R&L 2027

[Chad888]

On 11/06/2026 at 14:50, craigcharles420 said:

I feel like it's just us being old tbh. Festival is doing fine. Never seen anything to suggest either site is doing badly, let alone on the brink of being scrapped.

 

The festival is definitely not doing fine, its in the death spiral I used to see at so so many local town clubs, pubs and bars.

 

1. Consumer behaviour changes, more choice opens up locally, technology changes the way people interact with the location.

 

2. They react by offering loads of special deals to try and get people in the door.

 

3. Suddenly they need to rebrand, shove in new gimmicks to try and compete with the market and bring consumers back in. Then the gimmick changes every month. 

 

4. Eventually the clientelle changes, it becomes more unsavoury people that just want a place to hang out, and that drives all the old favourable customers away who see the place changing.

 

5. Then the bar closes.

 

We are in the toss up between 3 and 4.

 

 

To use the latest example of a nightclub closure by me, in my small town of 100,000.

 

1. With inflation and the cost of drinking, people stopped the partying every weekend and instead saved it for once a month. Suddenly Uber arrives and we could easily take a 30 minute taxi to Birmingham City center, stumble out at 4am and press a button to get home, there was no standing around till 7am calling every taxi number possible and being told noone is available.

 

2. The club started offering special deals, free entry before certain times, bring a friend and get your next time free, free drink on entry, specials on vodka red bull.

 

3. Football watch parties, 4 pool tables in the back room, now the back room is 21 and older, VIP booths with table service (VIP booths were just tables around the dance floor that anyone could sit at), theme nights, rooms change again, now they serve food, now the foods stopped. 

 

4. The club relaxed rules on entry, now you could wear trainers, hoodies, jackets, tracksuits. Kids in the neighboring high crime areas would come purely with the intention of hanging out, having a drink, then causing trouble.

 

5. 2 people got stabbed and the place shut down.

 

[Benj]

1 hour ago, Chad888 said:

 

The festival is definitely not doing fine, its in the death spiral I used to see at so so many local town clubs, pubs and bars.

 

1. Consumer behaviour changes, more choice opens up locally, technology changes the way people interact with the location.

 

2. They react by offering loads of special deals to try and get people in the door.

 

3. Suddenly they need to rebrand, shove in new gimmicks to try and compete with the market and bring consumers back in. Then the gimmick changes every month. 

 

4. Eventually the clientelle changes, it becomes more unsavoury people that just want a place to hang out, and that drives all the old favourable customers away who see the place changing.

 

5. Then the bar closes.

 

We are in the toss up between 3 and 4.

 

 

To use the latest example of a nightclub closure by me, in my small town of 100,000.

 

1. With inflation and the cost of drinking, people stopped the partying every weekend and instead saved it for once a month. Suddenly Uber arrives and we could easily take a 30 minute taxi to Birmingham City center, stumble out at 4am and press a button to get home, there was no standing around till 7am calling every taxi number possible and being told noone is available.

 

2. The club started offering special deals, free entry before certain times, bring a friend and get your next time free, free drink on entry, specials on vodka red bull.

 

3. Football watch parties, 4 pool tables in the back room, now the back room is 21 and older, VIP booths with table service (VIP booths were just tables around the dance floor that anyone could sit at), theme nights, rooms change again, now they serve food, now the foods stopped. 

 

4. The club relaxed rules on entry, now you could wear trainers, hoodies, jackets, tracksuits. Kids in the neighboring high crime areas would come purely with the intention of hanging out, having a drink, then causing trouble.

 

5. 2 people got stabbed and the place shut down.

 

As every with Sir Chad, a sound underlying point wrapped up in a world of anecdotal bobbins that makes it sound like ramblings of a crazed loon returning from a sh*t provincial nightclub at 2am, after loads of promo Vodka Red Bulls nursing a stab wound to the left buttock!

[Benj]

The Reading changes seem to have worked, at least for the moment, in maintaining a decent audience, despite the huge change in proposition.

Hugely anecdotal but you can tell from here, the significant core of people who went every weekend for decades, has absolutely shriveled away in the last few years. 

A few tempted to the 'Rock' day last year...having no justifiable reason to go this, with the very limited programming now offered, not directly catering to their tastes.

