Security operation sees 26 people arrested on first day of Parklife Festival

Sunday, 11 June 2023 13:00

By David Murphy

The security operation at Parklife Festival was in full swing yesterday (11 June 2023) with 26 arrests made over the course of the day and into the evening.

The security operation at Parklife Festival was in full swing yesterday (10 June 2023) with 26 arrests made over the course of the day and into the evening.

The 26 were arrested on suspicion of a variety of offences including:

8 on suspicion of possession of illegal drugs
17 on suspicion of possession with intent to supply (1 was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article)
1 on suspicion of dangerous driving

In total 18 were taken into police custody whilst the remaining 8 were released and will subsequently be dealt with by other means.

Superintendent Phil Spurgeon, one of the leads for the policing operation at Parklife, said: "Greater Manchester Police has worked closely with partners over the past few months to ensure Parklife Festival has a robust security plan in place to protect the public.

"The drugs and weapon intercepted by security yesterday could have had fatal consequences and the detection demonstrates the importance of what we do.

"We want festival goers to look out for one another and to enjoy the event safely and I'm pleased to say yesterday the majority of people did just that.

"I also however want to remind the minority who are determined to spoil this festival for others that you will be arrested and held to account."

More from Greater Manchester

Middleton woman launches Manchester's first Alternative Fashion Week

A Middleton woman is launching a six-day alternative fashion week featuring designers, artists and performers at venues across Manchester.
Social care worker honoured after saving life of injured police officer

A deputy team manager from a Rochdale-based care organisation has been commended for saving the life of a police officer who was seriously injured while on duty.
M60 closed near Prestwich after multi-vehicle crash saw two rushed to hospital

Traffic halted and delays expected following collision between junctions 16 and 17
M66 traffic stopped southbound due to ongoing Police incident

Traffic was stopped this evening on the M66 southbound between the A56 and Junction 1.
🚒 LIVE: We join Greater Manchester fire crews in Rochdale tonight for a ride-along

Live updates during the evening as we embed with GMFRS for a behind-the-scenes look at frontline fire service work during one of the busiest times of the year.
🟥 RECAP: Glaston-BURY live updates, photos, interviews and more

Thousands of music lovers descended on Bury during Bank Holiday Monday, 25 August 2025, for Glaston-Bury, the annual one day music festival in aid of Bury Hospice and other local causes. Since it began in 2008, the event has raised over £300,000 and has become one of the town’s biggest highlights of the year.
RECAP: Parklife 2025 Day Two - updates, photos & travel news

Day One at Parklife 2025 is done, and what a day it was. Over 50,000 people packed into Heaton Park for a massive Saturday, with sets from FLO, Rudimental and a huge headline performance by 50 Cent.
RECAP : Parklife 2025 Day One - updates, photos & travel news

Tens of thousands of music fans are pouring into Parklife, as the day one of the festival gets underway.