WOKINGHAM Repair Cafe is holding its first ever on-site pop-up repairs hub at this year’s Reading Festival.
Free repairs, pop-up tent-packing master classes and sustainability skills and tips will help festival goers help cut campsite waste and raise funds for Berkshire Youth.
Volunteers from Wokingham Repair Café are joining Repair Cafés across Berkshire to deliver a first for Reading Festival 2026: a dedicated on-site pop-up repair hub (Repairium), offering free fixes for festivalgoers and crew throughout the Bank Holiday weekend.
Running from Thursday August 27 to Sunday August 30, the new Reading Repairium will provide on-the-spot repairs for damaged camping gear, clothing and everyday essentials.
Staffed by over 30 skilled volunteers, the initiative aims to keep hundreds of items in use and out of landfill while raising charity donations for Berkshire Youth, which helps to enhance young people’s wellbeing, confidence, and life chances across the county.
With more than 90,000 attendees expected, Reading festivalgoers will be able to bring their broken air beds, snapped tent poles, ripped outfits, faulty torches, damaged bags, glasses and more, directly to the Repairium hub — helping them get back to enjoying headline acts including Charli XCX, Chase & Status, Dave, Florence + The Machine, Fontaines D.C. and Raye.
“Fixing broken gear is one of the quickest wins on the sustainability front,” said Ian Grange, a regular Repair Café volunteer who is helping run the festival hub.
“We’re offering a practical, genuinely useful service that tackles one of the biggest causes of campsite waste.
“It’s also a great way to get people thinking about how they can Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Repair to help the environment and save money.”
Broken equipment is one of the reasons camping gear is abandoned at festivals.
By repairing items at the moment they fail, the Repairium supports Reading Festival’s zero-to-landfill goals and its ongoing work to increase tent-take-home rates.
While the Repairium will save hundreds of items over the weekend, Berkshire’s Repair Café volunteers hope the impact lasts far longer.
The UK is now home to over 600 Repair Cafés, according to The Restart Project’s UK addendum to the Open Repair Alliance report.
Locally, monthly repair events run in Buckelbury, Crowthorne, Earley, Lambs Lane, Newbury & Thatcham, Reading, Spencers Wood, Wokingham, and Woodley, offering free help with everyday fashion and household items.
“We want people to take this experience home with them,” added Ian.
“Repairing things shouldn’t stop when the festival ends.
“Whether you’re at Reading Festival or back at home, there’s a local repair community ready to help.
“And once you’ve learned simple skills like using a sewing machine, it opens the door to upcycling and giving new life to vintage clothing.”
For information, visit: wokinghamrepaircafe.uk