So attendees now are mainly one and done kids and day ticket holders going specifically for a set line up, perhaps even an indivdual artist, as opposed to multi stage 'festival' experience.

Thats Reading, easily getting by as long as they can maintain a rotation of exclusive(ish) artists, with the London and surrounds catchment.

Then we look at Leeds. Prompted ChatGPT to look for evidence of how well its selling in lieu of any official figures announced and this was its take:

 

’ll separate actual sales signals from festival-forum rumour: ticket availability/discounting, capacity or licensing changes, resale activity, and any comments from Festival Republic or local reporting.

 

Yes. I have had a fairly hard look, and there is some credible circumstantial evidence that Leeds Festival 2026 is selling poorly — or at least materially behind Reading — but I cannot find a published ticket-sales number that proves the more extreme “disaster” rumours.

My read is: the rumours are probably directionally right.

The biggest red flag: Festival Republic's own marketing

As of 8 July 2026, Festival Republic's corporate site is promoting the twin festivals very differently:

Reading Festival — “Final Tickets Running Low!”

versus

Leeds Festival — “Secure Your Ticket For £50 Deposit”

That is unusually revealing. These are the same dates and essentially the same artist bill, marketed by the same promoter.

Leeds' own site is still openly selling the main ticket categories and repeatedly pushing the £50 deposit/monthly instalment message. Weekend non-camping tickets are still listed at £295.

To me, that is the strongest hard evidence. Festival Republic clearly has urgency/scarcity messaging available — it is actively using it for Reading and its sold-out shows — but is not using it for Leeds.

There was already a very visible attendance problem in 2025

The Newcastle University student newspaper The Courier reported after the 2025 festival that campsites at Bramham Park were reportedly empty and that the festival was described on some days as a “ghost town.”

More importantly, contemporary attendee discussion backs up the pricing signal. In the Leeds Festival Reddit community, one attendee said they bought three weekend tickets for £100 each shortly before the 2025 event, with “plenty more” available on resale at £150–£180. That is anecdotal rather than audited sales data, but it is consistent with a badly oversupplied secondary market.

There is a slightly confusing counterpoint: National Highways and media reports talked about “some 90,000 attendees” expected in 2025. However, that appears to be an operational planning/expected-attendance figure rather than a confirmed scanned-gate attendance total.

I would not use that 90,000 number as proof it was full.

2026 looks worrying precisely because the lineup should arguably be selling

The 2026 bill has Charli xcx, Dave, Raye, Florence + The Machine, Fontaines D.C., Chase & Status and Kasabian, among others. The announced headliners are festival exclusives for 2026.

So this isn't an obvious “they booked six nobody headliners” situation.

Yet, eight weeks before the festival:

Signal	Reading	Leeds
Festival Republic message	Final tickets running low	£50 deposit
General sale	Available but scarcity marketed	Broad availability
Marketing emphasis	Urgency	Affordability/payment
Recent attendance reputation	Less concerning	2025 “ghost town” reports

That gap is difficult to explain away.

What I cannot find

I searched specifically for:

• Festival Republic sales disclosures
• Leeds City Council/licensing documents containing ticket projections
• confirmed 2025 scanned attendance
• 2026 ticket sales totals
• promoter interviews discussing Leeds sales
• credible trade press reporting a specific percentage sold

I found no reliable public number such as “Leeds has sold 38,000 of 75,000 tickets.”

Festival Republic is privately promoting the event and has no obvious reason to publish a weak sales number while tickets remain on sale.

My honest estimate

This is an inference, not a leaked sales figure.

Based on the asymmetric Festival Republic messaging, current unrestricted availability and 2025 secondary-market/attendance evidence, I suspect Leeds is substantially below its historic comfortable sales level for this point in the cycle.

I would put my subjective probabilities at:

65% — Leeds 2026 is genuinely selling badly
25% — mediocre/soft sales, but a large late teenage market means attendance recovers
10% — sales are broadly fine and the online rumours substantially exaggerate things

I wouldn't yet say “catastrophic.” But I think there is real evidence behind the rumours rather than simply forum chatter.

