Parklife is, hands down, the biggest party of the year in Manchester, luring tens of thousands of music-lovers to Heaton Park for two days of live music.
This year’s is shaping up to be the biggest in years, with huge headline slots from Charli XCX and 50 Cent, plus festival favourites like Bicep, Pawsa and Confidence Man.
With just a few weeks to go, festival-goers will be deep in their Parklife prep, whether it’s planning how to get there or what to wear all weekend.
Parklife is now releasing plenty of information about this year’s festival, including VIP upgrades, travel passes, and a few changes to the festival site, including new stages.
So we’ve rounded up a load of essential information you’ll need if you’re heading to the fields of Heaton Park.
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When is Parklife 2025 and what times?
Parklife 2025 will be taking place on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June, at Heaton Park.
Parklife gates open from midday on Saturday 14 and 1pm on Sunday 15 June. On both days the event finishes at 11pm.
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Last entry to Parklife is strictly 5pm.
Who’s on the line-up for Parklife 2025?
It’s a whopping year for the Parklife line-up, pulling in two huge headliners – artist of the moment Charli XCX, and hip-hop heavyweight 50 Cent.
Next up will be performances from incredible talent like soul singer Jorja Smith, Parklife favourite Peggy Gou, Pawsa, Bicep, Overmono, Confidence Man, Hybrid Minds, Rudimental, and Chris Stussy.
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There’ll also be slots for Mancs like Interplanetary Criminal, Antony Szmierek, and Morgan Seatree.
Sadly, one of the hottest names on the bill, Lola Young, has pulled out of the festival this year, but it’s still shaping up to be a massive weekend.
You can see the full Parklife line-up below.
How to get tickets, and ticket prices
Tickets for Parklife are still on sale, with decent availability for most ticket types – but they’re selling fast as the festival gets nearer and nearer.
Below are the prices for the main ticket options.
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Weekend tickets – £164.45 each
VIP weekend tickets – £218.90 each
Saturday day tickets – £95.20 each
VIP Saturday day tickets – £137.50 each
Sunday day tickets – £95.20 each
VIP Sunday day tickets – £137.50 each
How much is a VIP or Backstage upgrade, and what does it get you?
If you’ve already bought a ticket but want to upgrade yourself to VIP, it’s not too late (and speaking from experience, WORTH IT).
You can upgrade your whole weekend to VIP for £72.80 each, or £44.80 each for day tickets.
The Parklife VIP area has jumped across to the other side of the festival site this year and is now right in the heart of the action near the Valley Stage.
From here, you have an exclusive viewing area of the stage, plus exclusive food and drink, priority entry, VIP toilets, a hair and makeup pamper station, and plenty more.
Then there’s a new Backstage ticket type this year, which gets you on-stage access to the Hangar stage, an exclusive viewing area of the Valley Stage, a backstage bar and a chill out area – it’s £165.00 each to upgrade for the weekend.
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How to get to and from Parklife festival 2025, plus travel pass
Parklife takes place up at Heaton Park, so it’s a little way out of the city centre – but it’s a doddle to make your way up to the fields.
The festival still advises using the dedicated shuttle bus to get there and back, which is the quickest and easiest route.
The shuttle bus leaves from Lever Street in the Northern Quarter and will drop you right outside the festival site within about 30 minutes.
Alternatively, you can get a Bee Network tram to Bowker Vale or Heaton Park tram stops, and walk up to the gates.
As for getting home, buses will operate from early evening until everyone has safely left the festival site.
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Trams will operate on their normal schedule but note that Heaton Park station closes at 9pm on both evenings, so that crowds can be safely managed at Bowker Vale instead.
There’s a special Parklife Travel Pass that allows you to travel on any bus or tram service including the shuttle bus – it’s £8 per day, or £14 for the weekend, and is available on the Bee Network app.
Parklife 2025 festival map and stages
There are some big changes on site at Parklife this year – including The Parklife Stage disappearing altogether.
Now, The Valley will act as the main stage, and there are two brand new stages to check out too.
Both Matinee and Big Top will be new this year.
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Magic Sky will move a bit more centrally into the festival site, while the truly impressive Hangar stage dominates the western side of the event.
And at the top of the hill will be the small but mighty G Stage.
What you can and can’t bring to Parklife 2025
There’s strict security in place getting in and out of Heaton Park for Parklife festival, for everyone’s safety, and a long list of what you can and can’t bring with you.
You can bring your own water bottle on site with refill stations all over Parklife, but it mustn’t be larger than 500ml and can’t be metal.
You can also take sun cream as long as it’s 200ml or less and in original containers, and if the weather goes the other way, compact umbrellas are okay.
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As for the banned list, it includes obvious stuff like alcohol, drugs, knives, aerosols and flares/fireworks, as well as less obvious things like hoverboards and skateboards, hi vis jackets and selfie sticks.
Biffy Clyro at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
It’s nearly time for one of the biggest gigs of the year, and we’re lucky we didn’t have to wait that long, as Biffy Clyro are playing the Co-op Live arena in Manchester this month – and we have all the important info.
For instance, 2026’s rock calendar really isn’t wasting any time, as the Scottish legends are playing this coming weekend.
Despite being one core member down for this year’s tour in support of their 10th studio album, Futique, we have no doubt that the Kilmarnock icons will still give us both barrels, and you can always guarantee a Manc audience will give it back just as good as they get.
