Reading Festival - Petition launched for better safety

Rhian Poole began the petition after receiving more than a dozen messages from parents about their children’s experiences at Reading Festival this year.

The petition calls on Festival Republic, Reading Borough Council and partner agencies to carry out a full review of safety and safeguarding in the campsites.

Reading Festival allows 16 and 17-year-olds to attend and camp without an accompanying adult. Additional safeguarding measures were introduced after serious disorder at the event in 2022, including nationally reported violence and tents being set alight.

However, Ms Poole said parents and attendees had since described incidents including tents allegedly being deliberately destroyed, belongings being stolen, objects being thrown and young people leaving because they felt unsafe this year.

Some teenagers were also said to have been left without usable shelter overnight, according to the teacher.

Ms Poole said the petition did not claim every allegation had been independently established or that the festival was unsafe for everyone but made calls for a clear safeguarding plan.

The petition says many people had positive experiences in 2026, but argues safeguarding should also be judged by what happens to people who need help.

Ms Poole said: "For people that are seeing is as positive, that's great and I'm glad their kids have had a really good time but those parents are forgetting that one child who is perhaps not that confident, who may need help but doesn't have the courage to ask."

She said children had different levels of experience and confidence.

Ms Poole said: "I'm a teacher and not every child who comes into a classroom is the same. Not every parent has bought their child the same things. Not every child has common sense in the same way that you expect them all to have at that age."

She added: "Some of them have experienced less. Some of them have experienced more."

The petition asks for age-appropriate camping areas, including family or under-16 camping, an optional area for unaccompanied 16 and 17-year-olds, and adult camping areas.

It also calls for suitable access controls, welfare facilities and additional safeguarding staff in youth camping areas.

Other requests include risk-led security deployment, active overnight patrols and a rapid response system for developing disorder.

The petition also asks Festival Republic to publish information about the number, locations, staffing and safeguarding abilities of AIR Hubs in the campsites.

It calls for safe emergency shelter when a tent is destroyed, burned, flooded or made unusable, particularly when the attendee is under 18.

The review would also examine searches, weapons prevention, security recruitment and vetting, safeguarding training, medical distress recognition, use-of-force procedures and complaints about security staff.

Further proposals include reviewing existing CCTV, improving incident records and creating safe removal and overnight exit procedures for under-18s.

The petition says no child should be left without safe transport, a responsible adult or somewhere secure to wait after being removed or leaving because they feel unsafe.

Ms Poole said: "It's not that the festival is doing anything inherently wrong and they're not trying to create these environments but they're not thinking like a parent and they're not thinking like a teacher would.

"We've got to risk assess all these things."

Reading Borough Council said the safety and wellbeing of Reading Festival goers particularly younger people, is taken “extremely seriously”.

The council said extensive security, safeguarding, welfare and medical measures were in place at this year’s festival, with arrangements planned through a multi-agency process involving police, emergency services, health partners and Festival Republic.

It said concerns raised by festival-goers and parents would be considered as part of post-event reviews, with any lessons learned informing planning for Reading Festival 2027.

A spokesman for Reading Borough Council said: “We are aware of the concerns raised in the petition and recognise that any report of individuals feeling unsafe at the festival is a matter that should be taken seriously.

"While Reading Festival attracts tens of thousands of attendees and the vast majority enjoy the event safely, it is important that organisers and partner agencies continue to learn from experiences shared by festival-goers, parents and local communities.

“As with every year, all aspects of event management, including security, safeguarding, welfare provision, campsite management and emergency planning, will be reviewed as part of preparations for future festivals."

Festival Republic, which operates Reading Festival, did not respond to a request for comment.