Medicine Festival goes ahead this weekend

Five-day outdoor event at Wasing Estate has range of safety measures

West Berkshire Council has worked closely with the organisers of the Medicine Festival to enable the event to go ahead on the Wasing Estate this weekend, albeit with a reduced capacity of 600.

The council, and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, say they are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase how outdoor festivals can take place safely.

To ensure that event attendees are as Covid safe as possible, council officers from the licensing and public health teams have worked alongside the event organisers to rigorously review their risk assessments and ensure that a range of measures are in place – including screening at the gate and social distancing.

Medicine Festival is not licensed for the use of alcohol and is taking place entirely outdoors in acres of parkland. It started yesterday (Thursday) and runs until Bank Holiday Monday.

The festival aims to unite ancestral wisdom, art, wellbeing, future thinking, food, environmentalism, spirituality, music, dance, performance and creativity, to encourage people to reimagine the concept of ‘medicine’ for both the planet and themselves.

West Berkshire Council deputy leader Graham Bridgman (Con, ) said: “We have been working very closely with the event organisers to ensure that everyone’s wellbeing is at the forefront of the event plan.

"West Berkshire is open for business, provided that business is undertaken safely in these difficult times.

"The Medicine Festival is giving people the opportunity to connect with the community and enjoy the weekend event in the safest way possible and I wish the organisers every success.”