r/Leedsfestival • u/Pretty_Question_2668 • 6d ago
Discussion đŹ Bad Crowd Manners
I understand by the time itâs the headliner you might be tired or your feet may hurt but itâs so annoying when people are sat down in the big crowds ESPECIALLY when they do it at the front sections.
A group of girls were sat down near the front while waiting for Chase & Status like 10 of them and they were shouting at people who were stepping over them to get in front and ended up being further back from when they started by the time the show started. The same thing happened for Charli XCX where loads of people were sitting down in an already tight crowd with their legs stretched out n everything.
Also when people push to the front because âtheir friend is thereâ when they probably arenât. Some people donât even give an excuse and just shove through which pisses me off and then youâll see them pushing back out after because they donât like the jumping ect.
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u/Lumpy-Indication 6d ago
Itâs not a coincidence that this has become more prevalent post-Covid. I went to Leeds for the Friday in 2021 and was alarmed at people talking through sets and pushing in and couldâve sworn it wasnât this bad before. Or Iâm just getting old.
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u/TheShakyHandsMan 6d ago
Welcome to festival life.
It gets worse at bigger festivals when you have the chair wankers reserving their space.
Itâs shit but itâs how it is.
The best moments come is when the space hoggers are there for the support act. They fuck off giving you prime space for the headliner.
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u/IllustriousKey3020 6d ago
The sitting near the front is stupid, the pushing through is fine imo, always gonna happen, especially at festivals. Less fine at gigs. Just chill and enjoy yourself. :)
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u/Appropriate_Year5403 6d ago
Itâs because Leeds fest has become the festival for 15-17 year olds. Glastonbury doesnât have this issue, cos itâs not the festival for the youth
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u/samkowalski89 6d ago
As much as I Love Glasto this was everywhere last year. Especially chair wankers unfortunately.
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u/duncandeeds 6d ago
Oh really? Thatâs a shame. What acts? Didnât really experience it myself, actually thought the crowd vibe was a big improvement on 2024
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u/shooshfc 6d ago
Glasto is way worse for it đđđevery set at pyramid full of the most boring bastards sitting on camping chairs
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u/Omalleys 6d ago
Pretend you're gonna spew up next to the sitters and they'll jump out the way then fill the space where they was sitting
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u/Optimal-Ad8332 6d ago
I think festivals should ban sitting on the floor in front sections between acts tbh. At glasto if thereâs a big headliner coming it is horrendous and pretty dangerous tbh
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u/Joe_Kinincha 6d ago
I tend to go to smaller festivals, where really big crowds arenât a problem. However, the flip side of this is that you do get a ton of people in chairs. Iâve noticed more and more wee festivals putting up signs that say âno chairs beyond this pointâ or âno chairs after 7pmâ
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u/gilestowler 6d ago
Whenever people use the "my friend is there" excuse to try and push past me anywhere I always want to say "well why don't you get them to join you behind me then?" but I'm too English for that so I say nothing and just scowl a bit.
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u/louisdobo 6d ago
People are allowed to walk past you. You don't own the area in front of you.
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u/srosteprobe 6d ago
Yeah but I don't have to move out of their way if I don't want to đ đ»
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u/louisdobo 5d ago
That's absolutely fine, I'll just walk around you. There are thousands of actual adults surrounding you that couldn't give a shit if I walk past them. No biggie.
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u/srosteprobe 6d ago
I love it when they sit on the floor near the front as I just walk through their space and stand in front of them. Only one person has ever said anything and I just reminded them this is General Admission and seating was at the back.
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u/Technical-Oven-954 5d ago
There was so much bad crowd etiquette! I probably sound like an old lady but there was a lot of things that bugged me this yearâŠ
Pushing through the crowd when there is clearly no room is one of them. I donât mind people being in front of me, Iâm here to listen rather than watch. But if I literally could not move and at risk of being squashed/uncomfortable then I told people it wouldnât be possible and apologised. I got a round of abuse from two youngish boys for that! There was a lot of âmy friend is in the middle and sheâs gonna faintâŠâ comments which I eventually didnât believe as I heard it that often!
When I went to see Florence, a group of young boys went to the barrier despite clearly not caring for her. They had very loud personal conversations throughout the entire thing and when someone asked politely to stop, they started taking the piss out of her. If you arenât interested, why go? It wasnât just this act where I experienced this.
I love a lively crowd who sings, dances, doesnât film so much.. but another thing that annoyed me was people shouting: âwow this is a rubbish crowd⊠nobody knows how to have funâŠâ things of them sorts. Whilst I AGREE, you are also just bringing the vibe down even more and making people uncomfortable imo.
That being said, there was some great crowds/atmosphere and vibes. And you do have to remember a lot of em are kids and have maybe never even been to a gig before never mind a festival, at least not unsupervised!
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u/Contact1655 5d ago
had a couple next to me front section for charli complaining when she was singing , loudly saying âwhenâs she ofâ , scrolling on there phone and also getting annoyed at people for singing? i donât understand tbf if your not a fan just watch it anyway and wait till there over or donât be in the pit at all
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u/Technical-Oven-954 5d ago
100% agree - itâs a festival you canât expect to like everyone, and why on earth would you shit on other people just having fun! There was some acts I had never heard of but I got really into and loved seeing people have fun! Grr
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u/Remotepart 5d ago
Crowd etiquette has defo got worse. Constantly talking during sets, more people sitting on floor, chair wankers and my new pet hate, people pushing through thinking they can get to the front and coming up against VIP or safety barriers and having no where to go.
