Volunteer with us at
Reading Festival 2025

• No admin fees deducted from deposits
• Deposits refunded in full 30 days after the festival
• Choose shifts before the festival
• Private secure camping and car parking
• Bring your campervan, caravan, or motorhome
• Free phone charging and wi-fi
• Crew toilets and hot showers
• Free tea, coffee, and hot chocolate
• Discounted festival food

Our Reading Festival volunteers can be found across the festival site assisting with a wide variety of areas! It'd be tricky to list everything we get up to but some of the most common roles include the below.

• Assisting Reading Festival goers with directions.
• Helping Reading Festival goers carry their belongings and pitch their tents.
• Answering questions about Reading Festival performances and line-ups.
• Reporting any problems such as a build-up of litter or faulty facilities.
• Working alongside the Reading Festival Fire Safety, Medical and Security teams.
• Keeping an eye on the Reading Festival campsites from the fire towers.
• Helping out with various roles across the Reading Festival site including pedestrian and vehicle gates, wristband exchanges, keeping an eye on facilities, monitoring stages and walkways.
• Making sure festival-goers have the best time possible at Reading Festival!

We work very hard to make sure everyone who volunteers with us at Reading Festival has an amazing experience and this of course includes your shift pattern!

We know how important it is to make sure you're off-shift to watch your favourite bands, so everyone who joins us has the opportunity to select shift preferences and be allocated a shift pattern before you arrive at the festival.

Reading Festival volunteer shift patterns are chosen by way of shift preferences that you can select. We open shift selection a few weeks before the festival and let you know when you can login to choose your shift preferences via email, our news, and socials. There are usually between 20-30 volunteer shift patterns for you to rank in order of most to least preferable and we make sure everyone gets the highest shift preference possible!

All Reading Festival volunteer shift patterns contain 3x 8-hour shifts. Most of these shift patterns contain 1x Early (09:00 - 17:00), 1x Late (17:00 - 01:00) and 1x Night (01:00 - 09:00) shift.

Shift patterns are allocated based on deposit payment date, therefore the earlier you apply and pay the refundable deposit to confirm your place, the best chance you have of being allocated your top choice shift pattern!

We guarantee all volunteers have at least two of the main festival evenings off-shift to watch the bands, some volunteers will even have all 3 evenings off!

When you volunteer with Hotbox Events at Reading Festival we make sure you have all you need to complete your volunteer shifts and have a safe and enjoyable week with us!

The below are the bits we always provide at Reading Festival, and once you're onsite we're always on-hand should you need something else!

• We send a volunteer info pack a few weeks before Reading Festival which thoroughly details the festival volunteer role, responsibilities, and provides information about the festival.
• Around 20-30 different shift patterns for you to rank in order of preference a few weeks before the festival so you can make sure you're off-shift to watch your favourite bands!
• Every volunteer will have at least two of the main festival evenings off-shift to watch the bands, some volunteers will get all 3 evenings off!
• We guarantee you'll have the same shift pattern as your friends if you list them in the 'Friends' section of your PAAM profile!
• Secure Reading Festival volunteer parking within walking distance of (but often next to!) your own private campsite!
• A private and secure Reading Festival volunteer camping area within the main festival crew area. In here you'll also find the Hotbox festival office so we're always close-by if you need anything!
• A Reading Festival volunteer marquee with chairs, tables, charging points, hot water, free tea, coffee, and biscuits!
• Free festival wi-fi, exclusive to Hotbox volunteers within the Hotbox compound!
• Access to Reading Festival crew toilets and hot showers!
• Dedicated and discounted Reading Festival volunteer catering right inside your volunteer campsite offering some of the tastiest festival meals you're ever likely to find on a festival site!
• A Reading Festival crew pass when you arrive at the festival which allows you to move about onsite.
• A thorough onsite briefing from us and other Reading Festival teams where you can also ask any questions you have.
• At the beginning of each shift all the bits you'll need including a Reading Festival tabard, a radio if the position requires one, and any PPE.

There are a few bits below you'll need to make sure of when applying to volunteer at Reading Festival.

• Be 18 or over on the date you need to arrive at Download Festival.
• Be available to arrive onsite on either Tuesday 19th or Wednesday 20th August 2025 and attend an onsite briefing at 19:00 that evening. You will need to attend the briefing on the day before your first shift (eg. if your first shift is on Wednesday you need to arrive on Tuesday and attend the Tuesday evening briefing). We strongly recommend planning to arrive several hours before your briefing time as you will need to sign in, go through security checks and collect your accreditation before the briefing. You are welcome to arrive at Reading Festival from midday on Tuesday 19th. You will be able to let us know if you have a preferred briefing day when you select your shift preferences a few weeks before the festival.
• Be available to volunteer for 3x 8-hour shifts at any time between 09:00 Wednesday 20th (or 01:00 Thursday if arriving for the later briefing) and 14:00 Monday 25th. Most shift patterns include 1x Early (09:00 - 17:00), 1x Late (17:00 - 01:00) and 1x Night (01:00 - 09:00) shift.
• Arrive at the Hotbox Events festival office one hour prior to your shift to be signed in and have your zone and/or position allocated; you will then need to allow between 5 and 30 minutes to make your way to your zone. This time is outside of your allocated three 8 hour shifts in a similar way that travelling to your place of work or study is outside of paid work or classroom hours.
• Be able to produce documents when you arrive at the festival which prove your right to work and volunteer in the UK. You can read more about proving your right to work and volunteer in our FAQs
• Provide a refundable security deposit.

The refundable deposit is your way of showing commitment to volunteering at the festival.

You only need to pay 1 deposit a year to volunteer at as many festivals as you like!

Your deposit is returned to you in full within 30 days of the festival.

If this is your first time joining us at a festival, the refundable deposit is £95. If you've joined us before, the refundable deposit is discounted by almost 50% to £45.

There are no admin fees charged on deposits, so you receive your entire deposit back as long as you complete all of your shifts or cancel your place at least 20 days before the arrival date!

For more info about deposits please head to the deposits section of our FAQs!