Working Reading & Leeds
Reading & Leeds (Reading, Berkshire and Leeds, West Yorkshire) takes a small army to build, run and strike. Crew are hired by the festival and by the contractors who supply the bars, stages, marquees, fencing, power and toilets - usually in the weeks before August. Pick the work you do:
Add your name to CrewPool, tick whether you can reach Reading (Berkshire) or Leeds (West Yorkshire), and you go on the list companies search when they're staffing Reading & Leeds. Free, two minutes, and you keep every penny of your rate.
Hiring crew for Reading & Leeds?
If you're a contractor or organiser staffing Reading & Leeds, CrewPool is a live list of event crew you can filter by distance from England and by availability for your exact build dates. Search the list free, then unlock the people you want and ring them direct - no agency in the middle.
Reading & Leeds crew roles and pay
The 90,000-capacity festival requires hundreds of crew across both sites. General build crew earn £100-150/day; marquee and tent crew £130-180/day; bar staff £100-140/day plus tips; stewards £100-140/day; crew chiefs and supervisors £180-280/day; specialist crew (riggers, lighting, AV) £150-300+/day. All rates are agreed direct with the contractor - no agency cut.
Build work covers erecting the stages and structures, setting up the campsite and fencing, managing the bars and catering units, and stewarding the gates and crowd flow. Every role is on-list: contractors search CrewPool and ring you direct.
When Reading & Leeds crew get hired
Reading & Leeds is held at the end of August, but the build starts around 10-14 days before the headline weekend. For 2026 that means the build crew window opens in mid-August. Bar staff, stewards and on-event roles are typically confirmed 2-4 weeks before the event - so the recruitment window for both sites is NOW (late July and August). Contractors do not advertise on job boards; they search CrewPool and ring people directly.
The festival runs on TWO simultaneous sites - Richfield Avenue in Reading (Berkshire) and Bramham Park near Wetherby in Leeds (West Yorkshire). Crew register once but can indicate which site they can reach. A crew member in Sheffield or Leeds can realistically work Bramham Park; someone based in Oxford or London can reach Richfield Avenue. Getting on the list now means you are in front of contractors for both sites.