Reading and Leeds 2025: is Leeds festival now more popular than Reading? We analyse the trends

Originally, it was just the Reading Festival, then Reading and Leeds Festival. However, in recent years, the 'Leeds' aspect seems to have taken precedence over its southern counterpart.

Could the younger sibling, Leeds Festival, have surpassed the older Reading Festival in recent years regarding media attention, search interest, or social media buzz?

It's a valid question, especially given that for a newer generation of festival-goers, Leeds is their go-to summer music festival. These days, you're more likely to hear 'Leeds and Reading' than the reverse, despite Reading's rich music history.

The only way to determine if Leeds has surpassed Reading as the preferred festival is through a deep dive into the world of search metrics and social media trends. I’ve done that, so you don’t have to, in order to determine if Leeds is now ‘bigger’ than Reading Festival.

The science part

We used data from Google Trends to determine how many news items were published across five different years for Leeds and Reading Festival, alongside general search data from the general public.

We then took a look at what trending hashtags, including #LeedsFestival and #ReadingFestival, across each year, to then find out if social media regards one as bigger than the other.

Is Leeds Festival now bigger than Reading Festival?

Search interest

While both festivals command significant search interest, our analysis of Google Trends data reveals that Reading Festival maintains a slight edge in overall search volume. However, the data also indicates a narrowing gap, particularly in the current year, with Leeds Festival demonstrating a consistent and growing search presence.

While Reading Festival currently leads in overall search traffic, the emerging trends suggest a potential shift in the festival landscape. Could the perceived shift be attributed to media coverage rather than actual search interest?

Media coverage

Though the search interest is quite even, media coverage of both festivals are still very far apart. A search under Google News across the dates of January 1 2020 and today (March 14 2025) showed that “Reading Festival” resulted in 34,600 news results, compared to “Leeds Festival” having 18,000 results over the same period of time.

Social Media Interest

Diving into the X (formerly, and sometimes still referred to as, Twitter) trenches, here's what we've found: for the last five years, #leedsfestival has been blowing #readingfestival out of the water when it comes to hashtag action.

Basically, more people are talking about Leeds.

Obviously, 2020 was a dead zone for everyone, and 2021 saw both festivals explode back onto the scene, but even then, Leeds was louder online. And looking ahead to 2025, it looks like #leedsfestival is going to get even bigger.

It would appear that festival-goers are more inclined to head North this year.

Leeds v Reading - the verdict

While Reading Festival's longer history is undeniably reflected in its greater search interest and media coverage, a shift in perception is evident.

The data suggests that for a younger, social media-driven audience, the festivals are increasingly seen as a unified 'Leeds and Reading' experience, rather than Reading with its sister event in Leeds.

This generational divide, where those raised with both festivals view them as equals, may be the key factor in Leeds' growing prominence. The social media data, particularly the projected 2025 figures, reinforces this, hinting at a future where Leeds may well become the dominant focal point of the dual festival.

Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because L comes before R in the alphabet and it just feels better to roll off the tongue?

Do you think Leeds has become the bigger festival than Reading over the years, or do you still think Reading will also be ‘the originator’ and therefore bigger? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment down below.