Without further ado, here is everything you need to know about Biffy Clyro at the Co-op in Manchester on 17 January 2026.
Gig guide | Biffy Clyro at Co-op Live – all the key info
Before we do anything else, it’s worth reminding/informing anyone who didn’t already know that this show will unfortunately not be involving James Johnston, who has dropped out of the tour.
One-half of the ginge twins shared a heartbreaking statement online last month, but the announcement was met with an outpouring of support; whilst it’s a shame, we hope he’ll be on the mend very soon.
After kicking straight into fifth gear already, we have no doubt his bandmates will honour him this Saturday and won’t disappoint when it comes to energy.
Are there tickets left for Biffy Clyro in Manchester?
The gig is still going ahead as planned, though, with session bass player Naomi MacLeod stepping in for the shows and having already impressed.
Now, as for those of you wondering if there are any tickets left for Biffy Clyro‘s gig, whilst it is currently low availability, you can find a few last-minute seated options at Co-op Live.
But that’s not all…
Following a huge last-minute clamour for the show, some extra standing tickets for Biffy in Manchester have now been released; you can grab yours HERE.
Who is supporting Biffy at Co-op Live?
Now, in addition to the very exciting hardcore punk outfit, The Armed – a raucous multi-member collective formed in Detroit – who are opening up for Biffy Clyro on the Futique tour, those going to the gig are also getting another cult favourite British band.
Soft Play (who you might better remember as Slaves) are the main support for Biffy in Manchester and across the rest of the tour, and despite just being a duo, they still make A LOT of bloody noise.
Even when they were ‘Slaves’, these boys have thrived here. (Credit: David Edgar via WikiCommons)
Biffy Clyro stage times for 2026 ‘Futique Tour’ dates
Now, as for when you can expect each of these support acts to take the stage, doors will open from 6pm, and the first warm-up performances from The Armed is due to begin around an hour later, with Soft Play following them at approximately 7:30pm.
Regarding the headliners, Biffy Clyro are scheduled to get the main event underway at roughly 8:50pm, accordingto the most recent set times posted on their social media.
The venue’s curfew is typically restricted to 11pm, giving people plenty of time to get home, but things can run over into extended hours on busy weekends like this.
‘Futique Tour’ setlist
As for what we expect the gang to play, we have the benefit of a few Futique shows having already been and gone, not to mention being very well reviewed.
We’d usually turn to the likes of the ever-trusty Setlist.fm, but luckily this time the legendary NME have done the work for us. The setlist can obviously change from night to night, but here’s a general idea:
Here’s what @BiffyClyro played as they kicked off their epic 2026 ‘Futique’ UK and Ireland tour
Special Biffy Clyro Futique pop-up for Manchester show
Another rather exciting part of the pre-gig fanfare this time around is that Biffy Clyro are hosting dedicated merchandise pop-ups across the UK ahead of the band’s gigs in each city.
On for a limited-time only, we’d advise getting those ducks in a row and nailing your schedule to make sure you leave enough time to visit one if you’re interested.
Promising everything from special edition vinyls, tees, and even more, such as exclusive even tattoo sessions, Manchester’s Biffy Clyro merch pop-up venue is yet to be confirmed, so keep your eyes peeled on social media.
You can find the full list of details for over locations down below.
How to get to Co-op Live – travel advice, parking and more
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
Getting there by car and parking
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide come event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Madison Beer announces massive Manchester show at Co-op Live arena
Danny Jones
Yes, not long after a breakout period in her career, rising pop star Madison Beer has announced an extensive series of arena shows, including one right here in Manchester at Co-op Live.
Heading to major cities in mainland Europe before arriving here in the UK for just a pair of British shows and then moving on to North America, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter has gone from playing small rooms just a few short years ago to now playing some of the biggest rooms an artist could hope for.
Madison Beer got her first taste of fame after Justin Bieber shared her YouTube cover of Etta James’ ‘At Last’ way back in 2012, but it’s been quite the journey for the New York-born vocalist over the past decade or so.
Announcing the new tour in support of her third studio LP, Locket, which is scheduledfor release later this week (16 January), Beer will be coming to Manchester in late spring.
Confirming the concert themeslves, the venue wrote: “Two-time GRAMMY-nominated, platinum-selling artist Madison Beer is heading to Co-op Live with the locket tour.
“This tour marks the first time her forthcoming new album, locket [stylised in all lowercase] will be played live for the masses.”
Best known for tracks like ‘Selfish’, ‘make you mine’, as well as her most recent singles ‘yes baby’ and bittersweet’, she has hundreds of millions of followers all over the world and across her Instagram and TikTok platforms alone.
With that in mind, booking a room as big as Co-op Live was only a matter of time, really.
Madison will be arriving in Manchester on 31 May and bringing along a trio of rotating support acts with her on the road.
As you can see, Cuban-American alt-pop singer Isabel LaRosa will be joining her fellow contemporaries on stage later this year.
Just 21 years old, she might be a few years behind Beer, but she still has a passionate cult following of her own, even at such a young age.
The pre-sale window for Madison Beer’s Manchester gig at Co-op Live will be available to official members from 10am on Monday, 19 January, or by signing up/pre-ordering via her mailing list.
As for general admission, tickets will go live at the same time the following Wednesday (21 Jan). You can get ready to grab yours HERE.
It really is a great time for pop music once again – so much so that even themed nights centred entirely around smash-hit albums are being put on…
Daisy Jackson -
30th May 2025 
