Reading and Leeds 2020 cancelled

The 2020 Reading and Leeds festival has been cancelled.

Rage Against The Machine were due to headline the UK event which was scheduled to take place on August 28-30 – but with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to cause chaos in the live music scene, this year’s festival will no longer take place.

A statement from organisers reads: “Reading and Leeds will no longer be taking place this year. We’ve been closely monitoring this unprecedented situation and we were hopeful we could deliver the ultimate festival to you in August – something to look forward to in these strange and confusing times.

“However, it has become clear that it’s just not possible for this year’s festival to go ahead.

“We want to extend our gratitude to our teams, artists and partners who work so hard each year – and to our fans. We’re nothing without you – we thank you for tour continued support and understanding.”

The statement adds that the festival is working with their ticket partners regarding refunds, but fans can also hold on to their tickets and carry them over to next year.

The statement adds: “We’re already counting down the days to when we’re back in the fields we call home for the August Bank Holiday weekend. We promise you that Reading and Leeds 2021 will be worth the wait.

“Finally, we encourage everyone to continue supporting our emergency services, who provide invaluable support and assistance at all our events and we again express our gratitude, admiration and thanks for their dedication and professionalism which is proving so vital at this time.

“Keep safe, keep healthy and look after each other.”

Other artists who were due to play this year’s Reading and Leeds were Idles, Liam Gallagher, Run The Hewels, All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens and Cancer Bats.

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Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.