Festivals this summer? Sorry, I’m not going anywhere crowded just yet

The mere thought of being surrounded by loads of sweaty bodies is enough to send shivers down my spine, writes Charlotte Cripps

Music to our ears? Reading and Leeds is due to go ahead in August (Getty)

The Reading and Leeds festival website crashed within minutes of organisers announcing that the party would go ahead this summer. Liam Gallagher, who is due to perform, added to the excitement, tweeting: “READING n LEEDS c’mon you f***ers.”

But the temporary glitch as people snapped up tickets isn’t just down to the line-up, which also includes Stormzy, Post Malone, Queens of the Stone Age, Lewis Capaldi, and Charli XCX.

It has surely got far more to do with the fact that we have been starved of fun for so long. The double festival over the August bank holiday weekend at Little John’s Farm in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds is the first major summer event to announce its return since Boris Johnson unveiled England’s roadmap out of lockdown.