Sasha Baylors and Ciara Hornsey, both 19, feel the stereotype that the festival attracts a younger crowd is “fair” but they “don’t think that’s a bad thing”.
“It’s very important to have places for young people to go to listen to music and discover new artists,” says Hornsey, who is heading back to Reading Festival after attending last year.
Baylors, who last went when she was 17, says it is “not as rowdy as people say it is, it’s not like some battle zone or anything”.
College student Zara Hawkins, 17, agrees attending feels like a rite of passage for teenagers in the UK, and she is “really excited” for her first time at Leeds Festival.
She feels the dual sites make Reading and Leeds one of the more accessible festivals for younger music fans, who can head to whichever event is closest, and day tickets are available if you don’t want to camp.
Hawkins plans to attend with a large friend group from her college, and says this will make her feel safer as “everyone does look after each other”.
However, she feels the revamp and spread of acts across a host of genres will “attract a lot more people” this year.
In addition to the headliners, this year’s line-up includes grime artist Skepta, pop singer Jade, Irish rap trio Kneecap, BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2026 winner Skye Newman and US rock band Geese.
As part of the staging shake-up, the main stage will now be called The Grid and mock-up images show a large walkway extending into the crowd.
Other new stages, such as “undercover immersive stage” The Gallery and “purpose-built” dance music area The Warehouse, claim to offer more of an experience than the traditional festival tent.
