Reading & Leeds Festivals will not be taking place this year, organisers have confirmed.
The twin event was scheduled to be held over the August Bank Holiday weekend with headliners Stormzy, Liam Gallagher and Rage Against The Machine, but has now become the latest festival casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We've been closely monitoring this unprecendented situation and we were hopeful we could deliver the ultimate festival to you in August, something to look forward to in these strange and confusing times," said a statement by promoter Festival Republic. "However, it has become clear that it's just not possible for this year's festival to go ahead."
Ticket-holders have the option of requesting a refund or retaining their ticket and carrying it over to next year's festival.
"We're already counting down the days to when we're back in the fields we call home for the August Bank Holiday weekend," added the statement.
It will mark the first year since 1985 that Reading Festival has not taken place. The event returned in 1986 after being refused a licence in 1984 and 1985.
All bar a handful of 2020's major UK festivals have now followed Glastonbury in being cancelled.
Read Music Week's recent cover story on the devastating impact of the coronavirus crisis on the festival industry here.
PHOTO: Charles Reagan