My confidence is 80% on the conclusion that Leeds is underperforming; only about 45% on how badly, because the missing piece is actual Festival Republic sales data.

The official comparison is particularly worth seeing on Festival Republic's site.

I think the next really interesting step is to reconstruct Leeds' likely attendance from 2022–2025 using campsite maps, traffic/police planning figures, resale prices and aerial imagery, then compare the 2026 sales signals against those years. That may get us surprisingly close to the truth.

 


It will be fascinating to get some boots on the ground type reporting this year, if there is anyone left off here going anyway!
 

[korokband]

Yeah I think Leeds is specifically the festival in trouble here. Reading will always trundle along. 

 

But no one forced them to hand over what was a loyal customer base to Download and the Superstruct festivals. And when they get a taste of what those festivals offer, it's hard to go back to a Leeds that is offering less and less each year for more money. Even All Points East seems to have finally found a foothold this year, there doesn't seem to be many tickets left for any of their shows.

 

In the long run Leeds going away may effect Reading in some ways, as I'm sure the dual pay day was a pretty good proposition for the big American bands coming over outside of the usual summer festival season. I would be fascinated to know if they were ever in talks with Foo Fighters for this year and how that went.

[RandomEnglishPerson]

something ive noiced yesterday going to watch mcr is now reading festival are doing ticket giveaways on bottles of liptons for tickets, not a massive thing and although they do it all the time, it does stand out as concerning knowing it isnt exactly selling brilliantly

[Benj]

2 minutes ago, RandomEnglishPerson said:

something ive noiced yesterday going to watch mcr is now reading festival are doing ticket giveaways on bottles of liptons for tickets, not a massive thing and although they do it all the time, it does stand out as concerning knowing it isnt exactly selling brilliantly

Yeah, deffo a bad sign.
 

Not only as a required promo effort beyond the proposition itself but as a desperate means to actually get bodies in through the doors and spending. 
 

It’s completely opaque as to how many they’re having to shift too.
 

In the old days with the Radio call ins - “Win tickets to Reading Festival” they basically had hundreds of tickets to hand out to whoever called in. It’s how I attended Reading ‘97.

[jonnyisRFC]

Reading exploring the possibility of having music on the Thursday next year (between 5-12) 

[Benj]

28 minutes ago, jonnyisRFC said:

Reading exploring the possibility of having music on the Thursday next year (between 5-12) 

Makes sense if they want to compete with other fests, would increase the VFM significantly

[Andre91]

The Prodigy x The Strokes 

 

Olivia Rodrigo x Wolf Alice

 

The 1975 x Olivia Dean

Edited July 14 by Andre91

[Benj]

3 hours ago, Andre91 said:

The Prodigy x The Strokes 

 

Olivia Rodrigo x Wolf Alice

 

The 1975 x Olivia Dean

massively weak Friday followed by two overly strong days I reckon, based on what we have this year

 

it would tempt me back for sure, although I have tickets for O-Rod with Wolf Alice support for this October 🙌🏻

[thatTFBguy]

On 14/07/2026 at 16:35, Andre91 said:

The Prodigy x The Strokes 

 

Olivia Rodrigo x Wolf Alice

 

The 1975 x Olivia Dean

 

Feels too strong for where the festival appears to be now, and I can't see 1975 being back anytime soon, would just be memed online after their run of 3 apperances in what was it 5 years.

[Chad888]

On 14/07/2026 at 16:35, Andre91 said:

The Prodigy x The Strokes 

 

Olivia Rodrigo x Wolf Alice

 

The 1975 x Olivia Dean

I just don't see R&L having the pull to bring in Olivia Rodrigo when she could just do her own stadium tour and make far more. 

 

It will be:

 

Sam Fender x Becky Hill

 

21 Pilots x Lewis Capaldi

 

Fred Again.. x Biffy Clyro

Edited Thursday at 12:52 by Chad888

[KJP98]

22 minutes ago, Chad888 said:

I just don't see R&L having the pull to bring in Olivia Rodrigo when she could just do her own stadium tour and make far more. 

 

It will be:

 

Sam Fender x Becky Hill

 

21 Pilots x Lewis Capaldi

 

Fred Again.. x Biffy Clyro

Pretty sure 21 Pilots are going on an extended break after this years shows, hopefully I am wrong as they would be great headliners. 

