Greater Manchester’s transport ‘masterplan’ has been released ahead of Oasis’ huge run of reunion gigs starting next week.
Manchester is all set for a sensational summer of sound, and as more than 300,000 music fans prepare to descend on our city next week as a little-known band called Oasis (sarcasm detected) reform for the first time in over a decade, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now announced its plan to transport everyone to and from Heaton Park.
With the Gallagher brothers staging five nostalgia-drenched gigs starting from next Friday (11 July), the transport network wants to make sure no one is left ‘looking back in anger’ over their travel arrangements.
Travel arrangements for the hotly-anticipated reunion shows have involved months of planning by TfGM and its partners, so over the next couple of weeks, you can expect to see additional staff on the network, more frequent, all-double tram services running to Heaton Park from Victoria station, and a shuttle bus service running from the city centre.
TfGM’s state-of-the-art control room will also be operating 24/7 to monitor and coordinate the public transport system and respond to any emerging incidents as they materialise.
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Here’s everything you need to know.
Greater Manchester’s transport ‘masterplan’ has been released ahead of the Oasis gigs / Credit: TfGM | Simon Emmett (Publicity Picture)
Travelling by tram
The best way for fans to beat the traffic and get to the 80,000-capacity outdoor venue over the five dates will be to travel using the Metrolink network.
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On each night, there will be a six-minute service from Victoria Station to Bury – the only city centre station with a direct tram to Heaton Park – and this service will be capable of carrying 4,000 passengers an hour, with concertgoers travelling from other lines told to change onto a Bury-bound tram at Victoria.
If you have a ticket for front standing, your best option is to get off and on again at Bowker Vale, which is the closest stop to the venue entrance on Sheepfoot Lane, as the Heaton Park stop will be closed at 9pm on all nights.
Both the Bowker Vale and Heaton Park stops are just a few minutes away from the park gates, but as as the Heaton Park stop will be closed at 9pm on all nights, if you have a ticket for front standing, your best option is to get off and on again at Bowker Vale, which is the closest stop to the venue entrance on Sheepfoot Lane.
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For the shows on 11, 12, and 19 July, the final trams will leave for the city centre at 2:02am and for Bury at 1:16am, and on 16 July, the last trams will run at 1:32am to the city centre and 12:46am to Bury.
Travelling by tram to Heaton Park is recommended by TfGM / Credit: TfGM
Travel by shuttle bus
Alternatively, there will be frequent shuttle buses from Lever Street in the Northern Quarter from 1:30pm on each event day, with the last bus departing at 7:30pm.
Buses will then start running back to Manchester after the event – with the city centre drop-off point being Shudehill Interchange – from a temporary bus station inside Heaton Park from 10pm, and buses will continue to run until all passengers have cleared the bus station.
Limited shuttlebus tickets, priced at £10, are available, but these must be purchased in advance through the Bee Network app.
Further details on how to buy the tickets can be found on the Bee Network website.
There will be increased congestion and various road closures in place around Heaton Park and the surrounding areas on each of the event dates.
Those who have to drive or need to be dropped off and picked up are encouraged to consider taking advantage of the 24 ‘park and ride’ sites in Greater Manchester, where you can park for free and hop on a tram to your destination.
The park and ride sites on the Bury line are Whitefield, with 331 spaces and 13 disabled spaces, and and Radcliffe with 480 spaces and 22 disabled spaces.
Shuttlebus services will be in operation on all dates of Oasis’ run of gigs / Credit: TfGM
And if all of that wasn’t busy enough as it is, Manchester will also be playing host to a number of other big events during Oasis’ run of shows – including Kool & The Gang at AO Arena and Billie Eilish at Co-op Live.
So as you can see, public transport and roads will be busier than usual during this exciting time, so TfGM encourages everyone to allow plenty of time for their journey and check the Bee Network app or website for the latest travel advice.
All the latest travel updates for Oasis Live ’25 shows can be found here.
Featured Image – TfGM
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Harry Styles announced as latest performer at the 2026 BRIT Awards
Danny Jones
Yes, in what is set to be his Co-op Live debut (yes, the venue he’s literally invested in), Harry Styles has been confirmed as the latest blockbuster performer at this year’s BRITs.
The lineup for the 2026 BRIT Awards was already pretty stacked, but this just takes the cake.
Not long after FINALLY announcing his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally and releasing the new lead single, ‘Aperture’, the Cheshire-born singer-songwriter is coming to the Co-op Live arena for the very first time as part of the ceremony’s live music lineup.
