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Reading Festival to introduce new drink and fire rules

By | Published on Thursday 1 July 2010

Festival Republic will introduce new rules governing alcohol and fire at the Reading Festival this year. Of course, in its pure form the former is very good at creating the latter, though the two aren’t really linked in the new rules. Well, except that having flames on site is more dangerous once everyone is horribly pissed.

According to Virtual Festivals, amongst the new rules designed to reduce safety risks and crime at the Reading Festival this year will be a ban on taking alcoholic drinks and firewood on site after 6pm, and an all out ban on lighting camp fires after 8pm. So basically, if you want to cause carnage at this year’s Reading Festival, you’re going to have to start early.

The new rules are apparently being introduced in response to a report by Reading Borough Council about last year’s event, which concluded: “As groups grew in numbers they began moving around the site committing crime and acting in a disorderly and anti-social manner. Numerous fires were started, telegraph poles carrying onsite lighting were tampered with, sections of fencing were ripped up and hedgerows, tents, rubbish and combustibles were set alight”.

Of course there was a time when punters setting alight pretty much anything that would burn at Reading’s sister festival in Leeds was a much loved tradition. Well, by fire-loving pissed punters, if not festival organisers and local residents. But it is true to say that drink-fuelled festival-based arson is definitely frowned upon by the powers that be these days. I blame the Tories.



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