Reading and Leeds boss says vaccine passport will ‘almost certainly’ be needed to attend festival

Festival was one of the first UK events to announce plans to go ahead in 2021

Crowds at Reading Festival in 2018 (INS News Agency Ltd/Shutterstock)

Reading and Leeds Festival boss Melvin Benn has said that ticket holders will “almost certainly” need a vaccine passport to attend this summer’s event.

The music event, which takes place across both counties over the August bank holiday weekend, was one of the first to announce its plans to go ahead in 2021 after cancelling last year’s festival.

Speaking to BBC News on Tuesday (30 March), Benn spoke about the possible safety precautions that would need to be in place once the government lifts limits on social contact from as early as 21 June.

While Benn said that while in “an ideal world” festivals would be able to go ahead as they did pre-pandemic, he didn’t know whether that would be possible.

One such change could be proof of vaccination needed to enter the festival, which he said was “likely”.

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“I’m taking the prime minister at his word that from June the legal restrictions will be off and as he and the culture secretary said, ‘We are looking forward to a summer of fun,’” he said.

“If it is cancelled everyone gets a refund – that’s pretty normal – but I’m certainly anticipating it going ahead.”

Reading and Leeds, which has already sold out, will have a dedicated coronavirus medical team on site and will operate under the same safety protocols as bars and restaurants.

Stormzy, Post Malone and Liam Gallagher are among the headliners, who play at both events over the weekend.

You can find a list of all the UK festivals scheduled to go ahead this summer here.