 

Capaldi I think is nailed on, new album out soon as well.

[Chad888]

On 30/07/2026 at 14:17, KJP98 said:

Pretty sure 21 Pilots are going on an extended break after this years shows, hopefully I am wrong as they would be great headliners. 

 

Capaldi I think is nailed on, new album out soon as well.

I keep seeing the Yungblud media push again: the interviews, the radio presenting tours, the reels after reels on IG and FB. His labels marketing team are on another push which can only mean new stuff coming out soon.

[northernangel]

On 14/07/2026 at 19:51, Benj said:

massively weak Friday followed by two overly strong days I reckon, based on what we have this year

 

it would tempt me back for sure, although I have tickets for O-Rod with Wolf Alice support for this October 🙌🏻

 

Wolf Alice won't get headliner for Reading either, they will sub if they play, that is where their level has stopped I feel. Both TFG and Skyvip for the big shows this year was just a stretch too far. Every headliner this year is bigger than them too I'd say.

On 30/07/2026 at 14:17, KJP98 said:

Pretty sure 21 Pilots are going on an extended break after this years shows, hopefully I am wrong as they would be great headliners. 

 

Capaldi I think is nailed on, new album out soon as well.

 

Agree with Capaldi

3 hours ago, Chad888 said:

I keep seeing the Yungblud media push again: the interviews, the radio presenting tours, the reels after reels on IG and FB. His labels marketing team are on another push which can only mean new stuff coming out soon.

I don't think Yungblud will be at Reading. I would guess Bludfest 3 or Download.

[Benj]

38 minutes ago, northernangel said:

 

Wolf Alice won't get headliner for Reading either, they will sub if they play, that is where their level has stopped I feel. 

I agree but anyone under Rodrigo would be a sub in reality, that day would sell out in under an hour whoever is subbing, in which case Wolf Alice would make a lot of sense

 

The more unrealistic part of the scenario at this point is Rodrigo headlining 
 

Edited 4 hours ago by Benj

[charlierc]

28 minutes ago, Benj said:

I agree but anyone under Rodrigo would be a sub in reality, that day would sell out in under an hour whoever is subbing, in which case Wolf Alice would make a lot of sense

 

The more unrealistic part of the scenario at this point is Rodrigo headlining 
 

Wolf Alice are supporting O-Rod in America soon, right? So yeah, I think as a 1/2 that would work. But equally was there any talk of her doing more touring next year beyond her 10 nights at the O2 or whatever it is?

 

Certainly, I think WA might take a year off themselves in 2027.

[northernangel]

1 hour ago, Benj said:

I agree but anyone under Rodrigo would be a sub in reality, that day would sell out in under an hour whoever is subbing, in which case Wolf Alice would make a lot of sense

 

The more unrealistic part of the scenario at this point is Rodrigo headlining 
 

 

Yes, she can just do stadiums and she's probably one step behind when you could have anyway. How Reading works this year though both top two are headlining with Chase probably more a closer due to darkness after Florence. I don't see Wolf Alice in the part of a top 6. If they go back to pure headliner and subs then yes.

[Benj]

42 minutes ago, northernangel said:

 

Yes, she can just do stadiums and she's probably one step behind when you could have anyway. How Reading works this year though both top two are headlining with Chase probably more a closer due to darkness after Florence. I don't see Wolf Alice in the part of a top 6. If they go back to pure headliner and subs then yes.

Ulitimately the “Top 6” or top 2 on a day by day basis work as a collective

 

You could easily have Foo Fighters and someone else much weaker on a single day

 

As long as they add up to 3, whether they’re a 2 and 1 or both 1.5s it doesn’t really matter

 

The Florence- Chase and status day is basically a 1.5 and 1, hence it selling the weakest 

[KJP98]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

Wolf Alice are supporting O-Rod in America soon, right? So yeah, I think as a 1/2 that would work. But equally was there any talk of her doing more touring next year beyond her 10 nights at the O2 or whatever it is?

 

Certainly, I think WA might take a year off themselves in 2027.