Absolute scenes. Screaming, crying, throwing up.
we've got news… Harry's coming home 💋🪩@Harry_Styles will be making his live TV performance debut of music from his new album 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.' at The BRIT Awards 2026
Watch the performance live Saturday 28th February on ITV1 & ITVX in the UK and on… pic.twitter.com/Aax3lV03xM
The 31-year-old former One Direction member turned solo artist and global megastar recently revealed a raft of live shows this coming May (and there’s been plenty of discussion surrounding ticket prices), but he’s sadly overlooked Manchester for now.
However, anyone who already secured a seat at the first-ever BRITs here in Manchester will no doubt be doing cartwheels now following the announcement.
As if that wasn’t a mega enough name, he will be joining the likes of the wonderful, already award-winning and fellow multi-time nominee, Olivia Dean.
As quite literally two of the biggest musicians on the planet right now, we couldn’t pick a better roster if we dreamed it up ourselves.
Speaking of Ms Dean, she is also one of several acts confirmed to be playing a series of intimate acts across the country – and her’s is right here in Manchester.
You can see the full lineup of gigs HERE – all we’ll say is that there’s some seriously big hitters playing very small capacity venues on this list.
What a great few weeks for music, eh?
Taking place on Sunday, 28 February, public tickets for the show unfortunately sold out some time ago for what will also be his first-ever live musical TV performance.
Perhaps his booking is at least partly why we haven’t got a standalone Harry Styles Manchester gig on the ‘Together, Together’ tour, but we’re still keeping everything crossed that he’ll announce a second leg of shows here in the UK.
You’d think he’d fancy properly headlining the gaff he helped pay for, or maybe a return to the Etihad Stadium across the way, right?
Find the complete shortlist of nominees, as well as the rest of the live music lineup for the 2026 BRITs ceremony here in Manchester, down below; and if you see on screen trying to clutch at Harry’s ankles, we’re sure you’ll understand…
Featured Images — Leticia Moraes (via Flickr)/Press shots (supplied)
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Sounds From The Other City releases 2026 lineup with 100+ acts playing on 17 stages across Salford
Emily Sergeant
More than 100 exciting artists are set to perform on 17 stages dotted across Salford this spring.
In case you hadn’t heard, 2026 is the year Salford is celebrating 100 years since it was first declared its own city, and to celebrate such a monumental occasion, the popular Sounds From The Other City (SFTOC) festival has now released its full lineup ahead of its return on the early May Bank Holiday weekend.
Salford’s long-running independent festival of new music is known for its genre-spanning showcase of new artists from across the UK and beyond.
This year’s festival is curated by some of the most exciting promoters, record labels, radio stations, magazines, and tastemakers in the North.
Music lovers will get the chance to see artists in a wide range of independent venues and unconventional spaces across the city – with 17 stages around Chapel Street and The Crescent, from pubs and churches, to concert halls and galleries.
Artists announced today include the uncategorisable masked provocateur Lynks, South African ‘future ghetto funk’ trailblazer Moonchild Sanelly, Manchester-based artist jasmine.4.t, who has recently been named BBC 6 Music Artist of the Year 2025.
Other artists to look out for include Grey Lantern, FaT OuT, ambient pop artist Pollyfromthedirt, genre-straddling South London six-piece, Blue Bendy, South London trio ashnymph, and Manchester quartet Pyncher.
The Sounds From The Other City festival has released its 2026 lineup / Credit: Breige Cobane (Supplied)
One of the undeniable highlights of the lineup is that the spiritual home of the festival, Islington Mill, will be programmed day and night by the legendary Band on the Wall, multi-award-winning Reform Radio, Manchester’s infamous queer day-rave BENT, and the LGBTQ+ POC collective Swagga, with performances from Sorvina, Renee Stormz, and Chimpo.
“This year, we’re shining a spotlight on Salford’s independent venues and the selectors in the North who shape our programme,” commented Emma Thompson, Co-Director of From The Other, as the lineup was announced this week.
“Giving these organisations the space to showcase the artists they champion is vital, not just for discovering emerging talent, but to recognise how important these spaces are for our scene.”
Sounds From The Other City 2026 takes place on Sunday 3 May, and tickets go on sale this week – with Early Bird ticket access available to mailing list subscribers from tomorrow (Thursday 29 January) and the remaining tickets going on general sale from Friday 30 January.
Prices remain unchanged from 2025 with tiers at £30/35/40/45, and you can get tickets when they go live here.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd July 2025 
