Parklife 2026 is heading back to the fields of Heaton Park in Manchester this month, for another huge instalment of the legendary local festival.
Tens of thousands of fans will be making their way to the park ready for the party of the year, which attracts the biggest names in dance, electronic, pop and house music.
With headline sets this year from Zara Larsson, Calvin Harris, Skepta and Sammy Virji, it’s shaping up to be another epic year.
Parklife is consistently one of the biggest events in the Manchester cultural calendar and has lined up plenty of new developments this year.
From brand-new stages to that fancy VIP area unveiled last year, plus all the travel, tickets, and other info you need to know is below.
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When is Parklife 2026?
This year’s Parklife is taking place on Saturday 20 June and Sunday 21 June.
As a reminder, this is a non-camping festival, so you’ll need to navigate your way there and home again each day.
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Gates will be open between 12pm and 11pm on Saturday, and 1pm and 11pm on Sunday.
Last entry will be strictly 5pm on both days.
Stage times
Parklife 2026 will bring huge names back to Heaton Park. Credit: Sam Neill
Parklife has shared its full list of stage times and splits ahead of the big weekend, with live updates dropping on the app over the weekend.
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You can see the full list of stage times HERE, but I’ll round up the major headliners below too.
On Saturday, East End Dubs will headline the new Panorama Stage from 9.30pm, with Rossi. on stage beforehand from 8pm.
Sammy Virji will headline the main Valley Stage from 9.30pm, with Skepta performing between 8pm and 9pm.
As for Sunday, the Valley Stage will be headlined by Calvin Harris from 9.25pm, Zara Larsson from 7.40pm, and Rudim3ntal from 6pm.
The Panorma Stage will have KETTAMA on from 8pm and Chris Stussy from 9.30pm.
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Tickets for Parklife 2026
Parklife tickets are £100.75 each for Saturday, and £105.85 each for Sunday, with tickets still on sale.
You can see the latest availability and grab your tickets for Saturday HERE or Sunday HERE.
Weekend tickets for both days are also still available at £161.75 – see those HERE.
Drink prices for Parklife 2026
This year, Parklife has teamed up with PayPal to offer a 20% discount at bars right across Heaton Park.
That means beers could cost as little as £5.04, pre-mixed cans like White Claw could be as cheap as £6.40, and wine could be £6.80.
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Without the PayPal discount, you’re looking at between £6.30 and £7 for beers and ciders, around £12 for a spirit and mixer, and between £8 and £9 for pre-mixed cans.
The new ‘Backstage’ VIP viewing area at Parklife 2025The new ‘Backstage’ VIP bar area at Parklife 2025
Last year, Parklife unveiled its new-look VIP and Backstage areas right in the heart of the festival site, with dedicated viewing areas overlooking The Valley stage.
A VIP ticket also gets you fast-track entry to the festival, posher loos, a VIP cocktail bar, a separate street food market, and even access to a hair and makeup salon.
If you really go all out on the Backstage ticket, that gets you an even posher VIP zone to hang out in, backstage toilets, covered seating areas, a pamper station, and a premium backstage bar.
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You can upgrade to VIP for £46.05 on Saturday HERE, or Sunday HERE, or make your whole weekend VIP for £62.85 HERE.
Travel pass and how to get to Parklife
Parklife takes place up at Heaton Park, and while a lot of festival-goers do choose to walk home after the music stops, there are a lot of public transport and dedicated services to help you get home safe too.
The Parklife Travel Pass offers the best flexibility and the quickest ways to get to the festival as it covers any bus or tram service, including the direct Parklife Shuttle Bus.
The Travel Pass costs £8 for one day, or £14.95 for the weekend, and you can purchase it on the Bee Network app.
Trams will operate every seven minutes between Victoria and Heaton Park – use the Heaton Park stop for entry to the festival, but bear in mind this stop will close from 9pm so you’ll need to use Bowker Vale to get home after this time.
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The Parklife Shuttle Bus runs throughout the day, departing from Minshull Street to right outside the festival site. The first bus will leave at 10.30am on Saturday and 11.30am on Sunday, while the last buses will go at 4.30pm on both days. For return, departures are from outside the Woodthorpe pub by the West Gate to Shudehill, starting from 6.30pm and continuing until everyone is off the festival site.
Official car parking is available through the Parklife app, for spaces in the Sheepfoot Lane car park. Bear in mind there’ll be a number of road closures which may cause delays leaving the car park.
There is no longer an official pick-up point, with Sainbury’s no longer in use for pick-up and drop-off. Instead, those being collected from the festival should organise an area at least 1km away from the park.
Weather forecast
It’s looking like pretty great weather for Parklife 2026 so far (which is a relief because the last few years have been wet).
According to the Met Office, Manchester will remain rain-free throughout both days of Parklife.
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On Saturday, you can expect some cloud and lots of sunshine, with highs of 22º and lows of 14º.
Sunday will be much warmer, reaching 26º and getting as low as 17º.
The Hangar stage is so 2025 – this year, Parklife will be debuting a brand-new Panorama Stage, with a whopping curved 100m LED screen.
The festival’s new arrival will also have on-stage and behind-booth access, plus multi-tiered dance platforms right across the surrounding festival site.
Parklife has shared new CGIs and a video of how the stage will look and this looks like it’s about to push the festival to a new level.
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Banned items, lockers, and more
The list of banned items for Parklife 2026 is long, and includes the obvious (no drugs, no weapons, no glass) and the less obvious (no bikes, dogs, or hover-boards).
