Young revellers at Reading festival say they've 'never seen campsite so rammed' with huge queues to get in because of 'excessive bag searches' - as tens of thousands descend on post-GCSE mecca for weekend of partying
- Teenagers are descending on the event after recieving their GSCE results today
- Thousands made their way into the venue after queueing for up to three hours
Revellers at this year's Reading festival have complained about huge queues to get in to the festival which some have said is busier than ever this year.
Thousands of teenagers across the country are descending on the event for a weekend of partying after receiving their GSCE results today in a year when efforts have been made in England to return grading to pre-pandemic levels.
Festival-goers have already been making their way into the venue at Richfield Avenue and were spotted, carrying, wheeling and sometimes dragging their bags as they waited in queues for up to three hours.
Attendees have blamed 'totally excessive bag checks' for causing a huge jam and claimed that there is only one tent being used to check in thousands of people.
Those who have managed to make it past the gates and into the campsite have also said they have 'never seen it so rammed' after only one day, with plenty more punters expected to arrive before the weekend.
One person claimed on TikTok that she had 'never seen' Reading Festival 'so rammed' and the campsite is about 'half the size this year'
Hundreds of tents fill the fields surrounding the Reading Festival in Berkshire
Fans armed with tents and a weekend worth of booze arrived today for Reading Festival which starts tomorrow
Punters have embraced the wet weather and have been arriving at the festival today
Some punters came more prepared than others, with one person seen sporting an orange poncho in anticipation of the bad weather
One angry mother aired her frustrations on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the size of the queues and claimed that her duaghter was forced to queue for three hours and 20 minutes in the hot sun yesterday.
She wrote: 'Daughter spent 3hrs 20 mins in the #ReadingFestival full luggage check queue, pulled out and separated from her friends, stood in full sun, no access to water or loos… and then a woman asks her if she has any drugs, she replies no, and is waved through. Wta @OfficialRandL'
A frustrated festival-goer claimed that the queues were getting 'worse every year' and that they were being exacerbated by 'totally excessive bag checks'.
They posted on X saying: 'Totally excessive bag checks in #ReadingFestival this is early bird as well. Good luck trying to get through this tomorrow.
'Gets worse every year. We’ve been in Q for an hour only about 50 people in front when we got here!'
Another furious punter added: 'only one tent to check thousands of people coming through from white car park entry. SORT IT OUT!!!! People are going to be here all day at this rate! #readingfestival'
Those that have managed to get in to the venue have warned others about how busy the campsites are, with one person claiming she had 'never seen it so rammed' and the site is about 'half the size this year'.
One festival-goer even took it upon themselves to inform people of the best campsites for those yet to pitch their tents.
The TikTok user explained how there is already a lack of space in some of the most popular spots given the huge numbers of people that have already arrived, while the least popular campsites also appear to be quite busy.
One angry mother aired her frustrations on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the size of the queues
A frustrated festival-goer claimed that the queues were getting 'worse every year' and that they were being exacerbated by 'totally excessive bag checks'
Another furious punter urged the festival organisers to 'sort out' the huge queues
Thousands of teenagers are descending on the event for a weekend of partying after receiving their GSCE results today
Fans were spotted carrying their backpacks, camping chairs and tents as they made their way into the venue at Richfield Avenue
One group of campers didn't let the rain dampen their spirits as they posed outside the festival entrance today
Two punters swapped their raincoats for woven ponchos depsite today's forecast
Festival-goes were pictured carrying, wheeling and dragging their bags as they arrived at Reading Festival today
Festival goers have also been arriving at Reading's sister festival in Bramham Park in Leeds yesterday
Despite today's rain, blue skies shone as campers began to join queues for the campsite on Wednesday
Reading Festival fans arrived for the early bird camping yesterday, with the sun shining
Two punters posed for a picture during the spells of sunshine in Leeds yesterday
Armed with tents and a weekend worth of booze punters are well prepared for the annual event where they can expect to hear from headliners such as The 1975, Billie Eilish, and The Killers.
As the festival is always held on the August bank holiday weekend it has become a staple for those wanting to celebrate their GCSE results.
Today's results showed that the proportion of GCSE entries awarded top grades fell from last year but is higher than before the pandemic.
Students in England were left worse off than those in Wales and Northern Ireland where grade inflation was retained.
It comes after the pandemic led to an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.
While many pupils will receive their results in person, those already at the festival will have got theirs by email or relied on a family member or friend to pass on the news.
