I have been to a fair few festivals in my thirty years on this planet but there is just something about Reading and Leeds festival that I can't resist - and I know I'm not the only one.
Here is why Reading and Leeds Festival is, and forever remains, one of the UK's most popular and successful weekends in the world of live music.
The line-up
It seems like an obvious one but the Reading line-up always slaps. It is probably one of the most varied UK music events and you are almost guaranteed to be excited to see a handful of the talent on show.
The 2024 headliners consisted of American pop punk legends Blink-182 ruling the main stage on Friday, London lad done good and dance genius Fred Again kept the party going on Saturday with one half of Oasis indie bad boy Liam Gallagher closing the weekend on Sunday.
The likes of seductive songstress Lana Del Ray, dynamic dance duo Prodigy and R&B Brit award winner Raye were also part of the line-up.
Free water EVERYWHERE and NO plastic bottles
Reading and Leeds fest has a zero plastic bottle policy which is brilliant for several seasons.
Firstly, you wont have to sell your soul and all your belongings to buy a bottle of aqua as we all know how hella pricey festivals can be.
Secondly, you can take your own reusable bottle and there are water taps all over the site, so many in fact you will hardly have to queue.
Finally, less rubbish which is always a bonus, nobody wants to be tripping over a bottle empty Evian in the mosh pit.
The location
Reading is one of the UK busiest train stations with fab connections to places all around the country and the festival organises a shuttle service to and from the station.
I would like to add when I first went to Reading in 2006, yes I'm THAT old, this was very much not the case and you would have to lug all you gear everywhere. We love the glow up.
What is even better is that unlike most festivals that have just one location, if you are a northerner or even further afield, you won't have to trek down to Reading to check out your fave bands and singers as the festival heads to Leeds as well.
Food
As a vegan for nearly a decade (are you impressed it it took me four bullet points to announce that?) attending festivals was always a bit of a nightmare but at Reading this year, I was genuinely spoilt for choice.
I ended up having the vegan jerk 'chicken' from Caribbean fusion food Funky Elephant, which came with either fries or rice and peas, I opted for the latter and I won't lie I wish I could eat it every day.
My mate who came along also has a few food intolerances and genuinely gasped in delight when she saw there was sourdough pizza truck.
What's more is that all the deets about the food stations and whats suitable for what diet is available on the app.
The app
Speaking of said app, it is SO much handier then carry around the leaflets which you will lose in 0.2 seconds.
The app includes all the info you need to survive the weekend; who is performing where and when, what to do when you need help, which food stalls serve vegan, gluten free etc and of course the trusty map.
There is also playlists, merch links and tips on how to volunteer next year.
The staff
Everyone was super helpful at Reading and seemed more than happy to offer support. I'm sure they had been asked ninety times about one of the pointless queries we had but every person was consistently friendly and if they weren't sure of the answer they were more than happy to check what to do with a supervisor.
Thank you to Festival Republic for letting me attend.
Emily Vierke is a digital writer who has dabbled in the world of celeb, beauty, music and fashion. She prides herself on her diverse music taste and can confirm Taylor Swift and Slipknot were her top two most listened to artists of 2024. Emily has attended countless festivals including Download, Reading, KISStory and Primavera and claims Linkin Park, Phil Collins and Taylor Swift are the best live musical acts she had ever seen.