Reading Festival — Richfield Avenue, Reading

The Reading Festival, held annually at Richfield Avenue on the banks of the Thames, is one of the oldest and most important rock festivals in the world. Running since 1961 (originally as the National Jazz Festival), it became a defining event of British rock culture through legendary performances by Nirvana (1992, their triumphant return after Kurt Cobain's health scare), The Smiths, Oasis, and hundreds of others. The 1992 Nirvana headline set — where Cobain was wheeled onstage in a wheelchair before launching into 'Breed' — is widely considered one of the greatest festival performances ever.

The festival evolved from jazz through blues, progressive rock, punk, and into the indie and alternative era, running in parallel with its sister event at Leeds from 1999 onwards. Reading has been the launchpad for countless careers and the site of numerous iconic moments, from the Sex Pistols' chaotic 1976 appearance to My Chemical Romance's headline-sealing 2011 set.

The festival continues annually each August bank holiday weekend, attracting around 90,000 attendees. Richfield Avenue is a flat riverside site that transforms into a temporary city of stages, camping areas, and mud. Tickets typically sell out months in advance. The site is otherwise unremarkable parkland, but during festival weekend it becomes the centre of British rock culture.