience at Reading/Leeds

Leeds 06- I was only 16 at the time but it seemed like a fairly friendly crowd, partly due to being that bit older and partly due to being friendly northerners I would think. There were definitely no major riots from what I saw, though this could be because it absolutely p*ssed it down on the sunday night.

Reading 08- Much younger crowd (I felt about average age at 18). Definitely more violent and riotous. I felt very on edge the whole of sunday night, lots of big crowds and big fires around and people whacking on the toilets with sticks. I was really nervous about keeping myself and my stuff safe the whole time, definitely wouldn't have felt safe sleeping in my tent.

Reading 09- Very young crowd, I was about the oldest person there. Also a crowd which didn't seem to be too bothered about music, the radio 1 stuff (florence, little boots etc) seemed to draw the biggest crowds of the weekend. From what I saw from the other campsites the rioting was as bad as ever, and more little annoying hooligans chanting. Luckily where I was (orange campsite) it was fairly quiet, and I had a perfectly nice night sitting around a campfire singing songs and playing drinking games.

10? It's definitely glastonbury this year for me. I won't be going to either Reading or Leeds unless it's a headliner I adore, and the teenager crowd and 'rioting' has been a pretty big part of that decision.

My advice- go to Leeds. If you are going to Reading, camp in orange!

[Grant titp]

sunds like a great festivle

[jonnyisRFC]

Right, heres a sugestion...

how about they put it in the terms and conditions when buying tickets that anyone caught burning anything than firewood will be evicted?

Also when you get your wristbands on, the guys that give them to you could remind people of this also have signs around the entrance of the festival reminding people of this.

That way hopefully anyone burning tents will be evicted.

Ofcourse people getting evicted on sunday night wont mind so i dont know what the police do at the moment when catching people burning tents and things on the big fires, but should now be arested and banned for life from Reading/Leeds.

Edited January 25, 2010 by jonnyisRFC

[Joshuwarr]

Here are my Sunday night recollections from the past 4.

2006 - I was 14 (a few days from 15) and after going to the Isle of Wight festival I'd never been so excited for a music event in my life. I felt I integrated very well (with the fact I didnt look 14 and got served on many occasions) and generally got into the spirit of things. I probably got a little too drunk on the last night as I think I had only been drunk once or twice prior to the festival so I was a bit of a state. However, the Sunday was absoloutely fine. We were in Green but I did venture round and the only "madness" I saw was an "angry mob" who just shouted and did nothing which is fine with me. And a big procession of people making a repeated zombie racket on their pots and pans which was pretty awesome. Overally great festival, no apparent riots.

2007 - I was back for more, this time with my best friend who probably didnt quite know what to expect. Once again alcohol was a main component for a good time but we were sensible and we generally had a lot of fun meeting new people and seeing excellent bands perform. Right, the Sunday night. This is probably the noisiest Sunday night ever. We camped in Brown by the path and although our tent pegs were kicked out on one side, nobody ever caused any direct trouble at us. People did various chants and such and I was a little scared as I heard some very intimidating sounds surrounding our tent but it came to nothing. Good festival.

2008 - This was a monumental one for all my friends really because in previous years it had been me, my dad, a friend and my best friend. This year there was about 8 of us in our camp, all going to celebrate our GCSE results. We had an absoloute blast. Saw loads of great bands, got rather drunk, made friends with people around and then the Sunday came around.. Hmm.. Well, I may as well list the things that went on. Our neighbours gazebo was burnt down, their chairs thrown on it, our neighbours directly behind my tent had their tents burnt down (stuff inside) and my camp was threatened a few times by some 20 year old dickheads. However, I made a good guard for my stuff and all was well!

2009 - Same crowd as last year but we welcomed more friends into our camp and had another wonderful weekend. This years Sunday, however, was the worst I had ever experienced. I was verging my 18th birthday and it was my 4th Reading and I guess I kinda assumed I was some sort of pro at avoiding Sunday night madness, I was wrong. My friends all went off to enjoy their last night at the silent disco so I decided to stay at the camp with a couple of mutual friends. I'm kind of glad I did tbh. It was a weird night. One of large crowds charging through our camp and dragging tents with them. Massive fires lighting up the darkened campsites with a distant explosion sound booming every now and again. A quote which pretty much sums it all up for me was from a 20 year old woman who said to me "but its so exciting when the fire goes boom." I guess it'll be just as exciting when she has a new scar to show mum and dad.

This year will most likely be my last (my camp has gone from around 16 of us to about 4!). I will no doubt enjoy it for the most part but I will in no way put up with anymore Sunday night shit.

[Talking to Pylons]

The violence at Reading does not amount to a riot, sorry that is school boy bigging up. It usually amounts to mostly the rapes of allot of under 18 girls, by lads who 'befriend' them and get them extremely drunk and then rape them, usually dumping them and fleeing afterwards.

The other main thing that happens is people set things on fire, in a kind of I am 10 years old, well I'm not but I wish I was 16 year old lad ritual, of course these boys with a fetish for destruction get more of a hit of arousal and feeling of excitement if the stuff is someone else's, so it usually is.

It's a reflection of society not a problem just with so called music fans.

