r/Wellthatsucks • u/mattloaf666 • 10h ago

Reading festival 2026

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u/Jackariasd 10h ago

I was a volunteer in the campsite at Reading festival in 2008 and 2009 with a friend. It was exactly like this, a destitute wasteland of inexplicable tent abandonment. As part of the clean up, we went around with a wheel barrow collecting unopened cans of beer, each tent seemed to be a treasure trove for us as 18 year olds. It was all fun and games until he found a cooler box in a tent. Opened it up and inside was a singular, well preserved, human turd.

885

u/Low-Outlandishness14 10h ago

I was there in '09 and it was chaos, everyone seemed more concerned about drugs and burning tents down every night. Genuinely horrendous experience

Im sure some people were there for music and a good time but that isn't my memory of it

Took my tent home and didnt shit for 5 days so dont look at me....

362

u/bradstokes 9h ago

I was there in 09 and it was horrific. The Saturday night was pure chaos. I remember the field next to mine had flames 15-20ft high from a bonfire made of tents but the fire marshal decided to come to my tent instead and extinguish a fire I had made in a bean can...

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u/Demoliri 9h ago

Wacken in Germany was also like this. My last time was in 2010 and in the camp site after the last day the fire brigade were just driving from one campsite to the other putting out tent fires. People were stacking up hundreds of tents into a pile and setting them alight. The whole area stunk of melted plastic, it was horrid. I was also there in 2005 and 2007, and it wasn't quite as bad, but still a mess after the last day.

Needless to say I haven't been back to Wacken since, and I instead go to smaller festivals.

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u/anondreamitgirl 8h ago

They need to start introducing large fines for littering

22

u/secretwatcher 7h ago

It would be much easier to include the cost of cleanup in the ticket.

3

u/GitEmSteveDave 6h ago

Which is likely what is done.

1

u/vinyljunkie1245 5h ago

The clean up is likely done by volunteers - do 3 eight hour shifts over the weekend for a free ticket or something like that.

1

u/Poundaflesh 3h ago

Then people will litter worse figuring they already paid to litter.