News

Leeds Festival Campers Urged to Stay Inside as Storm Lilian Batters UK

Published

4 months ago

August 23, 2024

Twenty stalls were wrecked (Picture: Sean Hansford/MEN)

Festival-goers at Leeds Festival are advised to remain in tents or cars as Storm Lilian brings severe weather conditions across Britain.

A yellow Met Office warning is currently in effect for parts of England and Scotland, with the storm already causing significant disruption, including railway delays, flight cancellations at Heathrow, and multiple flood warnings.

Leeds Festival organizers issued a safety alert early this morning, cautioning campers about the strong winds sweeping through Bramham Park, where the festival is being held. Wind speeds in the area have reached the high 40s, prompting organizers to advise those travelling to the festival to stay where they are until conditions improve.

Scenes of devastation in Bolton town centre this morning 😭 @TheBoltonNews @BBCNWT #stormlilian #storm #lilysavage pic.twitter.com/kUVVQdUpp8
— Neil (@neilgtweets) August 23, 2024

Musician Alfie Templeman shared his disappointment on social media after learning that multiple stages, including the BBC Radio 1 stage where he was scheduled to perform, were no longer standing due to the storm. “I’m gutted about this,” Templeman posted, apologizing to fans and promising to make it up to them.

Photo taken with permission from the social media site X, formerly Twitter, posted by @simonjohnno of a branch that was blown down in Whitefield, Greater Manchester, as storm Lilian hits the UK.?Picture date: Friday August 23, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story WEATHER Lilian. Photo credit should read: @simonjohnno/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

A large branch that was blown down in Whitefield, Greater Manchester (Picture: @simonjohnno/PA Wire)

In addition to the chaos at Leeds Festival, strong winds have wreaked havoc across other parts of the UK, with clean-up crews dispatched to Manchester to deal with downed trees and debris. The Bee Network has reported severe disruptions to various forms of transportation, including damage to overhead power lines between Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western, and buses forced to reduce speeds to 20mph.

The fallen trees have caused issues with the overhead lines on trams (Picture: Reuters)

People walking in windy conditions on London Bridge as storm Lilian hits the UK. Picture date: Friday August 23, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story WEATHER Lilian. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire

People walking in windy conditions on London Bridge (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

In other words, for morning commuters, it was not a fun walk when changing from Bank to London Bridge (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The storm should ease up later this morning (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The Met Office has also issued a new yellow weather warning for tomorrow’s heavy rain. The alert, active from 6 am to 1 pm, warns of potential travel disruptions, flooding, and power outages across London, Essex, and the South East. Up to 70mm of rain is predicted, with the heaviest downpours expected in the early morning hours.