NME Festival Guide 2008
Reading Festival

Reading And Leeds Festivals sell out in record time

Reading festival aerial view

Reading festival aerial view

Fans snap up all 200,000 tickets

Tickets for the Reading And Leeds Festivals sold out in record time on Tuesday (April 1), with 200,000 being sold within 24 hours.

Tickets had gone on sale at 7pm (BST) the night before (March 31).

Metallica, The Killers and Rage Against The Machine are set to headline the August bash, which had fans scrabbling for tickets all yesterday in a bid to secure their places.

Melvyn Benn, head of organisers Festival Republic, declared: "I am over the moon! Absolutely thrilled. [It's the] 20th year since we took over Reading after it had been bankrupt. [And the] 10th year since we created Leeds.

"The UK's biggest-selling festival with the best bill on the planet this year sells out in less than two hours. Whoever is talking about a slump in festival popularity is talking rubbish. Long live Reading and Leeds!"



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Comments (5)

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TechnodanceaphobicGG 

Apr 3, 2008

You tell 'em Melvyn. It's gonna be significantly better than Glastonbury.

bengop 

Apr 3, 2008

It is indeed by far a better line-up than Glastonbury or V...pleased I got my ticket last year.I am not sure "Fans snap up all 200,000 tickets" as strictly accurate though. There are at present around 700 tw*ts selling '000s of tickets on ebay. Not sure if they fall in to the 'Fan' category.

subideal 

Apr 4, 2008

Unfortunately, I'm inclined to agree with bengop. Despite spending all evening listening to an engaged tone and retyping my credit card details after yet another time out, I found a multiplicity of said same 'fans' offering tickets in no time at all. Now, I'm usually quite a liberal person; but I do think that all touts should be shot in the face.

drgonzo2012 

Apr 4, 2008

My god, who on earth gives a shit about metallica or ratm in 2008?? and people call glastonbury lame! is worshipping shite mainstream american bands or myspace haircut mockney indie skiffle, the best the uk can come up with?

skistar123 

Apr 4, 2008

i agree with bengop on that... the wesnesday tickets sold out so quickly this year none of my friends got them, and then i saw enough for all of my group and more on ebay selling at £40 a go. next year Festival Republic should crack down on the scum who do that.

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