Ticket-holder says Friday ‘worst day ever’ as high winds blow down urinals and merchandise stands.
Leeds Festival ticket-holders have described Friday as the “worst day ever” after 60mph winds blew tents away and demolished urinals.
Many campers left the site at Bramham Park when Storm Lilian led to stage closures, cancelled acts and damage.
Fences came down and a van had its window smashed by a falling wall as organisers shut down the BBC Radio 1, Aux and Chevron stages.
Attendees were advised to remain in their tents but with calmer weather conditions forecast for Saturday, the festival management said it hoped to re-open the Chevron at 12:00 BST.
The health and safety team confirmed on Friday evening that it would not be possible to open the BBC Radio 1 and Aux arenas for the duration of the weekend.
One teenage festival-goer said she had experienced the “worst day ever” because her group’s tent had been destroyed.
Carrie Gill, 19, said: “All the rain came into the tent because the poles pulled so hard from the wind the fabric ripped open.
“All the stores have blown over, the urinal walls are gone, people’s tents are in the sky, shirts and things from the stores are gone. It’s honestly really bad here.”
She and her friends had been asked to leave their camping area for safety reasons.
Declan Donnelly, a 20-year-old who had travelled from Manchester, said he had seen tents abandoned by people who had chosen to go home.
“We had to hold onto our tent for about one to two hours as well as double peg it as when the gusts hit it was nearly flying off.
“It seems to have calmed down now, but there’s lots of tents ripped, collapsed and destroyed, with a fair few tents left behind.”
Dylan Maggs, 26, said he had seen the perimeter wall fall on empty tents and smash a van window.
“We’re just laughing through it, not much else we can do really, it’s annoying but it is what it is. We’ve seen a lot of people ditch tents and leave,” he added.
The main stage remained open on Friday but the first scheduled act, Renee Rap, cancelled her performance due to concerns for the safety of her crew during set-up.
The Prodigy are one of the big-name acts due on the Chevron later in the weekend.
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