Festival-goers urged to plan ahead as Parklife prepares to welcome 110,000 music fans

Friday, 6 June 2025 12:37

By David Murphy

Greater Manchester gears up for one of its busiest weekends of the year with travel advice issued for Parklife, Co-op Live and Soccer Aid

Thousands heading to Heaton Park for this year’s Parklife festival are being encouraged to plan ahead and use public transport, as Greater Manchester kicks off a packed summer of major events.

The music festival returns on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June, with headline performances from 50 Cent and Charli XCX expected to draw around 110,000 people over the weekend.

With additional events taking place at Co-op Live, including shows by Jeff Dunham and Chris Brown, and Soccer Aid at Old Trafford, local roads and transport services are expected to be extremely busy.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched dedicated Parklife travel passes, now available via the Bee Network app, covering tram, bus and shuttle services across the weekend.

Danny Vaughan, Chief Network Officer at TfGM, said: “It will certainly be a busy weekend with events across the city. While we are boosting service frequency, there are changes due to essential works in the city centre, so we are urging everyone to plan ahead.”

Key travel details include:

Trams will run every six minutes from Victoria to Heaton Park. The Heaton Park tram stop will close at 9pm with return services running from Bowker Vale until 1.30am.

Shuttle buses will operate from Lever Street in Manchester to directly inside the Parklife site, with return services running until the festival site is clear.

Travel passes cost £8 for a single day or £14.95 for the full weekend and are only valid on Bee Network trams, buses and Parklife shuttles. No other tickets will be accepted on shuttle services.

Cyclists can make use of parking spaces at the festival’s main car park, while those walking back to the city are encouraged to use the East Gate exit and follow Bury New Road.

Due to tram improvement works, no services will run between Piccadilly and city centre stops, and trams from Altrincham will terminate at Exchange Square. Passengers are advised to walk to Victoria to continue their journey to Heaton Park.

TfGM’s control centre will monitor the network around the clock with support from police and TravelSafe officers. Road closures will also be in effect near Heaton Park.

Attendees are reminded to keep their phones fully charged or carry a power bank to show their travel pass if requested.

Full travel advice and live updates are available on www.beenetwork.com/getting-to-parklife or via the Bee Network app.