Who will headline the Reading and Leeds music festivals in 2026?placeholder image
Who will headline the Reading and Leeds music festivals in 2026? | Getty Images

Reading and Leeds Festival Headliners 2026: Here are 13 acts rumoured to be topping the bill - including The Cure

There are some huge names vying to take the top spots at the twin music festivals.

It may only be September but thoughts are already turning to next summer’s music festivals, with Primavera and Bearded Theory having already announced their full lineups.

With Glastonbury on a fallow year in 2026 all eyes will be on the other big British music festivals, with Download expected to make a first announcement in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile in Scotland the organisers of TRNSMT haven’t even announced dates for the Glasgow festival - keeping fans waiting.

Arguably the biggest event of the year in the UK will be The Reading and Leeds Festivals, which will take place from August 27-30.

Dating back to 1961, when it was known as the National Jazz Festival, the event was first only held in Reading but since 1999 encompasses twin festivals taking place over the same weekend with a near-identical lineup.

The Reading part is held at Little John's Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, while the Leeds portion is held in Bramham Park, near Wetherby.

Many of the biggest names in music have headlined over the years, including Nirvana, Oasis, Blur, Fall Out Boy, Metallica, The Cure, Guns N’ Roses, Beastie Boys and Pink Floyd.

Here are the 13 acts who are rumoured to be entering the festival’s roll of honour next year.

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