The Reading/Leeds Festival Thread 2011

Reading is great! I'm going to T in the park this year rather than Reading (because my friends are all going to TitP) but I'm going to hopefully volunteer at Reading this year so will still get to go =D

Hi,

I was just wondering because I'm volunteering this year at Leeds and I've never volunteered at a festival or even been to Leeds fest, does anyone know if there is one big volunteering campsite for everyone or are we all put into the groups with the organisations we're volunteering with? My friends applied to volunteer with Oxfam and I misunderstood so thought they were applying to Hotbox events so stupidly I applied there, and my place is confirmed now which is really cool but oops (quite a big blonde moment there ) aaaand so I'm hoping we'll get to camp together still. Does anyone know at all?? If you've done it before, I'd love to hear from you if you can tell me for sure. Quote me please xxx

Is Reading always as muddy as it was last year? and is there a chance it could be any warmer? would be so awesome if it we're in July

The only problem i can see with that poster is that the Noisettes confirmed they'd play in an interview, they may however be added later on.

I think its a really poor line up (IMO) and i'm already going to see Pete Doherty and The Strokes anyway. Beady Eye, BBC, Rise Against and one or two others are the only bands i'd like to see, so I would never pay £200.

OMG my friend did the EXACT same thing, we all signed up for Oxfam and he signed up for Hotbox by accident :P Erm at Reading it was all separate campsites for each company, unfortunately I imagine it will be the same at Leeds, cos it's all quite secure and we had to show our IDs to get into the Oxfam site etc. However sometimes the people at the door were nice and let him into the campsite so he could join us, but I think it'd be difficult to camp together :/

Another issue is shifts - with Oxfam we were allocated which shifts we had, and if we wanted to swap we had to find somebody else who would swap with us (have to swap all three shifts with that person too, not just one). I don't know how hotbox works, hopefully it's easier to swap so you're working at the same time as your friends, or maybe they even let you choose your shifts,idk.

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really? so you could actually camp on the main campsite anyway? would you remember at all who they were volunteering for? if this was literally true this would be so so so amazing. sorry about all the questions, i would literally love love love this if it was true!

really? so you could actually camp on the main campsite anyway? would you remember at all who they were volunteering for? if this was literally true this would be so so so amazing. sorry about all the questions, i would literally love love love this if it was true!

Thanks so much for your reply! Oh dear this doesnt look too good for me. Im soooo sorry about all the questions, but do you think maybe my best best is to try and apply for Oxfam then? They do a waitlist thing but its not running at the moment, so ill do it when its up again probably. Ohmygod i cant believe ive done this :s btw if you have your Oxfam application confirmed, does that mean you're in? Because one of my friends said hers had been the other day, and obviously i got insanely excited thinking it was for Hotbox as well but no :/ she said apparently her cousin volunteered last year and camped in the general campsites, but from the organisations' websites and from what you've said that doesnt look possible so im just going to have to cross my fingers and hope i get a place on oxfam. oh god this is quite literally the biggest, hugest blonde moment in my life. And by the way im so sorry about all these questions, but these are literally open to anyone to answer if you have the slightest of Reading, Leeds or what a very very blonde person could do to get herself of this sort of situation(!!) Thank youuuuuuu. Oh and please quote me xx

First time festival goer.

Actually feeling quite anxious about getting Leeds tickets.

I'm sure Oxfam wouldn't care if you camp away from the site, as long as you're where you have to be when you need to be there. The only issue is if you're allowed to do that from the festival's point of view - I don't know how camping works outside of volunteering, but aren't people allocated certain campsites? eg there was yellow, green, red, white, how does it work with where you're permitted to stay?

Also bear in mind that you will have odd timed shifts - the staff campsites are generally a lot quieter so it's easier to sleep when you need to.