Parklife 2025 is upon us, and we’ve been down to the festival site for a little look around at what’s new for this year.
The beloved Manchester festival will be filling the fields of Heaton Park with live music and an unbeatable party atmosphere on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June.
This year’s headliners include Charli XCX, 50 Cent, Confidence Man, Jorja Smith, Peggy Gou, and Bicep, as well as plenty of space on the line-up for local talents like Antony Szmierek and Interplanetary Criminal.
BUT the eagle-eyed among you will have already noticed from the Parklife map that there are a few changes afoot this year, including new stages, a new lay-out, and a very swanky new VIP area.
Firstly, there are two new stages to check out, one of which we think will get pretty popular when it rains…
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Big Top is a new covered tent with a cracking line-up over the weekend, including Skream & Benga, Joy Orbison, and Armand Van Helden.
Also new on the stage front is Matinee, flanked on either side by black shipping containers and ready to host Chris Stussy, Alex Farell, and Manchester’s very own Interplanetary Criminal.
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Matinee is a new Parklife stageThe Hangar is backThe Valley has become the only main stageThe big wheel is gone but new fairground rides have appeared
A major loss for 2025 is the big wheel, which has always given the very best views of the Parklife site.
But worry not, adrenaline junkies – it’s been replaced with a new sky-high swing ride, so you can dangle above the festival crowds, along with several other fairground rides.
Also missing from Parklife 2025 is the Parklife Stage, which has always acted as a secondary main stage hosting more pop and mainstream artists.
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This year, all the headliners will be performing over at The Valley, with the Parklife Stage sent into retirement (at least for this year).
That means less stages but still plenty of live music and huge acts to enjoy over the weekend.
The new ‘Backstage’ VIP bar area at Parklife 2025The new ‘Backstage’ VIP viewing area at Parklife 2025A VERY swanky new VIP area
There’s a new layout now too, with only The Valley and the G Stage staying in the same spots as last year.
Magic Sky, normally tucked into a corner of the festival site, has moved into the heart of the action.
Meanwhile The Hangar dominates the west side of Parklife, with the two new stages – Big Top and Matinee – nearby.
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VIP is totally new this year too, and better than ever.
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.
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).
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You can upgrade your whole weekend to VIP for £72.80 each, or £44.80 each for day tickets.
Ticketmaster agrees to change ticketing procedures following Oasis dynamic pricing controversy
Emily Sergeant
Ticketmaster has agreed to change its ticketing procedures following the ‘dynamic pricing’ controversy over Oasis reunion tour tickets.
After a lengthy investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured formal commitments from Ticketmaster, known as ‘undertakings’, to make sure fans have the information they need when they spend their hard-earned cash to see the artists they love.
The leading ticketing platform will now be required to make it clear to fans what they will get for their money, and give more information about different ticket prices.
These undertakings require Ticketmaster to tell fans 24-hours in advance if a tiered pricing, or dynamic pricing, system is being used, and provide more information about ticket prices during online queues, helping fans anticipate how much they might have to pay.
Ticketmaster will also now have to ensure that tickets are described accurately, and do not give the impression that one ticket is ‘better’ than another when that is not the case.
We’ve secured undertakings from #Ticketmaster to provide customers with more pricing information + make sure ticket descriptions are clear.
And finally, the ticketing platform will have to provide regular reports to the CMA to show how it has implemented the undertakings.
As mentioned, the CMA investigation comes following widespread concerns about the Oasis Live ’25 tickets sale.
Two areas were identified as needing investigating following the sale.
The first being that Ticketmaster did not tell fans waiting in lengthy queues that standing tickets were being sold at two different prices, and that prices would jump as soon as the cheap tickets sold out.
The second being that Ticketmaster sold some ‘platinum’ tickets at almost 2.5 times the price of ‘standard’ tickets, and all without sufficient explanation that these offered no additional benefits over some ‘standard’ tickets in the same areas of the venue.
Ticketmaster has agreed to change its ticketing procedures following the Oasis dynamic pricing controversy / Credit: The Manc Group
“Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information upfront,” explained Sarah Cardell, who is the Chief Executive of the CMA.
“We can’t ensure every fan gets a ticket for events as popular as the Oasis tour, but we can help ensure that next time an event like this comes along, fans have the information they need, when they need it – and the changes we’ve secured will give fans more information about prices and clear descriptions of exactly what they are getting for their money.
“If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
Featured Image – Simon Emmett (Press Picture)
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Tame Impala announces massive Manchester gig on new tour
Clementine Hall
Tame Impala is heading out on a huge arena tour, with a massive gig right here in Manchester.
Oh Kevin, it really is great to have you back.
In just a few weeks on Friday 17 October, Tame Impala (Kevin Parker) will release his fifth studio album titled ‘Deadbeat’.
And today, he’s announced a major European and UK tour to go alongside it.
The dates kick off in Porto, Portugal on Saturday 4 April and wrap in Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday 13 of May.
He’ll be stopping off in Manchester near the end of the tour, bringing his synth sounds to the Co-op Live Arena on Friday 8 May.
Image: Publicity Picture
As well as a show at the Co-op Live in Manchester, Tame Impala will perform in London, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Kevin Parker has emerged as one of the most influential voices of the last decade, renowned for carving out a distinct sound all of his own and transcending genre-bending sonic landscapes.
Playing every instrument and acting as writer, producer, mixer and engineer on his projects, it’s not hard to see why he’s been nominated for four GRAMMY awards with one win for his collaboration with Justice on 2024’s “Neverender.” In his home country of Australia, he’s racked up an impressive 13 ARIA Awards and 27 Nominations.
Artist pre-sale begins Wednesday 1 October at 9am BST with the general on-sale taking place on Friday 3 October at 9am BST and you can buy yours HERE.
Tame Impala Deadbeat Tour 2026:
4th Apr – Super Bock Arena – Pavilhão Rosa Mota – Porto, Portugal
5th Apr – MEO Arena – Lisbon, Portugal
7th Apr – Movistar Arena – Madrid, Spain
8th Apr – Palau Sant Jordi – Barcelona, Spain
10th Apr – LDLC Arena – Lyon, France
12th Apr – Inalpi Arena – Turin, Italy
13th Apr – Unipol Arena – Bologna, Italy
14th Apr – Hallenstadion – Zurich, Switzerland
16th Apr – Olympiahalle – Munich, Germany
18th Apr – PreZero Arena – Gliwice, Poland
20th Apr – O2 Arena – Prague, Czechia
23rd Apr – Barclays Arena – Hamburg, Germany
25th Apr – Royal Arena – Copenhagen, Denmark
26th Apr – Avicii Arena – Stockholm, Sweden
27th Apr – Unity Arena – Oslo, Norway
29th Apr – Uber Arena – Berlin, Germany
30th Apr – Festhalle – Frankfurt, Germany
1st May – PSD Bank Dome – Dusseldorf, Germany
3rd May – Accor Arena – Paris, France
4th May – Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam, Netherlands
5th May – AFAS Dome – Antwerp, Belgium
7th May – The O2 – London, United Kingdom
8th May – Co-op Live Arena – Manchester, United Kingdom
9th May – Utilita Arena Birmingham – Birmingham, United Kingdom
Daisy Jackson -
13th June 2025 
