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.
Reading Festival jobs at Richfield Avenue
Reading Festival takes place at Richfield Avenue in Reading, Berkshire. The site needs hundreds of crew for the full build and run: stage crew and riggers arrive 10-14 days before the August Bank Holiday weekend to erect the main stages and structures, then the bulk of build crew arrive in the final week to set up fencing, campsites, bar units and catering facilities. Reading Festival jobs at Richfield Avenue are filled by the festival's own contractors and bar operators, who search the CrewPool list for crew who can reach Reading.
Reading Festival jobs split into two phases. Build phase (roughly two weeks before the main event): site crew, fencing, marquee and tent crews, electrical and power crew, catering rig teams, campsite layout crew. On-event phase (the three-day headline weekend plus build-down): bar staff working the festival's licensed bars and concessions, stewards managing gates and campsite, litter and recycling crew, catering and food crew. Pay for Reading Festival jobs: build crew £100-160/day, bar staff £100-140/day plus tips, stewards £100-140/day, marquee crew £130-180/day, crew chiefs £150-280/day.
Leeds Festival jobs at Bramham Park
The Leeds site of Reading & Leeds Festival runs simultaneously at Bramham Park near Wetherby, West Yorkshire. Leeds Festival jobs at Bramham Park are the single biggest crew demand event in Yorkshire during August: the 45,000-capacity site (Bramham Park's half of the 90,000-total capacity) requires a full build crew starting around 10-14 days before the Bank Holiday weekend. For crew based in West Yorkshire, the East Midlands or the North East, Bramham Park is the more practical reach.
Leeds Festival jobs at Bramham Park cover the same full range as the Reading site: build crew for stages, marquees and infrastructure, bar staff for the festival's licensed bars, stewards for gates and campsite, catering crew and food-truck operators, specialist crew for lighting and AV, and litter and recycling teams. Because Bramham Park is a country estate outside Wetherby, crew travelling to Leeds Festival jobs typically drive or join transport from Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield or Harrogate. Getting on the CrewPool list now means contractors for Leeds Festival jobs at Bramham Park can find you before the window fills.
When Reading and Leeds hire crew
The recruitment window for Reading and Leeds Festival jobs is RIGHT NOW. The festival runs over the Bank Holiday weekend in late August 2026 (Bramham Park and Richfield Avenue simultaneously), and build crew are typically confirmed in the first two weeks of August. Bar staff, stewards and on-event crew are confirmed in the final 2-4 weeks before the headline weekend. Getting on the CrewPool list now (late July and August) is the critical window - contractors do not advertise on job boards. They search the CrewPool list and ring the crew nearest their site who are confirmed available.
A practical note on the two sites: some crew with flexibility work the build at one site (usually the closer one geographically) and then cross to the other for on-event shifts, but this is rare and requires advance planning with the contractors. For most crew, the choice is simple: Reading or Leeds. Crew in Yorkshire, the North and the Midlands tend to Bramham Park. Crew in London, the South and the Home Counties tend to Richfield Avenue.