Reading mess-tival! Drone shots show grim aftermath of three-day event – with tents and rubbish left scattered across fields

Drone footage has revealed the full extent of the grim aftermath left behind revellers at Reading Festival.

The three-day event – which takes place on the August Bank Holiday weekend each year – has attracted attention in the past over the amount of waste it creates.

And this year is no different as pictures from the site show piles of tents, litter, camping gear and more abandoned after the revellers flocked home. 

Festival organisers have previously tried to encourage ticket-holders to take all their belongings with them and leave the fields clean. 

But the message of ‘take your tent home’ appears to fallen on deaf ears.

Drone pilot Mark Dillen’s video – taken on Monday, after the festival wrapped up on Sunday – shows a sea of tents and rubbish covering Little John’s Farm.

The 43-year-old has been photographing the site for the past three years and, while he says he’s seen improvement, he believes more still needs to be done.

He said: ‘I’ve been coming here with my drone for the past three years.

Pictures show abandoned tents, sleeping bags, camping chairs and blow-up mattresses

This year’s festival was headlined by Chappell Roan (pictured), Hozier, Bring Me The Horizon, and Travis Scott

‘I was on site and in the air at about 10am, and I reckon there were around 2,000 tents left behind.

‘This time it wasn’t quite as bad as before, but there’s still a long way to go.’

Pictures show dusty fields littered with food wrappers, drinks cups and other detritus as tents languished in their pitched spots. 

Rather than lush grass, the camping areas were covered with deflated and torn blue blow-up mattresses, sleeping bags and warped camping chairs. 

While some spots appeared clean and tidy, other areas seemed to have been abandoned by large groups.

Shots captured some festival-goers packing up their belongings in backpacks and trolleys and heading off down the paths to the exit but others appeared to be leaving rather light on luggage. 

Some tents appeared ripped and broken but others seemed to be in perfect condition but had nonetheless been abandoned by their owners. 

Elsewhere crushed beer cans and bottles littered the grounds among bags of rubbish which had been left rather than taken to the sign-posted bins.    

The festival – which attracted 90,000 people to the town last year – tries to encourage ticket-holders to take home their tents but the message seems to have fallen on deaf ears

Pictures show fields littered with crushed cans, drinking cups and bottles, scattered among broken tents still pitched and camping chairs

The shots were captured as the clean-up operation began on the Bank Holiday Monday following the end of the popular festival 

Some remaining attendees packed up their belongings and went home but many chose to leave their camping gear behind

The Daily Mail have approached Festival Republic, the event organisers, for comment.  

This year’s festival was headlined by Chappell Roan, Hozier, Bring Me The Horizon, and Travis Scott.

The 2024 edition – which brought 90,000 people to the town – saw a reduction in the amount of waste left on the previous year, it was previously reported.

The organisers said 702 tonnes of waste was produced last year, down from 780 tonnes in 2023.

Of that, 71 tonnes of tents were left last year – compared to the 80 tonnes left in 2023.

The event takes place with the blessing of Reading councillors, who in turn receive a report each year allowing them to scrutinise the organisers.