Reading & Leeds are giving away tickets to encourage young people to vote
Reading & Leeds are giving away free tickets for this year’s festivals to encourage young people to vote in the UK general election. Find all the details below.
The twin-site event is due to take place between August 23-25, with Lana Del Rey, Liam Gallagher, Catfish & The Bottlemen, Blink-182, Fred Again.. and Gerry Cinnamon all topping the bill.
Now, it’s been announced that R&L has teamed up with Just Vote for its ‘Crash The Party’ campaign to persuade 18-34-year-olds to head to the polls on Thursday July 4.
Festival Republic, which runs Reading & Leeds, is providing free tickets as competition prizes for those registered to vote.
Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, said: “Reading & Leeds are among the country’s biggest gatherings of young people and sit at the very heart of our youth culture.
“In bringing these festivals to life I have the privilege of witnessing the next generation’s energy and passion first-hand and it is vital that their voices be heard at the general election.”
He continued: “The music industry has always been an important force for positive change and working with Just Vote is a great way to empower our audiences to channel their energy into exercising their democratic right at this historic moment.”
Additionally, Glastonbury Festival – which takes place the week before the general election – is running a competition to win tickets to this year’s event. It’ll also be hosting an interactive ‘Crash the Party’ installation on site, reminding punters to turn out to vote.
Just Vote founder Dale Vince added: “We’re grateful to Festival Republic, Glastonbury and all the participating festivals for throwing their weight behind Just Vote.
“This is the most important general election of our lifetime, and the UK music scene has immense cultural influence which can mobilise young people to make their voice heard on 4 July.”
He went on: “We’re also calling on the UK’s musicians to use your platforms to rally young people to register and then get out and vote. Artists playing these festivals – if you see this please get involved and help.”
Further details on the initiative have not yet been shared. You can register to vote here until 11:59pm BST on Tuesday June 18.
Glastonbury 2024 will be headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA. Earlier this week, organisers revealed the full line-up, stage splits and timings for the festival – including some new names and various ‘TBA’ secret slots.
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Tom Skinner
NME
