As Heaton Park opens this weekend, tens of thousands of people donning bucket hats, cowboy boots, and sequined outfits will pour through the gates as Manchester’s biggest festival officially gets underway.
The UK’s biggest metropolitan festival returns on June 8 and June 9 with headliners including Doja Cat, J-Hus, Disclosure and Becky Hill. Previous years have seen around 80,000 every day attend the event which kicks off a summer of bumper shows in Manchester.
Earlier this year, Parklife bosses revealed this year will also feature a brand new main stage, ‘jaw-dropping’ production, and fewer line-up clashes. Alongside its headliners, acts including Mahalia, Rudimental, Nia Archives, Hybrid Minds, Patrick Topping and Barry Can’t Swim will also take to Heaton Park on Saturday and Sunday.
READ MORE: Parklife 2024: Shuttle bus, travel pass, post code and how to get to Heaton Park
As well as Parklife, there will be huge concerts from Eagles on Saturday and Pet Shop Boys on Sunday at Co-op Live, while comedian Romesh Ranganathan is performing at the AO Arena. With thousands of people expected to be travelling over the weekend, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) have issued travel advice.
Festival and gig-goers are strongly recommended to use public transport options, plan ahead and leave plenty of time for their journeys. The Bee Network app and the website will provide up to date information before, and over the course of the weekend.
For those heading to Parklife, the tram is advised, with services connecting directly to the city centre and providing easy access to all 99 stops across Greater Manchester. Festival-goers can travel on the tram from any of the city centre stops (Zone 1) to Heaton Park and Bowker Vale.
Services will operate every six minutes from the city centre, with both stops just a few minutes away from the festival gates. People will need to use Bowker Vale to get back to the city centre after the event as the Heaton Park stop will be closed for safety reasons.
Shuttle buses will also run between Aytoun Street, in Manchester city centre, and Heaton Park. The first bus will depart at 10am on Saturday and 11am on Sunday. The last bus will depart at 4.30pm on both days. Buses will run back into Manchester from the early evening until the site is clear.
The new Parklife travel ticket, available on the Bee Network app, covers tram and shuttlebus travel from the city centre. One ticket, either for Saturday or Sunday is £5.50, while a Weekend pass is £11 and can be used on both days.
Those not going to Parklife, but travelling in the Prestwich or city centre areas, are encouraged to plan their journeys and, where possible, to travel at quieter times – in the morning or between 4pm and 8pm – or consider rerouting.
The final stage of the Women’s Tour of Britain also takes place across Greater Manchester on Sunday. People travelling to the event from outside Greater Manchester, are being advised to check TfGM’s Women’s Tour of Britain information before travelling to avoid localised delays.
Danny Vaughan, Chief Network Officer at TfGM, said: “Parklife 2024 is sure to be another fantastic weekend for music fans and we want to make sure everyone gets to and from the festival as easily and safely as possible.
“I would encourage people to download the Bee Network app and pre-purchase an exclusive Parklife travel ticket to ensure they are ready for the event.
“It will be a really busy day on the transport network, so whether you’re going to Parklife or heading off elsewhere remember to plan ahead, allow yourself plenty of time and check for travel updates on the Bee Network app.”
Our full guide to the shuttle bus, travel pass and how to get to Heaton Park this weekend can be found here.