Could the surge in popularity of dance music result in expansion for Reading and Leeds festival?

As organisers reveal they plan to add three new stages for 2013, Festival Republic boss Michael Benn states there will be ‘quite a bit more dance music’ this summer.

With the festival already boasting six different stages, the organisers have laid hell to Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis comments on the decline of summer music and pushed through to bring their total to nine – while keeping the capacity level.

Eavis thoughts were revealed in the summer of last year, as he blamed the economy, lack of career opportunities for young people and high tuition fees for poor ticket selling figures stating: ’It’s on the way out. We’ve probably got another three or four years. Partly it’s economics, but there is a feeling that people have seen it all before.’

Yet Reading and Leeds Festival has proven to be a refreshing source of optimism, as Benn spoke to BBC Newsbeat: ‘We’re changing the arena at Reading and Leeds quite significantly. I’ve got quite a strong buzz and feeling in myself in the changes that I’m making there. I’m still formulating ideas. There will be quite a bit more dance music, quite a bit more other bits and pieces.’ Before adding the belief behind the plan was so fans could experience ‘a lot more diversity of music.’

The news will be welcomed by music fans and organisers a-like as desperate times called for a booking of a major headliner at the peril of the festival’s finances: ‘In the year we had Jay-Z [2011] we nearly went bankrupt,’ explained Eavis.

Reading and Leeds tickets are already on sale this year, as organisers hope to announce a head liner by Christmas.