Volunteer with us at
Reading Festival 2026

• No admin fees deducted from deposits
• Deposit refunds processed 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

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

• 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.
• Assisting with various roles across the Reading Festival site, including stewarding pedestrian and vehicle gates, handling wristband exchanges, overseeing facilities, and monitoring stages and walkways.
• Making sure festival-goers have the best time possible at Reading Festival!

We work very hard to ensure that everyone who joins us at Reading Festival has an amazing experience - and that includes giving you a great shift pattern!

We know how important it is that you have time off-shift to watch your favourite bands, so everyone who joins us has the opportunity to select shift preferences and receive their schedule before arriving at the festival.

Volunteer shift patterns at Reading Festival are arranged by way of shift preferences that you can select. A few weeks before the festival, we'll open shift selection and let you know via email, our news and socials that it’s time to login and make your choices. There are usually 20-30 volunteer shift patterns for you to rank from the most, to the least, preferable.

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 better chance you have of being allocated your top choice shift pattern! However, we do our best to give everyone the highest shift preference possible, regardless of signup time.

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 three evenings off!

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

Here are the essentials we always provide at Reading Festival – and once you're onsite, we're always around if there's anything else you need!

• An info pack will be uploaded to your Hotbox Events PAAM portal a few weeks before Reading. In this pack, you will find thorough details of your role, responsibilities and other information about the festival.
• We guarantee you'll have the same shift pattern as any friends you list in the 'Friends' section of your Hotbox Events PAAM profile!
• Secure Reading Festival parking within walking distance of (and often right next to) your own private campsite!
• A private and secure Reading Festival volunteer camping area within the main festival crew area. The Hotbox festival office is also here, so we're always close-by if you need anything!
• A Reading Festival volunteer and crew marquee with chairs, tables, device charging points, hot water and free tea, coffee and biscuits!
• Free festival wi-fi, exclusive to Hotbox volunteers and staff within the Hotbox compound.
• Access to Reading Festival crew toilets and hot showers!
• Access to an exclusive Reading Festival crew catering provision, which will save you money on your festival meals.
• A Reading crew pass, which will allow you to move about the festival and access the arena when you're not on shift.
• A thorough onsite briefing and Q&A from us and other Reading Festival teams before you start work.
• Everything you'll need at the beginning of each shift, including a Reading Festival tabard, a radio and any PPE required.

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 Reading Festival.
• Be available to arrive onsite on either Tuesday 25th or Wednesday 26th August 2026 and attend an onsite briefing at 19:00 that evening. You will need to arrive and attend the briefing 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 25th August. [Please be mindful of the need to attend the briefing one day before your first shift when selecting 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 26th (or 01:00 Thursday if arriving for the Wednesday briefing) and 14:00 Monday 31st August. 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 3x 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 original documents that prove your right to work and volunteer in the UK when you arrive at the festival. 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 us you are committed to joining us at the festival.

You only need to pay one deposit a year to join us at as many festivals as you like!

Your deposit refund will be processed within 30 days of the end 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'll receive your entire deposit back as long as you complete all of your shifts or cancel your place at least 20 days before the festival arrival date.

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