How to live stream Reading & Leeds Festivals anywhere
David
David has been watching TV outside of his home country for over 12 years. In addition to his streaming expertise, he has a wealth of experience in watching sports and documentaries, having spent many years following these genres. He is an avid fan of The Detectorists and Blue Planet, and also has a keen interest in English football.
With the possible exception of Glastonbury, the Reading and Leeds Festivals are the pinnacle of the UK Festival season, with packed houses gracing events in both the north and south of England.
The last Reading and Leeds festivals were some of the best and they’re back again this year.
If you are hoping to get a ticket, bad luck, those are long gone. But the good news is that much of the festival is being broadcast live and exclusive on terrestrial TV and online.
But what about if you aren’t in the UK but still want to check out some of the biggest bands and groups in the world strutting their stuff on the Reading and Leeds stages?
Well, you can still stream as much of the Leeds & Reading festivals as you like with a little help from something known as a VPN.
Keep scrolling down to find out more.
Where is the Reading and Leeds Festival being shown?
The BBC will be broadcasting the Reading and Leeds Festivals exclusively across its various TV channels.
However, most coverage will be streaming live and on-demand on its BBC iPlayer service.
But, if you are based outside the UK, you will find you can’t watch on the BBC iPlayer. Without the help of a VPN, that is.
How do I watch the Reading and Leeds Festivals where I am?
You can watch the Reading and Leeds Festivals live and on-demand around the world with the help of a VPN app (Virtual Private Network).
A VPN is an online security and privacy app. It works by redirecting all your internet data through an external server, which hides your true location and gives you a new one which matches where the server is.
So, all you have to do to get the BBC iPlayer working overseas is to connect to a UK-based VPN server. Then you will find the BBC iPlayer is available to use no matter where you really are.
This nifty trick also works with a whole host of other streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, ITV Hub, All4, Disney+ and many, many more.
Where do I get a VPN?
There are masses of VPNs readily available on the internet. The question is not so much where to find one as which VPN to choose.
We have been testing VPNs with the BBC iPlayer, and our top recommended VPN for this job is ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN has some of the fastest speeds of any VPN, a massive range of UK-based servers, and robust privacy and security protections.
It has apps for any device you can think of, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee which gives you loads of time to try before you buy.
If you don’t like the look of ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark VPN offer a decent alternative, and they too come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Which you pick is up to you!
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How to watch the Reading and Leeds Festivals outside the UK
Once you have chosen your VPN, setting everything up to stream the Reading and Leeds Festivals is really quite straightforward. To help, here is a simple step-by-step guide for you to follow:
Step 1
Sign up with ExpressVPN on their website. Just choose your preferred package and then follow their onscreen instruction.
Step 2
Download the ExpressVPN onto your device from either their website or your app store.
Step 3
Open the app and log in to your new ExpressVPN account.
Step 4
Click Selected Location and choose a United Kingdom server from the list. If it doesn’t connect automatically, press Connect.
Stream the festivals live with ExpressVPN.
Step 5
Open the BBC iPlayer app or visit the website, log into your BBC iPlayer account as usual and enjoy everything that the Leeds and Reading festivals have to offer.
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What are the Leeds and Reading Festivals?
Only one of the biggest festivals in the whole of the UK.
This unique festival takes place across two sites (yes, one in Reading and one in Leeds), with the vast majority of acts performing a set at each venue.
The venue in Reading is Little John’s Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, while the Leeds venue is Bramham Park, near Wetherby.
The Reading Festival has been running since as far back as the 1960s, but in the year 2000, it joined forces with the new Leeds festival.
Over the years, some of the biggest names in music have headlined the Reading and Leeds Festivals, including Oasis, Blur, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Ramones, Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses, Eminem, Muse, and many more.
Who’s performing at the Reading & Leeds festivals this year?
The Killers will be headlining this year returning after their original headline stint in 2008.
Billie Eilish will also be putting in an appearing at the Main Stage East of the Reading Festival. Another artist who has previously been in attendance back in 2019 and drew a huge crowd.
Other artists to look out for include Sam Fender, Imagine Dragons, Foals and Lewis Capaldi.
Central Cee, Steve Lacy, Becky Jill, Knucks and Andy C will also be playing.
WhenTheHornBlows said of the 2022 event, “Leeds and Reading Festival are protecting the relevance and the importance of the camping festival against all odds and that is something that is worth celebrating. Leeds Festival 2022, yet another one to remember!”
2023 looks set to be another banger!
Summary
If you are not one of the lucky few with a ticket to either the Reading or Leeds Festivals this year, and indeed you are not in the UK, you can still watch most of the performances on the BBC iPlayer.
If you are abroad, you will need a VPN to do this.
We recommended ExpressVPN for the job. Just sign up, download the app, choose a UK server, and then log into the BBC iPlayer as usual.
You will find all of the live shows there as well as plenty of on-demand recordings too meaning that you don’t have to miss any of your favourite bands from this year’s amazing line-up.
✔ Beginner-friendly
✔ Quick to set up
✔ Money back guarantee
30-day money back guarantee
