A volunteer has shared footage of the shocking state Bramham Park was left in by Leeds Festival-goers - despite organisers repeatedly encouraging people to respect the festival site.
The video shared on Twitter this afternoon, and now seen by more than three million people, shows field after field dotted with abandoned tents.
The footage also shows litter strewn all over the grass - often within the same frame as large bins left by festival organisers for people to use.
Of course, it's not out of the ordinary for festival sites to look a little worse-for-wear after so much activity (and Leeds Festival was a hive of live music over the bank holiday weekend). But volunteer Jack Lowe described it as 'littering on the grandest scale we’ve ever witnessed'.
He was there as part of a team from a charity who salvage camping equipment that's still in good condition, which is used to provide emergency shelter to refugees in France.
Jack posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: "It's going to take us a while to digest what we saw when we went to help salvage tents and equipment for a refugee charity at the end of Leeds Festival yesterday.
"This is just a fraction of it — littering on the grandest scale we’ve ever witnessed.
He added that there were 'thousands and thousands of tents and related equipment' left at Leeds Festival.
People have been blasting those who so carelessly and thoughtlessly left their possessions behind, despite the efforts of festival organisers to prevent scenes like those seen this week.
Leeds Festival installed recycling points and issued advice ahead of the festival (which was repeatedly pushed through the app to those on site). They said: "Did you know that the amount of plastic in a single tent is the equivalent of 8,750 plastic straws, or 250 pint cups? Say no to single use, take your tent home!
"Buy a durable tent that you can use again each year, it will save you money in the long run."
Jack also added: "It’s hard to convey the sheer scale of this. There are thousands of tents and associated paraphernalia.
A video shared by a volunteer shows the volume of tents and litter left behind at Leeds Festival. Credit: Twitter/X, Jack Lowe
"I’d say the volunteers manage to dismantle less than 1% of them.
"Many are damaged (some purposefully). Most will be scraped up and put into landfill."
Speaking at Leeds Festival on Saturday, Melvin Benn of Festival Republic told ITV News: "The message to festival goers all of the time is to try and look after the environment really.
"We work really hard on making sure that people recycle and take their belongings home with them.
"Most people do, some people don't. Some people are untidy and we have to tidy up after them."
Zayn Malik appears to have had a dig at his former One Direction bandmate Harry Styles, live on stage in Las Vegas.
The Bradford-born star was performing at the Dolby Live at Park MGM, where he’s nearing the end of a mini residency, when fans captured the awkward moment.
Zayn appeared to make a comment that felt very targeted towards his pal, who has announced a record-breaking run of shows at Wembley Stadium in London, along with residencies in other cities.
Addressing the crowd of fans, Zayn made a jibe about the ticket prices of the Harry Styles show, which has been upsetting fans since the Together Together tour was announced.
Fans have been slamming Harry for charging up to £466.24 for seated tickets, and pricing his standing tickets between £144.65 to £279.45 (those prices are for his 12-night run at Wembley).
It’s left a lot of people unable to afford to see the star on his newly-announced shows, which will see general tickets released tomorrow.
On stage last night, as seen in this TikTok video, Zayn said: “I just wanna say a big big thank you to everyone of you for being here tonight. You could’ve been anywhere, but you’ve decided to spend your night with me.
"Hopefully the ticket prices weren’t too high” before shrugging and wincing.
He then added: "Just saying… anyway" with a knowing smile as the crowd cheered.
Wunderhorse confirmed as final headliner for Rock N Roll Circus Sheffield 2026
Clementine Hall
Rock N Roll Circus has announced Wunderhorse as the Saturday headliners for its 2026 Sheffield edition.
It marks another incredible statement show for the festival, hot on the heels of Queens of the Stone Age’s only outdoor UK headline performance in 2025.
The performance will be one of only two outdoor UK shows by Wunderhorse this year and the only one outside of London, making it a pretty big deal for us northern fans.
The announcement completes pretty unbeatable trio of headliners for Rock N Roll Circus Sheffield, alongside The Streets and Richard Ashcroft.
Images: The Sheff
Wunderhorse will headline on Saturday 29 August, with Baxter Dury confirmed as main support, alongside British rock group and Mercury Prize winners English Teacher and indie group Fat Dog also confirmed.
The full Rock N Roll Circus Sheffield 2026 headline programme now sees The Streets performing A Grand Don’t Come For Free in full on Friday, Wunderhorse headlining Saturday, and Richard Ashcroft closing the weekend on Sunday, supported by The Fratellis and Cast.
Festival Director Ali O’Reilly said: “Wunderhorse are one of the most exciting British bands to emerge in recent years, and bringing one of their only outdoor UK shows to Sheffield feels incredibly significant.
We are huge fans of the band and tried really hard to get them over the line. We’re also super excited about the line-up. Our programming has always been about championing artists who are shaping the future of live music and giving audiences outside of London access to truly special shows.”
Rock N Roll Circus Sheffield returns to Don Valley Bowl from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 August 2026.
Pre-sale starts on Wednesday 4 February with general sale just a couple days later on Friday 6 February, you can find out more about tickets here.
Daisy Jackson -
29th August 2023 
