deposit scheme for Reading & Leeds Festival tickets

to be introduced for the March main sale

By Scott Williams | Published: Fri 6th Jan 2012

Reading Festival 2012

Friday 24th to Sunday 26th August 2012
Little Johns Farm, Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8EQ, England MAP
Friday or Saturday £85, Sunday day tickets and weekend tickets sold out

Daily capacity: 90,000

Festival boss, Melvin Benn, has revealed there will be a deposit scheme in place to buy tickets for this summer's Reading and Leeds when they go on sale again in March.

Speaking to the NME in an interview, (here), the Festival Republic boss reveals, "It would be lovely to make them cheaper if it was economically viable but it isn't. The sad thing is that the cost of running a festival, from infrastructure to sound, lights and bands, has increased and it's just not viable to reduce the prices. I wish it was. If it was, believe me, I would do it. There's going to be a deposit sale introduced for the March main sale, which will be the first time we've done that properly."

More details are sure to be available before the all-important line-up and general sale tickets will be released in the Spring. There are no acts confirmed yet for 2012, expect a line-up of big names from the rock, alternative, indie, punk and metal scenes.

The headliners aren't due to be announced before March confirms Benn, "I'd love to tell you about the headliners but contractually we're not allowed to talk about them until March. We've got two or three locked in."

Benn is also quoted as saying that he does not expect a quick sell out of tickets when they go on sale, adding, "I'm not worried about Reading and Leeds. Yes, they did take longer to sell out last year, but they did eventually. The market that Reading and Leeds is aiming at is very much the market that has been hit by the government cuts on student loans, youth unemployment and so on, but we have a great little line-up and I'm confident that both of them will sell out....."

The twin festivals take place on the bank holiday weekend, from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th August. Reading Festival takes place at Little Johns Farm, Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, and Leeds Festival takes place at Bramham Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire.

As with previous years organisers Festival Republic are keen to encourage festival goers to respect the local residents and the environment, and to encourage everyone to leave their cars at home.

Festival organisers are warning ticket buyers to NOT use fake ticket selling sites. Make sure any tickets you buy are legitimate. eFestivals always links to official ticket outlets (and doesn't host adverts for unofficial outlets unlike other festival websites!) so you can be sure that any ticket bought via eFestivals will get you into the festival of your choice. Do not purchase tickets from unofficial or secondary ticket outlets or auction sites as they often are unable to supply the tickets, and might not even give you a refund - there's lots of dodgy operators out there!

discuss this news on the Festival Forums