BBC Music to bring the best of Reading and Leeds Festival 2026 to audiences across the UK

BBC Music will return to Reading and Leeds Festival this August Bank Holiday weekend with dedicated coverage across TV, radio and digital platforms, including BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Music on YouTube and BBC Sounds.

From Friday 28 August to Sunday 30 August, audiences will be able to experience some of the standout moments from this year’s festival, with headline performances, live sets and festival highlights available across the BBC.

TV

BBC One will broadcast four special shows featuring performances and highlights from this year’s festival.

Fontaines D.C. at Reading Festival will broadcast on Friday 28 August at 10.40pm on BBC One. The acclaimed Irish rock band will headline the Main Stage at Reading Festival, bringing their distinctive sound and electrifying live show to audiences.

RAYE at Reading Festival will broadcast on Saturday 29 August at 11.35pm on BBC One. RAYE will take to the Main Stage at Reading Festival, following a landmark few years which have seen her become one of the UK’s most celebrated artists.

Chase & Status at Reading Festival will broadcast on Sunday 30 August at 11.40pm on BBC One. The drum and bass duo will headline Reading Festival with their high-energy live show, bringing some of their best-known tracks to the Main Stage.

For anyone suffering from the post-festival blues, Reading Festival Highlights 2026 will air on Wednesday 2 September at 10.40pm on BBC One, bringing together standout performances and memorable moments from across the weekend.

BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer will be the place to catch the biggest moments from Reading and Leeds Festival across the weekend, with Radio 1’s Sian Eleri and Jack Saunders guiding viewers through the festival highlights and headline performances.

On Friday 28 August, coverage will begin at 3.30pm with archive highlights from Reading’s Ultimate Performances and Arctic Monkeys’ 2022 set, before Sian and Jack go live from site at 6pm, introducing headline sets from Charli xcx and Fontaines D.C.

On Saturday 29 August and Sunday 30 August, coverage will run from 6pm-11.30pm, with Sian and Jack bringing viewers performances from across the festival, including headline sets from Dave and RAYE on Saturday, and Florence + The Machine and Chase & Status on Sunday.

Performances and highlight tracks will be available on-demand via BBC iPlayer for 30 days following the festival, with some of the biggest tracks also available on the BBC Music YouTube channel.

Radio

Radio 1

Radio 1 will bring listeners closer to the action with live broadcasts from Reading across the festival weekend.

On Wednesday 26 August, Jack Saunders will reveal a very special secret set coming to Reading Festival this weekend. Tune into Radio 1’s New Music Show at 6pm to find out who will take to the stage, as Jack unveils one of the festival weekend’s biggest surprises.

Radio 1 will broadcast live from Reading from 10am-4pm on Friday 28 August and 11am-4pm on Saturday 29 August and Sunday 30 August, bringing listeners live performances and the biggest moments from the festival. Vicky Hawkesworth, Nat O’Leary, Minah Shannon and Sam and Danni will lead the coverage, with listeners able to tune in on Radio 1 and BBC Sounds.

On Monday 31 August, Radio 1 will look back at the weekend with a special Reading and Leeds Festival show from 6pm-1am, featuring performances and highlights from across the festival.

Radio 1 Dance will continue the festival celebrations on Thursday 3 September from 6pm-10pm with the best of The Warehouse Stage.

6 Music

From Monday 31 August, 6 Music’s Indie Forever stream will showcase an hour of Reading Festival headline sets each day from 12pm-1pm, including Nirvana (1992), Arctic Monkeys (2022), Florence + The Machine (2026), Fontaines D.C. (2026) and The 1975 (2023).

FM2

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