[Gre]

It usually amounts to mostly the rapes of allot of under 18 girls, by lads who 'befriend' them and get them extremely drunk and then rape them, usually dumping them and fleeing afterwards.

[Paul ™]

[Greg_I]

The violence at Reading does not amount to a riot, sorry that is school boy bigging up. It usually amounts to mostly the rapes of allot of under 18 girls, by lads who 'befriend' them and get them extremely drunk and then rape them, usually dumping them and fleeing afterwards.

[Talking to Pylons]

Admittedly I've never been to Reading, but I've been to Leeds every year since 2000 and never heard of anything like this happening save for literally one or two isolated incidents. To say this happens a lot it's absolute bollocks frankly, and it's talk like that that makes people go to the festival expecting trouble.

Edited March 15, 2010 by Talking to Pylons

[dakyras]

Your statement sums up most of the people who attend Reading Festival. People who litter the streets of my hometown, are rude and generally act like dicks in the town I love. The festival is a privilege not a right.

I am sick of young people who attend the festival they on the most part ruin it, by throwing crap at the bands who play and each other while people are watching, etc. I have had quite a few times when someone has tried to injure / piss me off at the festival, mostly because I go alone and stand out from the groups of lads and lases.

Look yes what I said was a bit extreme but being a fan of bands' such as Good Charlotte and rememberng what they got when they tried to play, I just say it.

I mean come on! People try to start fires at the festival, it's disgusting and very dangerous.

The sad thing is that allot of teenage girls who go to Reading festival get harassed and some get alot worse, be assured I am talking in terms of stories I've heard from being a festival fan since 1995.

[Gre]

Look yes what I said was a bit extreme but being a fan of bands' such as Good Charlotte and rememberng what they got when they tried to play, I just say it.

[rexclark]

Nice thread chaps.

Good work.

[Joshuwarr]

People are so contradictorary anyway, looking back on forums from posts in the early 2000's people used to boast about how having a bit of a riot was great fun. I think that maybe these "veterans" cant take it that its not them inciting the fun/riots anymore. Simply bitter.

YOU'RE ALL HYPOCRITES*

*except those that are not.

[strudders]

Your statement sums up most of the people who attend Reading Festival. People who litter the streets of my hometown, are rude and generally act like dicks in the town I love. The festival is a privilege not a right.

I am sick of young people who attend the festival they on the most part ruin it, by throwing crap at the bands who play and each other while people are watching, etc. I have had quite a few times when someone has tried to injure / piss me off at the festival, mostly because I go alone and stand out from the groups of lads and lases.

Look yes what I said was a bit extreme but being a fan of bands' such as Good Charlotte and rememberng what they got when they tried to play, I just say it.

I mean come on! People try to start fires at the festival, it's disgusting and very dangerous.

The sad thing is that allot of teenage girls who go to Reading festival get harassed and some get alot worse, be assured I am talking in terms of stories I've heard from being a festival fan since 1995.

[crazypete86]

Has anyone else been going to Reading for a while and not had any problems? I've been going for the last 5 years and yeah, Sunday nights have fires and a lot of pissed up teenagers acting like w*nkers, but I've never felt physically in danger.

All them videos of people standing round a bonfire hardly looks like a 'riot' to me either, it looks like a bunch of people standing round. It doesn't look as if anyone is fighting or getting hurt.

As for the people who run round shouting 'let's f**king up purple' etc, they're c*nts. Though they've never taken any of my stuff, I would hate it if they did. Suggestion for everyone: try aiming a heavy/sharp/glass object into the centre of the mob so it seriously injures one of them and the mob might disperse. With every mob you see, repeat the act. The results= a more peaceful Sunday with minimal casualties.

[Johnno]

The violence at Reading does not amount to a riot, sorry that is school boy bigging up. It usually amounts to mostly the rapes of allot of under 18 girls, by lads who 'befriend' them and get them extremely drunk and then rape them, usually dumping them and fleeing afterwards.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Johnno

[jimmyd93]

As for the people who run round shouting 'let's f**king up purple' etc, they're c*nts. Though they've never taken any of my stuff, I would hate it if they did. Suggestion for everyone: try aiming a heavy/sharp/glass object into the centre of the mob so it seriously injures one of them and the mob might disperse. With every mob you see, repeat the act. The results= a more peaceful Sunday with minimal casualties.

[crazypete86]

Right. So you're going to stop the violence by hurling rocks at people. There seems to be a fundamental flaw with this plan.

I've never been to Reading, but was planning to go next year (2011). Having seen some of the stories in here, I'm starting to think that it could be a bad idea...Is it really as bad as people are saying?

[jimmyd93]

I had my tongue firmly in my cheek there, sorry if it wasn't obvious. Having said that, if I saw a mob coming to burn my stuff and I had a glass bottle in my tent I'd have no problem with smashing it and throwing it at them. Self defence and all.

And no, it ISN'T as bad as people are making out. Visit for yourself and make your own mind up, the chances are you will come, have a good time and go home happy. If you have a bad time you can go home and piss and moan about how dangerous and violent and rape-filled the festival is based on your encounter with a small minority of idiots.