New aerial drone footage has revealed the scale of camping equipment left behind at this year's Reading festival, with vast fields of abandoned tents and rubbish visible across the site after a weekend of heavy rain. Videographer Chris Gorman, known online as the Big Ladder Photographer, shared before-and-after footage of Little John's Farm on Richfield Avenue, showing the extent of the mess left by festival-goers.
The closing night of the festival saw a torrential downpour during Florence + The Machine's headline set, followed by further heavy showers in the early hours of Monday morning. The weather prompted many attendees to abandon their camping gear rather than pack it up in the rain, leaving behind a significant amount of waste across the site.
Organisers had made a concerted effort ahead of this year's event to prevent exactly this outcome. Official festival guidance warned that a typical tent contains the equivalent of around 8,750 plastic straws or 250 plastic pint cups, and that a tent left for general waste emits the same amount of CO2 as driving a petrol car for over 100 miles. The stated aim for Reading 2026 was for no single tent to be left behind after the end of the festival, under the slogan «No Tent Left Behind».
As an incentive, the festival's Take It Home Rewards programme offered attendees a voucher for Co-op when they showed their packed-up tent to the campsite team. Organisers also introduced The Campsite Clearance Commitment, described as a new initiative at both festival sites that commits to campsites being cleared and returned to their natural state within two weeks following the festival.
Additional measures included litter-picking volunteers present at both Reading and Leeds sites, as well as new campsite Repariums stalls focused on extending the lifespan of camping gear by fixing items rather than allowing them to be discarded. Festival-goers were urged to bring broken or damaged items to the hub to be repaired by volunteers, including campsite gear and clothing. All drinks from bars and food vendors were served in aluminium cans, paper cups, or recyclable tetrapak.
The issue of waste at the festival has been a recurring concern. Thames Water previously reported that workers found everything from wet wipes and clothing to tents and camping chairs in festival toilets last year, according to BBC News. Fans were urged this year to flush only toilet paper, pee and poo down the loos.
Despite the weather challenges, the festival continued with a packed lineup throughout the weekend. Performers included Florence + The Machine, Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., Dave, RAYE and Chase & Status, alongside Skepta, Sombr, Role Model, JADE, Kneecap, Geese, Skye Newman, Holly Humberstone, Gurriers, Westside Cowboy, Declan McKenna, Maisie Peters, Paris Paloma, Overpass and Duke Dumont.
Chase & Status brought Reading 2026 to a close with a star-studded headline set on Sunday night. The UK production duo were the final act on the festival's main stage, now known as The Grid, at Little John's Farm, following on from co-headliner Florence + The Machine. They were joined by ArrDee for «Liquor & Cigarettes», NADIAH for «Count On Me», D Double E for «Levels» and Novelist for «NRG» in the first half of their set, which took place against a torrential downpour for the Reading crowd.