Last year Festival Republic commissioned an Economic Impact Assessment for the 2009 Reading Festival. The assessment was carried out by Baker Associates with on site surveys conducted in association with the University of Reading.  Reading UK CIC, the economic development company for Reading, also assisted in inviting local Reading businesses to take part in a short survey.  

The assessment found that total gross spend associated with Reading Festival in 2009 was over £31 million, with more than £16 million of this being attributed to spending in the Reading area. 

Two main components contributed to the expenditure; spending by visitors to the festival and expenditure by Festival Republic in producing the festival.
Festival goer (visitor) spending by over 90,000 people who attended the festival across the August Bank Holiday weekend (staff, traders, weekend and day ticket holders) amounted to an estimated £19,286,481 (an average of £209.19 per visitor - excluding entry ticket, but including transport). This visitor expenditure information was based on 2200 interviews carried out on site over four days by a team from the University of Reading.

On top of the visitor spend, Festival Republic spent an estimated £11,811,500 on artists, suppliers, contractors, and staff payroll in production of the festival.

Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, said:  “Festivals and the live music industry contribute significantly to the British economy and this survey also demonstrates that the local Reading community benefit enormously, which is what I had hoped to see.”