Festival Republic overhauls Reading and Leeds, drops BBC stage

Festival Republic is dropping the BBC Introducing stage after 18 years as part of what the organiser describes as the biggest staging and arena overhaul in the history of the Reading and Leeds festivals.

The physical transformation of both Little John’s Farm in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds will see the sites operate with up to six stages. The traditional Main Stage is being rebranded as The Grid, supplemented by newly constructed venues named The Gallery and The Warehouse.

The decision to remove the BBC Introducing stage alters a long-standing talent pipeline. Launched in 2008, the stage served as an early platform for artists like Ed Sheeran and The 1975 before they achieved mainstream success. The BBC reports that the stage had supported roughly 70% of all the UK artists on this year’s line-up.

Festival Republic stated it maintains a “big focus on championing emerging artists.” However, rather than outsourcing this to a public broadcaster, the company is consolidating the function within its own footprint. The new Canopy stage will now serve as the dedicated home for new and breaking acts.

This infrastructure investment coincides with a significant expansion of the festival's commercial capacity. Organisers recently applied for a licensing change to allow performances on a Thursday, effectively making the event a four-day festival. Leeds has already secured this permission and will host Thursday music for the first time this year, with Kasabian headlining the opening night.

Melvin Benn, the boss of Festival Republic, framed the changes as the start of “Reading & Leeds 2.0”. “The whole stage change and the presentation of the way we’re making those stage changes, it’s made me as excited about Reading & Leeds as I’ve ever been,” he said. “This really is the next phase of Reading & Leeds festivals.”

Benn highlighted the economic ecosystem the festival provides to the broader music industry. “Those headliners have very much developed their skills, craft and songwriting in front of audiences that weren’t necessarily their own,” he said, referring to acts like Florence + The Machine, Charli XCX, Dave and RAYE, who are topping the bill this year alongside Chase & Status.

A BBC spokesperson confirmed that the decision to remove the stage was made purely by Festival Republic. The broadcaster stated it is exploring how BBC Introducing could work with the event in the future, noting that its stages will continue to operate at other UK festivals this summer.

The expanded four-day event is scheduled to run between August 27 and 30.