It’s not bad being a journalist at Reading Festival.
Although we do have to do some work here and there, we get in to the arena for free and have a great time covering the town’s biggest annual event.
READ MORE: Live coverage from the final day of the festival
What’s more, the press tent is situated within the guest area, which gives us incredible access to an exclusive part of the festival site.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes guide to what you can expect to find in the guest area at Reading Festival
Short queues
There’s a long bar in a tent in the guest area which has short queues given the smaller number of people in this space.
I queued for a beer on Friday and I was served in five minutes.
Meanwhile, the queues at the bars in the arena… well, the less said about them, the better.
A pizza van
The guest area has its very own pizza van!
Sadly this is the only food option in this exclusive space, but if you exit the guest area you are immediately flanked by a range of food vans inside the arena anyway.
A dance floor
Another perk of the guest area is that it has its very own dance floor, which is very cool.
READ MORE: Gallery from day two of Reading Festival
Situated at the end of the bar in the tented area, it’s the place where you might find stage acts and their mates dancing the night away.
People who you think you recognise but can’t quite think who they are
Naturally, with a lot of acts on the Reading Festival schedule, you’re bound to come across some of them in the guest area.
But given there are so many it’s sometimes hard to put a name to a face and you think you recognise someone famous but can’t quite put your finger on who they are.
READ MORE: How much a pint of beer will cost you at Reading Festival
However, one act that announced herself to the guest area and the press tent was Ashniko, who walked into the press tent on Friday with a ‘giant [costumed] vulva’.
There it is. pic.twitter.com/tZie3HbeVL
— Ollie Sirrell (@olliesirrell) August 27, 2021
Rob Beckett
One celeb I definitely did recognise was comedian Rob Beckett.
The comic, whose Instagram stories from Euro 2020 the nation came to adore, was spotted beer in hand chatting to people on Friday evening.
@robbeckettcomic nice meeting you today as promised no filter! #readingfestival2021 pic.twitter.com/FAR9yUslWI
— Sarah Daniels (@SarahJDaniels) August 28, 2021
He even had time for pictures with a few festival-goers -- what a lovely chap!
We also saw Yungblud and Jake Bugg in the press tent.
We also saw The Sidemen (a popular group of YouTubers) who were out to support their friend, KSI, who was performing on the main stage earlier.
The backstage bit
Walking through the site from O’Malley Alley to the guest area you will walk past the steps which take artists to the stage of the eastern main stage.
READ MORE: The Becky Hill fan who was brought on stage
If you stand at a certain angle you can see a small bit of the backstage area, with family and friends spotted watching on.
Sadly, only some members of the press and photography team get to go in this bit, so I could not get any closer.
Overall, the guest area is a very cool place to be and I had a great time.
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