As every year, many UK-based music fans will end the summer with a visit to Reading or Leeds Festival. The twin events offer a roaring line-up of British and international stars who will perform this bank holiday weekend.
Here’s how to watch the best Reading and Leeds 2024 live coverage online, on TV, via radio and more on a wide range of devices, including smartphones and tablets. We’ve even got a step-by-step guide on how to watch if you’re outside the UK.
As usual, the BBC is your go-to provider for pretty comprehensive Reading and Leeds 2024 live coverage – whether you want to watch online, on your TV, on your mobile or listen on the radio. The coverage will include live streams of two stages and highlights of loads of artists on iPlayer.
When is Reading and Leeds Festival 2024?
The pair of festivals will take place from 23-25 August 2024.
The Reading Festival will be held on Richfield Avenue, while the Leeds event is returning to Bramham Park.
Who is performing at Reading and Leeds Festival 2024?
As with every year, both festivals offer visitors a rich and varied line-up. There will be plenty of big stars – headliners include Liam Gallagher, Lana Del Rey, Blink 182, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Fred Again.., and Gerry Cinnamon.
Here are some of the highlights from the main stages:
Reading Festival Main Stage schedule
Friday 23 August
- Dasha – 12:00pm
- Seb Lowe – 12:50pm
- Kneecap – 1:45pm
- The K’s – 2:45pm
- Neck Deep – 3:55pm
- Spiritbox – 5:10pm
- Two Door Cinema Club – 6:25pm
- Gerry Cinnamon – 7:50pm
- Blink-182 – 9:45pm
Saturday 24 August
- LeoStayTrill – 1:40pm
- SimOne – 2:35pm
- Killowen – 3:30pm
- Sota – 4:25pm
- Kenya Grace – 5:40pm
- Denzel Curry – 6:55pm
- Bou – 8:15pm
- The Prodigy – 10:15pm
Sunday 25 August
- Frozemode – 12:00pm
- Kid Brunswick – 12:50pm
- Chinchilla – 1:40pm
- G Flip – 2:40pm
- FLO – 3:40pm
- Teddy Swims – 4:55pm
- Confidence Man – 6:10pm
- David Kushner – 7:40pm
- Jorja Smith – 9:20pm
You can see the full schedule of the Reading Festival here.
Leeds Festival Main Stage schedule
Friday 23 August
- The Luka State – 12:00pm
- Corella – 12:50pm
- Crawlers – 1:40pm
- Bru-C – 2:35pm
- Reneé Rapp – 3:40pm
- Pendulum – 4:50pm
- 21 Savage – 6:05pm
- Liam Gallagher – 9:30pm
- Catfish & The Bottlemen – 7:35pm
Saturday 23 August
- Dasha – 12:00pm
- Seb Lowe – 12:50pm
- Kneecap – 1:40pm
- The K’s – 2:30pm
- Neck Deep – 3:35pm
- Spiritbox – 4:40pm
- Two Door Cinema Club – 5:55pm
- Gerry Cinnamon – 7:20pm
- Blink-182 – 9:15pm
Sunday 24 August
- Fred Again.. – 9:35pm
- Lana Del Rey – 7:40pm
- Raye – 6:10pm
- Fontaines D.C. – 4:55pm
- Bleachers – 3:40pm
- The Last Dinner Party – 2:30pm
- Dead Poet Society – 1:40pm
- Courting – 12:50pm
- Zino Vinci – 12:00pm
For the full timetable, visit the Leeds Festival’s official website.
How to watch Reading and Leeds Festival 2024 live online
If you can’t go to one of the twin festivals in person, you can take a look at what’s happening via the BBC. Thanks to the broadcaster, you’ll be able to catch some of the performances from the Main Stage and the Chevron Stage.
During the festival weekend, you’ll find selected performances and highlights on the Reading & Leeds live stream on BBC iPlayer. Moreover, from Monday, 26 August, on the Music Channel, you can watch highlights as well as selected full sets and must-watch tracks.
If you’re more of a listener, Radio 1 will bring you live music from Reading and Leeds across the weekend – also expect special guests and surprises.
And if you want to experience the festivals later on, check out BBC Sounds – for 30 days after the festivals, you will be able to listen to selected sets and highlights from the stages.
Note that you need a TV licence to use BBC streaming services and radio channels.
However, you can watch festival highlights via social media if you don’t have one. You can spot the best Reading and Leeds moments on BBC Music YouTube channel. Moreover, you can access behind-the-scenes festival material thanks to Radio 1 Instagram and TikTok accounts.
How to watch Reading and Leeds Festival 2024 in the US and abroad
The BBC channels are the best places to watch and listen to coverage of the twin festivals but, unfortunately, access to them outside the UK is severely limited. However, it isn’t impossible.
To gain access from outside the UK to iPlayer, which will be streaming the best performances from the Main Stage and the Chevron Stage, you can try a VPN (virtual private network). With this service, you’ll bypass geoblocking and gain access to websites outside the country you’re in.
Of the many available providers, we recommend NordVPN, an affordable and trustworthy app that has been tested by many.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to connect to BBC iPlayer via NordVPN.
Sign up for NordVPN
Jim Martin / Foundry
You can sign up here. By default, the Complete plan is selected, but if you only need the VPN, click on Get Standard. At the top, choose between a two-year, one-year and one-month plan.
Follow the prompts to create your account and pay.
Install the NordVPN app
Jim Martin / Foundry
If you’re using a phone or tablet, just head to its app store and search for NordVPN, then install it.
If you’re on Windows, then log into your NordVPN account in a web browser, go to the Downloads section and click Download App next to Get NordVPN for Windows. Run the downloaded file to install it.
Launch NordVPN
Jim Martin / Foundry
Launch the app, and sign in using the email address and password you entered when creating an account with NordVPN. On Windows you should see a screen like this, but other apps are very similar.
Either use the list of locations (from the world icon at the top left) or scroll the map to the UK and tap on Connect to London. If prompted, allow NordVPN to set up a VPN connection. You might have to enter your Windows password or, on a mobile device, your passcode.
Wait until the VPN is connected
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You should see a message to tell you the VPN is connected. You can see this with the green CONNECTED and a padlock above United Kingdom.
Open iPlayer
Jim Martin / Foundry
Sign in with your BBC account (create one if you haven’t got one) and then find the festival content. It should play just fine as the VPN makes it appear that you’re in the UK.
You can read more about the process and guidelines in our our article on how to watch BBC iPlayer from abroad.
Remember that you can watch the festival highlights on the BBC YouTube channel without restrictions.