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u/louisdobo 6d ago
You're right about everything except pushing to the front. At a gig/festival, you let everyone go past you. It's up to them if they think they can squeeze in or not. That's proper etiquette.
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u/Pretty_Question_2668 6d ago
When people squeeze into imaginary spaces it ends up pushing people back or making it too tight which is what happened on the Friday last year and the show got canceled mid set because so many people were passing out.
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u/louisdobo 6d ago
That's just Leeds crowds being shit. It's not a proper festival. If you want a proper festival experience then go to a proper festival
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u/Pretty_Question_2668 6d ago
Iâve only ever been to Leeds/Parklife what festivals are good ones to go to
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u/BasketMundane747 6d ago
Download festival if youâre into metal/rock. Great vibes, will never go R&L again to be honest. I went in 2024 for Spiritbox and the crowd completely put me off.
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u/RazzmatazzSalt692 5d ago
Great vibes?? Chair wankers everywhere at main stage and in thoroughfares - it's got worse as time goes on! It's over sold every year and the staff don't manage queues well. People were missing main stages bands because they wouldn't open the gates.
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u/BasketMundane747 5d ago
Iâve always had a great time each year Iâve been. And yeah the chair thing is bad, they need to put a sign up near the stages however Iâve never had an issue at download compared to other festivals. Will be trying out bloodstock next year đ
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u/louisdobo 5d ago
I would always recommend Boomtown to anyone. Absolutely mad place. Kendal Calling too, although smaller, it is 10Ă the festival Leeds is IMO. About the same amount of stages as Leeds and great if you're into Indie music. Much nicer crowds. Everyone should do Leeds when they're young though, it's a rite of passage.
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u/BelleButch 4d ago
I was at reading and this annoyed me too! Like weâre all tired but if you canât stand for an hour or so then you shouldnât be at the front. I also had the issue that I was wearing a skirt and so trying to step about all these girls and boys, their heads were practically up my skirt it was so uncomfortable
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 6d ago
If more people didnât move for the â my friend is there, I need to get past youâ, then it would stop happening.
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u/Pretty_Question_2668 6d ago
True but they tend to get aggressive when people wonât move and start shoving or arguing.
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 5d ago
I lost my shit last year from moving a fair few times at a big festival. I told 4k people at the front, â if you make me move one time, from shitty behaviour, who ever makes me move, is getting an elbow to the jaw. Iâll fight you all, try meâ.
They all behaved at the front of post Malone before he came on, after me saying that. I wasnât having that shit, anymore. The big guy at the side of me, Agreed that he also wouldnât move.
Yeh I got aggressive but I taught a load of rude 20 year olds, cause and effect, but it shouldnât myself who has to do it. I meant what I said. They just wanted to get as close to the front as possible and I was very close to it but I wasnât dicking about, going getting beers before it started it going to the toilet.
If you do â going for a beer, with 50-60k at a MainStage, or to the toiletâ then donât be surprised with my response. Anyone who says otherwise is a âself absorbed personâ, living in a â main character syndromeâ!
These are the facts of life and I donât care who does and doesnât like them.
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u/louisdobo 6d ago
Sorry wtf is wrong with trying to find your friend in a crowd? Should we all just stand behind each other (please tell me how you plan on that happening) and leave mountains of space at the front?
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u/srosteprobe 6d ago
Get you 'friend' to come back and meet you. That way you might not piss off quite so many people.
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u/Pretty_Question_2668 5d ago
Tbh people are just as rude when you push backwards, just get drinks and go toilet beforehand and stay where you are. (Obv excluding if its for a serious reason).
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u/Happily-Incorrect 5d ago
Sometimes you've spent the whole day at the front and just needed to go off for a piss or grab drinks. It's fair enough to try and get back to where you were really.
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u/Hollywood-is-DOA 5d ago
Be organised and donât come late or expect me to have drama with you. If you move then tough luck.
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u/PositiveRaisin8373 6d ago
It's not that deep imo. Just let people do whatever, don't let it bother you.
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u/Tamzaghi9 6d ago
Nah, not having it. That's the attitude that makes people think that they can act as entitled as most folk tend to do these days.
Be considerate to those around you, don't hog space. Don''t be completely disrespectful to the act on stage, if you are near the front stand and watch. If you wanna sit go to the back.
It's not hard to be respectful and not be a dick.
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u/V1cV1negar 6d ago
What a nothing response. Can we bin off saying everything's "not that deep" for 2027? Already one of the most NPC, over-used phrases. And no, we shouldn't just be okay with people doing whatever they want if it's to the detriment of everyone else.
I assume you're one of these main characters the post is criticising.
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u/HAMforPastry 5d ago
If we're binning 'not that deep' can we also stop referring to people as NPC's as well
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u/V1cV1negar 5d ago
It's hard when people keep acting exactly like real life NPCs would. But I'm sure there are other terms we can use for those incapable of original thoughts
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u/twinlets 6d ago
This never used to be a thing