Leeds Festival 2026 will be running between Thursday, August 27 until Sunday, August 30 at Bramham Park
Those heading to Bramham Park for Leeds Festival 2026 have been given a hint of what to expect this year from the event’s boss.
The headline acts for Pepsi MAX presents Reading and Leeds Festival 2026 include Charli xcx, Chase and Status, Dave, Florence and The Machine, Fontaines DC and Raye. Many other big names have also been announced for Bramham Park.
Leeds Festival 2026 will be running between Thursday, August 27 until Sunday, August 30. If you’d love to go, you can find out ticket information here.
Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn, who oversees Leeds Festival and its sister event Reading Festival, offered a tease of what we can expect over the August bank holiday when he appeared today at Headrow House, in Leeds city centre, for a big launch event.
He spoke about how music festivals such as Leeds Fest should evolve and has reflected on some of the changes fans can expect for the 2026 edition. Melvin said: “It has been 27 years (since Leeds Festival launched) and we are effectively putting a new fresh look to Leeds Festival. We have been looking at it constantly. It constantly evolves.
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“The most important thing about Leeds Festival is that the bands evolve. The most important thing is that the music doesn’t stand still. It is important the music is relevant to what the Leeds Festival audience is.
“A couple of years ago, we started to create new campsites and we started to look at whether there’s a boutique (camping) option that didn’t need paying for.”
The Leeds Festival boss added ‘sprucing up’ of the campsites will continue for this summer’s event following them be significantly revised last year. Discussing how Leeds Festival has adapted, in general, in recent years, Melvin said: “Post-covid, everybody keeps telling me that the audiences have changed and, I suspect, they have. People want a bit more comfort, value for money and that type of stuff.
“Where can you start, in terms of value for money, than the headliners? We have some incredible headliners.”
A massive new addition for Leeds Festival 2026 is making the Thursday, at Bramham Park, a headline music day. It will see Kasabian top-the-bill.
Melvin explained: “We’ve always opened on a Thursday night (after the first camping arrivals) at Leeds Festival – we generally do one of the smaller stages. Having a little bit of an evening of fun. This year, it is Kasabian, first ever Thursday night proper headliner. I saw them in Finsbury Park (in London) a few-days-ago and it was extraordinary.”
Reflecting on the evolution of Leeds Festival for 2026, and hinting at what else is to come, Melvin added: “I think some people are describing it as Leeds Festival 2.0 and they are welcome to.”
You can find out more about campsite options for Leeds Festival 2026 here.
You can find the latest Leeds Fest info by signing up to our Leeds Festival WhatsApp group. You can find all the details you need to sign up below.
To find out the latest event news in our city you can visit our Best in Leeds homepage. There you will also find a guide to great things to do in Leeds. Stuck at home and wishing you were there? Download your favourite artists from Amazon and Apple music.
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