READING Festival has updated its rules on campfires for attendees to the annual event.
Information on the event’s website has been updated to exclude permission for building a fire in camping areas on site.
It now reads: “Campfires are no longer allowed anywhere at the festival, including the campsites.
“This is to support the Air Quality Action Plan and in consideration of local impacts as set out in our Green Nation Charter.
“Anyone seen creating or fuelling a fire will be evicted from the festival site. We have to continue to protect our future on this planet.”
It is the latest in the festival’s efforts to reduce its climate impact, including its partnership with Music Declares Emergency’s No Music on a Dead Planet initiative.
The update to rules also follows incidents which caused safety concerns at last year’s festival, after which Reading Borough Council members met with organisers.
Cllr Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey) said of the meetings last year that there were a lot of “positive actions that we heard with the policing and the fire watches, and all of those things that went into making it a safe festival.”
With reports of uncontrolled fires and claims of “chaos” on the Sunday of last year’s event, Cllr Rowland explained: “there were issues on the Sunday, and there were a number of removals.
“Thank goodness the attendees that were removed were this year successfully and carefully taken to ensure they had proper transport home.”
Previously, campfires had been permitted outside of the main arena from Wednesday to Saturday, as long as they were no more than a foot high.
Following last year’s event, Thames Valley Police said: “There were some fires in the campsite on Sunday, but festival security had water pumps and extinguished these within minutes.
“There was some disorder in the campsite at about 4.30pm on Sunday, but this was dealt with within minutes by festival security and about fifty people were ejected from the site.”
One attendee, an 18-year-old from Kent, was burned after an “unknown liquid” exploded over her while sitting near a campfire at the festival last year.
As part of this year’s event, Festival Republic is also bringing back an expanded Eco Camp after a successful pilot last year, which sees attendees agreeing to respect the environment and fellow campers.
It is just one of a number of increased safety and sustainability measures being implemented, with Festival Republic’s licensing coordinator, Charlotte Oliver, explaining that the company is “ahead of the ball” on safeguarding issues.
Reading Festival 2023 will see Billie Eilish, The Killers, Sam Fender, Lewis Capaldi, Loyle Carner, Decklan McKenna, Becky Hill, and Don Broco take to the stage when it returns on the August bank holiday weekend, from Friday to Sunday, August 25-27.
Tickets are available via: readingfestival.com/tickets