I agree on WA taking a year off in 2027. But if they got the call from R&L could see them having a similar August to what Fontaines are doing now. A few random shows + 2/3 other festivals. The festival/LN does seem to love them as well so there is a chance they take a punt.

 

I did see about Rodrigo potentially doing a stadium in Poland but no clue if that would be 2027 or 2028, I just can't see her at the Fest at all, seems too big in current climate.

 

If I were to guess the headliners next year I'd go with Fred Again/Foos/Capaldi/Olivia Dean/Biffy or Wolf Alice/Some Rapper, Tems?

Edited 3 hours ago by KJP98

[northernangel]

49 minutes ago, Benj said:

Ulitimately the “Top 6” or top 2 on a day by day basis work as a collective

 

You could easily have Foo Fighters and someone else much weaker on a single day

 

As long as they add up to 3, whether they’re a 2 and 1 or both 1.5s it doesn’t really matter

 

The Florence- Chase and status day is basically a 1.5 and 1, hence it selling the weakest 

 

44 minutes ago, KJP98 said:

I agree on WA taking a year off in 2027. But if they got the call from R&L could see them having a similar August to what Fontaines are doing now. A few random shows + 2/3 other festivals. The festival/LN does seem to love them as well so there is a chance they take a punt.

 

I did see about Rodrigo potentially doing a stadium in Poland but no clue if that would be 2027 or 2028, I just can't see her at the Fest at all, seems too big in current climate.

 

If I were to guess the headliners next year I'd go with Fred Again/Foos/Capaldi/Olivia Dean/Biffy or Wolf Alice/Some Rapper, Tems?

 

I'm not sure, they aren't giving any headliner in that format 2hours and Foos would have at least 2. I wouldn't say Reading is likely for them next year either. If they are as said going big on a tour with stadiums and festivals then the UK is once place they can definitely do stadiums and that would rule them out. And that's even if they come back for a second UK stint as I fully expect them in Europe from very early. That could be seen as hyperthetical but there are is some places I cannot see them not doing from history.

[KJP98]

13 minutes ago, northernangel said:

 

 

I'm not sure, they aren't giving any headliner in that format 2hours and Foos would have at least 2. I wouldn't say Reading is likely for them next year either. If they are as said going big on a tour with stadiums and festivals then the UK is once place they can definitely do stadiums and that would rule them out. And that's even if they come back for a second UK stint as I fully expect them in Europe from very early. That could be seen as hyperthetical but there are is some places I cannot see them not doing from history.

Yeah I do agree on the 2 hour thing. But if they were subbed by Biffy/WA only doing 75 mins or so would be doable.

 

Only reason I suggested them was because we know they're back doing shows here next year. 

[Benj]

52 minutes ago, KJP98 said:

Yeah I do agree on the 2 hour thing. But if they were subbed by Biffy/WA only doing 75 mins or so would be doable.

 

Only reason I suggested them was because we know they're back doing shows here next year. 

I think it will very much vary on who there is to book who they know will sell out a day. 
 

They’ve co-headline and full headline stuff in future, there no reason at all they won’t do it again, even if it means cutting someone’s set by 15 mins or having a band less in a big bands day…

 

They’re not going to not book Foo fighters and instead get the equivalent of Florence and C&S just to not have a band do a big set…

 

…unless of course they think it will make them more money…

[northernangel]

58 minutes ago, KJP98 said:

Yeah I do agree on the 2 hour thing. But if they were subbed by Biffy/WA only doing 75 mins or so would be doable.

 

Only reason I suggested them was because we know they're back doing shows here next year. 

 

sub yes I could see but I don't think they get 1hr 15, a headliner starting at 18:15 though is unlikely. Even the recent co-headlines that have had like 1hr 15 then a 1hr 30 after were on 8pm or just before, you are trailing behind more than 1.5 hours then. In that scenario some 3rd down bands are only starting at 18:15 and some haven't lol. I agree they won't not book them due to this but it won't be 6 headliners. It would be 5 headliners and you wouldn't want to see 5 headliners booked but Biffy were to not be thouhgt of as an option for one. Wolf Alice on the other hand could sub no bother and you'd think nothing of it. I'm not so sure Biffy would get headline though after the festival choice in Kendal this year.