Urgent travel advice as over 100,000 people to attend Parklife, Chris Brown and Soccer Aid next weekend in Manchester
Gig-goers are being urged to plan their journeys as 'Mad' June gets underway
People are being advised to plan their journeys as thousands of music fans prepare to head to a number of big events and concerts across Greater Manchester next weekend.
This June will see some of the biggest music stars descend on Manchester with hundreds of thousands of gig-goers and music tourists flocking to the city for Parklife festival, and there's also a number of Co-op Live gigs and Soccer Aid next weekend too.
And in just 30 days time, Oasis will also kick of their huge run of reunion shows, with five massive homecoming gigs set to take place between July 11 and July 20, which means hundreds of thousands will be visiting the region for the sell-out tour.
Turning attention to next weekend, Parklife, Manchester's biggest music festival takes place at Heaton Park on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June, kicking off a bumper summer season for gig-goers.
Around 110,000 people are expected to make the journey to see Parklife headliners 50 Cent and Charli XCX, with events at Co-op Live and Old Trafford making for a busy weekend on the transport network. There will be road closures will be in place around Heaton Park for the festival too.
Anyone travelling at the weekend can expect roads and public transport be busier than usual, with events at the Co-op Live (Jeff Dunham on Saturday 14 June and Chris Brown on Sunday 15 June) and the return of Soccer Aid at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Festival-goers are being encouraged by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to plan ahead, use trams and dedicated shuttle bus services to get to and from Heaton Park, and pre-purchase travel tickets on the Bee Network app.
For anyone travelling to the festival, there will be frequent tram services running direct to Heaton Park every six minutes from Victoria tram stop. Both Heaton Park and Bowker Vale stops are then just minutes from the festival gates.
No trams will be running though from Piccadilly Station to city centre stops due to tram improvement works.
In terms of buses, Parklife shuttle buses will run from Lever Street in the Northern Quarter from mid-morning to last bus at 4.30pm, with drop off right inside the festival site.
After the event, returning trams will run from Bowker Vale stop to the city centre until 1.30am, with Heaton Park stop closing at 9pm. Last services from Bowker Vale to Bury will run at 00.46am on Saturday and 00.44am on Sunday.
Transport for Greater Manchester has said the easiest way to pay for travel if attending will be to pre-purchase the Parklife travel ticket ahead of time on the Bee Network app, which covers travel on any Greater Manchester Bee Network tram, bus and Parklife shuttlebus services.
A mobile ticket will cost £8 on Saturday and Sunday, or £14.95 for the weekend. No other tickets will be accepted on shuttle bus services.
There are also cycling parking spaces in the main festival car park and a well signposted walking route along Bury New Road to the festival.
And to avoid tram and bus queues after the last acts, attendees can take the hour-long walk into the city centre, leaving through the East Gate and turn right out of the park.
Extra staff and TravelSafe Support Officers will be out and about across the transport network to help passengers throughout the weekend. of June 14 and 15.
TfGM will monitor the transport network from its 24/7 control room, watching feeds from thousands of CCTV cameras and working closely with police and other partners to manage roads and the public transport network around the clock.
Danny Vaughan, Chief Network Officer at TfGM, commented: "We’re ready to keep people moving as we look forward to a busy summer of festivals, concerts, sports and more across Greater Manchester.
“This kicks off with Parklife and we want to make sure everyone has a great time and gets around easily and safely.
“For no-fuss travel to the festival it’s best to buy a combined travel ticket through the Bee Network app now and rest easy knowing you can catch any tram, bus or shuttle bus that suits you.
“It will certainly be a busy weekend with events across the city, and road closures around Heaton Park. While there will be more frequent services and later running trams between Victoria Station and Parklife, there are also some changes to service patterns on Metrolink due to tram improvement works in the city centre.
“So, for everyone looking to get out and about over the weekend, please plan ahead, check the Bee Network app for travel updates on the day and have a safe journey.”
Parklife travel tickets will be valid across the whole Bee Network – including all tram zones, all Bee Network buses, and Parklife shuttle buses.
Gig-goers who have purchased a Parklife travel ticket on the Bee Network app will need to show this on their phone or smart device for travel.