The festival is planning its most comprehensive staging renovation in its history, with festival director Melvin Benn expressing heightened optimism about the 2026 event. A newly assembled leadership team has been assigned to oversee visual and structural improvements across both the Reading and Leeds sites, representing what organisers describe as a modernised iteration of the festival.

The programming will spotlight emerging and established acts from across the UK and Ireland, anchored by international headliners including Florence + The Machine and Charli XCX. Multiple newly branded performance spaces with distinct identities will host acts across the August event, with certain artists appearing exclusively at one location, whilst the festival teases potential format expansions for future editions.