Reading Festival site is left a sea of tents and litter

And now for the cleanup… Reading Festival site is left a sea of tents and litter in aftermath of music event as revellers make their way home

Discarded tents and piles of rubbish spanned the landscape of Little John’s Farm this morning as thousands of revellers waved goodbye to Reading Festival for another year.

Aerial shots reveal the extent of the litter left behind by music fans following the culmination of the three-day festival last night.

Billie Eilish closed proceedings on the main stage, with the Bank Holiday weekend extravaganza also starring performances from the likes of Sam Fender, The Killers, Imagine Dragons and The 1975.

The festival attracts more than 100,000 visitors every year – many of whom being teenagers who have recently collected their GCSE and A-Level results.

Today, a mass clean-up of the site began as campers packed up their bags and set off for the home comforts of a warm shower and a proper toilet.

Discarded tents and piles of rubbish spanned the landscape of Little John’s Farm this morning as thousands of revellers waved goodbye to Reading Festival for another year

Aerial shots reveal the extent of the litter left behind by music fans following the culmination of the three-day festival last night

The festival attracts more than 100,000 visitors every year – many of whom being teenagers who have recently collected their GCSE and A-Level results

While there were bursts of sunshine across the weekend, revellers had to endure torrential rain throughout the festival, with many pictured in ponchos and wellies.

Fans had already had their mettle tested in recent days amid rail strikes and complaints of long queues to get in with their camping gear.

Last night, 21-year-old US hitmaker Eilish played a subdued, heartfelt performance as she returned to the event after four years.

She surpassed Brixton rapper Dave, who had been the youngest artist to headline the festivals aged 23 in 2022.

In 2019, Eilish was upgraded from the BBC Radio 1 Stage to the Main Stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals. On Sunday, she told fans it was ‘good to be back’.

She kicked off with a bang, jumping on to the stage in a sports jersey as she opened with lines from Happier Than Ever before moving into Bury A Friend.

Fans tried to get further to the front for her emotional renditions of My Strange Addiction, Lovely and her Barbie soundtrack hit What Was I Made For? and Copycat.

The American singer-songwriter was joined by her brother Finneas O’Connell, who she called her ‘best friend’, as they duetted with guitars to pump out I Love You.

O’Connell followed her as she skipped and hopped around the stage for Bellyache before sliding into her original big hit, 2016’s Ocean Eyes.

Eilish is known for her activism on climate change and women’s rights and her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? reached number one in the UK album charts when she was 17.

She has been recognised commercially and critically for her honest, open lyrics and last year made the BBC 100 Women 2022 list, which celebrates influential people annually.

Today, a mass clean-up of the site began as campers packed up their bags and set off for the home comforts of a warm shower and a proper toilet

While there were bursts of sunshine across the weekend, revellers had to endure torrential rain throughout the festival, with many pictured in ponchos and wellies

Eilish is the first singer born in the 21st Century to have a number one in the charts and win an Oscar.

In 2022, she became Glastonbury’s youngest solo headline and her performance of No Time To Die for the James Bond film of the same name won the Academy Award for best original song and topped the UK’s Official Charts in 2020.

Shortly before Eilish took to the stage, American indie pop band TV Girl were getting underway on the Festival Republic Stage.

Fans were packed in to the small tent with many more standing outside in the hopes of seeing the San Diego band, who have seen a growth in TikTok popularity.

Earlier at Reading, singer and John Wick: Chapter 4 star Rina Sawayama brought theatricality and an energetic performance to Main Stage East as she played hits Hold The Girl and Dynasty.

Her set featured several clothing changes, starting with a white ensemble top and shorts before moving into jeans and a white shirt and, finally, a red latex bodysuit.

During Comme Des Garcons (Like The Boys), a man – which appeared to reference the male gaze – was displayed on a screen looking down at her while she read the newspaper.

She also dedicated This Hell to ‘the queers’ and called the crowd ‘sinners’.

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