Fans prepare for start of Reading and Leeds Festivals

Green Day, Eminem and Biffy Clyro are this year's headliners

Thousands of fans are preparing for the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

Green Day, Eminem and Biffy Clyro are this year's headliners with more than 200 other acts playing over the bank holiday weekend including Chase and Status, Fall Out Boy, Foals, Editors, Disclosure and White Lies.

More than 87,000 fans are expected each day at Reading's Richfield Avenue with 75,000 at Bramham Park in Leeds.

French band Phoenix, Alt-J and Skrillex will headline the NME/Radio 1 stage.

Green Day played a surprise set at last year's Reading Festival, a month before frontman Billie Joe Armstrong started treatment for substance abuse.

Eminem first headlined Reading and Leeds 12 years ago with D12 and this will be his only festival appearance in the UK this year.

The 40-year-old rapper has released a new single, Survival, ahead of the release of his eighth studio album later this year.

Biffy Clyro released their sixth studio album Opposites in January and headlined Radio 1's Big Weekend in Londonderry in May.

"We're starting to get really excited about it and think about it more," said Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil.

"For a while we tried to ignore it and hope it would go away.

"It is intimidating. When you're the last band on - we're closing Reading on the Sunday night - you have to be awesome and we intend on being awesome.

"We know what it takes. We've seen some great headline bands and we're going try and be as good as the ones we've seen."

Two extra stages have been added at this year's Reading and Leeds.

There will be a BBC Radio 1 dance stage, headlined by Sub Focus, Magnetic Man and Knife Party, and a BBC Radio 1Xtra stage topped by Wiley, Devlin and Wretch 32.

Wretch 32 is playing Reading and Leeds for the first time this year

Wretch 32, whose real name is Jermaine Sinclair, said he was looking forward to performing.

"I haven't even been to Reading and Leeds before, so I don't know what to expect," he admitted. "So I'm excited.

"I've heard that they're a rowdy bunch in a good way. I've heard that when you deliver bangers, they go through the tent roof.

"I want to give them that raw energy and hope that everyone really enjoys themselves."

An alternative stage will host comedians such as Russell Kane and Lee Nelson while there is also a BBC Introducing stage, the Festival Republic stage and lock up/rock stage.

The weather in Reading is forecast to be sunny on Friday and Sunday with a rainy Saturday. The forecast for Leeds, which is celebrating its 15th birthday, is mixed with more sunshine expected on Sunday.

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