You are allowed to take an umbrella but it must be a compact one, can take sun cream but it needs to be in a 200ml or less original container, and you can take in an empty plastic bottle up to 500ml which you can refill at water points around the festival site.
Make sure you check the full list of banned items HERE so you don’t get caught out.
There are also lockers on site this year that you can pre-book, which you can access throughout the day for peace of mind while you party.
KPop Demon Hunters’ HUNTR/X announce huge arena show in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Animated K-pop sensation KPop Demon Hunters will take to the stage in Manchester as part of a huge global arena tour.
Fans of Netflix smash hit KPop Demon Hunters will have the chance to see HUNTR/X live in Manchester next year, as the group brings its highly anticipated Golden World Tour to the AO Arena.
Rumi, Mira, and Zoey will arrive in the city next autumn, as part of a UK tour which will also visit Glasgow, Birmingham and London.
Announced by Netflix and AEG Presents, the KPop Demon Hunters Golden World Tour will kick off globally in June 2027, with almost 50 cities and more than 150 performances planned across 2027 and 2028.
Promising to be much more than a traditional concert, the production will bring the world of KPop Demon Hunters to life through cutting-edge technology, live-action performers, spectacular stunts and the film’s hugely popular music and choreography.
Fans can expect appearances from HUNTR/X members Rumi, Mira and Zoey, alongside the Saja Boys and Derpy Tiger, in an immersive experience designed to make the audience part of the action.
The show will feature music from the Netflix film, including its record-breaking hit Golden, with fans invited to sing and dance along as HUNTR/X take on their next adventure.
Since its release in June 2025, KPop Demon Hunters has become Netflix’s most popular film of all time, attracting more than 670 million views. Its soundtrack has also become a global phenomenon, with more than 15 billion streams worldwide.
The track Golden has enjoyed huge international success, becoming the first K-pop song to win both an Oscar and a Grammy.
Tickets for the KPop Demon Hunters Manchester show at AO Arena will go on general sale at 10am on Friday 20 November 2026.
There will also be opportunities to access tickets earlier, with the Mastercard presale beginning at 10am on Wednesday 18 November, followed by the FOR THE FANS presale at 10am on Thursday 19 November.
KPop Demon Hunters UK tour dates 2027
The UK leg of the Golden World Tour will visit four cities in October:
Tuesday 12 October – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
Saturday 16 October – Utilita Arena Birmingham (matinee and evening)
Tuesday 19 October – AO Arena, Manchester
Friday 22 October – The O2, London
Saturday 23 October – The O2, London (matinee and evening)
Further international dates are expected to be announced.
Muse at Co-op Live, Manchester – stage times, setlist, tickets and more
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Legendary rock band Muse will bring their long awaited European and UK Tour to the Co-op Live for two nights this week.
The tour is set to showcase Muse’s tenth studio album The Wow! Signal, along with their latest single Nightshift Superstar and Hush with Ellie Goulding.
This new material explores themes of cosmic communication, technological anxiety, existential wonder, and the search for meaning in an ever changing and increasingly disconnected world.
Since forming in 1994, Muse have released nine studio albums, selling over 30 million units worldwide – it’s fair to say they’re a pretty big deal and we are proud to be hosting them at the Co-op Live.
The multi-award-winning band are widely regarded as one of the world’s most innovative live performers, with their iconic, space-rock, upbeat sound – trust us this is not one you want to miss out on.
Find all that you could possibly need to know about Muse’s Manchester shows below…
Can you still get tickets to see Muse in Manchester?
Yes, you can stop the Hysteria – there is a selection of general, premium and verified resale tickets left, for both nights in Manchester.
You can buy tickets for Muse’s Thursday night show HERE, from £96.70.
And tickets to see Muse in Manchester on Friday night are available HERE, from £50.70.
What songs can Muse fans expect to hear on the setlist?
Muse are playing in Manchester this week. Credit: Tim Saccenti
Manchester is the very first night of the Muse European tour, so we’re not 100% sure what the setlist will be yet.
But judging from past gigs, Muse’s The Wow! Signal Europa Tour is set to feature a complete mix of career defining classics and fresh tracks.
Here’s the setlist they used in the US earlier this year:
Interlude
Hysteria
Cryogen
Supermassive Black Hole
Hexagons
Intro
Map of the Problematique
Unravelling
Kill or Be Killed
Be With You
Psycho
Madness
Plug In Baby
Hanging in Victory Square
Time Is Running Out
Uprising
Knights of Cydonia
The 2nd Law: Isolated System
Nightshift Superstar
Algorithm
Undisclosed Desires
Prelude
Starlight
Take a Bow
Who is supporting Muse in Manchester?
Dead Poet Society are joining Muse for their Manchester dates.
The American rock band began as an independent, recording and producing all of their own songs, before signing to Spinefarm Records.
Dead Poet Society’s music has a heavy indie rock and djent pop sound to it, found in their newly released album Monarch, including songs such as Die If You Don’t, Cold and Hollywood On Fire.
Muse will also be supported by Bitterpearl, a four-piece London indie/alternative band.
Stage times for Muse at Co-op Live
General admission doors: 18:30
Bitterpearl: 19:00
Dead Poet Society: 19:40
Muse: 21:00
These times are approximate and are subject to change.
How to get to Co-op Live
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 1am 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.
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 on 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:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
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 on 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.
Daisy Jackson -
17th June 2026 
