In case you missed it, the star-studded lineup for Manchester’s biggest annual celebration of music was finally unveiled last night.
Following a year of cancellation due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Parklife is returning to Heaton Park on the slightly later dates of 11th – 12th September, and there’s a jaw-dropping selection of artists set to play across the two days, including some familiar faces back to finish what they started after being booked to play the cancelled 2020 edition last June.
Headlining the bill is multi-award-winning rapper Dave, in an exclusive UK festival appearance for 2021.
Meanwhile, “WAP” star Megan Thee Stallion will make her Parklife debut and will be joined by some of the finest grime, rap and hip-hop artists including Skepta, AJ Tracey, slowthai, Burna Boy, Mist and DaBaby.
There’s also a stellar selection of world-class DJs, drum and bass artists and more.
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With all the big-name acts set to provide the soundtrack to this year finally revealed, it’s not hard see why social media went into meltdown last night, especially as Parklife also announced the lineup alongside the launch of an exclusive competition to win x4 weekend VIP tickets.
PARKLIFE 2021 IS HERE 🥳
@ tag 3 mates & RETWEET for your chance to win x4 weekend VIP tickets 😍 🎁
All the hopeful festival-goers had to do to be in with a chance of bagging the free tickets was retweet the lineup announcement tweet and tag the three friends they want to take with them in the comments thread below.
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The winner would then be picked by the festival’s organisers at random.
And after over 8,000 entries came flooding in just a matter of hours, the lucky winner was chosen and informed of his win over DM.
Things then took a bit of a turn though.
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After securing the highly-coveted tickets for free, the winner – who we have chosen not to directly name here – was seen trying to re-sell his winnings to other people desperate to get their hands on tickets during this morning’s pre-sale.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he was attempting to sell them at £350 each, which is an extortionate mark-up considering Weekend General Admission tickets are only retailing at £155.
After exchanging back-and-forth tweets with another member of the public who called out his behaviour and staggering re-sale prices, the lad finally revealed that he was the competition winner.
“I won tickets for me and my pals, so why wouldn’t I sell them?” he said.
His gloating didn’t get him very far.
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Parklife was alerted to the conversation happening between the two under their recent tweet, and very swiftly confiscated his winning tickets, without even a second thought.
“Lol, your tickets have just been cancelled pal.” Parklife responded.
Unsurprisingly, the hilariously savage response and decision by the festival organisers to confiscate the tickets from the former winner has been highly-praised on Twitter, racking up thousands of retweets and likes.
We love to see it.
Featured Image Credit – Parklife Festival
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Sara Cox tipped to replace Scott Mills for Eurovision 2026
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester’s very own Sara Cox is reportedly set to replace Scott Mills at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest following his sacking from the BBC.
Mills was axed by the news and entertainment corporation on Monday, 1 April, for ‘misconduct’, which has now been revealed to involve a historic relationship with a boy aged under 16.
While the fallout surrounding Scott Mills is only just beginning, the task of finding his replacement in multiple roles has already begun – though it looks like one may have already been decided.
Now reported by multiple outlets, it appears as though Bolton-born Sara Cox is first in line to pick up Mills’ co-hosting duties for this year’s Eurovision show.
Having already been involved with coverage of the event on multiple ocassions in the past, it now appears that she’ll be in post for the Grand Final too.
As a long-standing radio and TV staple, it only takes a quick look at social media to see how much backing she has already received in the past, with a post from last year reading, “Great to have Sara Cox back commentating on Eurovision“, and others from over a decade ago praising her past presenting.
In fact, it might not end just here either, as many are already calling for her to replace the 53-year-old breakfast show host.
From her days as a Radio 1 favourite to becoming a BBC mainstay across the board, her popularity only seems to have grown over the last decade, especially thanks to her charity fundraising efforts.
While an official announcement is yet to be made, the feeling is that it is all but confirmed for her to take over from Mills as part of the Eurovision commentary team.
As for the now vacant early morning slot on BBC Radio 2, the likes of Claudio Winkleman, Vernon Kay, fellow Manc Nick Grimshaw, the aforementioned Rylan, and several others have all been floated as potential stand-ins/future full-time hosts.
Do you think both should be given to Sara Cox, and if not, who would you like to see replace Scott Mills?
Bayern Munich reportedly set to target Phil Foden in the summer transfer window
Danny Jones
European giants Bayern Munich are said to be interested in homegrown Manchester City star, and are interested in signing him this coming transfer window.
And if you believe some of the reports circulating around the Stockport-born footballer, he could very well be looking to leave the Etihad in the summer.
Foden seems to have somewhat fallen out of favour at Man City of late, having been benched in four of the last five games, with his overall minutes having been on a gradual slump over recent months; as a result, some sources are suggesting it’s prompted a potential move away.
As per TEAMtalk, the Bundesliga side is hoping to target the City youth product and England international ahead of next season, with former teammate turned Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany very keen on acquiring his services.
Man City have stepped up efforts to secure Phil Foden's future with talks held during the international break and confidence is now growing that a new deal will be finalised before the end of the season, amid Bayern Munich interest, @TEAMtalk can reveal.https://t.co/ScBP5a3a08
Whether or not having a club and Premier League legend in charge would serve as a sweetener for the attacking midfielder or not, who knows?
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, while the gifted playmaker is said to be “frustrated” with the current situation at Man City, the club are believed to have “stepped up efforts to secure the long-term future of Phil Foden, with fresh talks held during the international break”
Having still managed to chip in with 15 goal contributions so far this campaign – two-thirds of those involvements being goals – the hope is that they can tie him down to a new deal long before the end of the season.
There’s no question about his natural talent and versatility across the forward line; it’s just whether or not he’s happy with his game time under Pep Guardiola, which admittedly has often fluctuated ever since he broke into the first team.
Pep has never made a secret of his love for Phil, either; he’s just not afraid to mix things up and try different things given the squad depth at his disposal and other teams in the division becoming increasingly competitive.
It’s also worth noting that many expect him to be in Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineups for the Three Lions at this year’s World Cup.
At present, Foden’s contract is set to expire at the end of the next term (2026/27), but it’s rumoured that he could soon commit to staying until 2030 on paper.
Now 25, the once up-and-coming youngster/’rising star’ is now a fully-fledged senior professional and serial winner.
With many years still ahead of him, you could argue that this is the perfect time to take on a new challenge, or equally, stay with his beloved Blues and extend their modern dynasty as one of the more experienced and decorated members of the dressing room.
As for whether Kompany can convince him to swap his familiar surroundings for a fresh chapter in Germany, or whether or not another big Champions League-level outfit monitoring the situation could come sniffing, only time will tell.
For now, let’s just hope he has an incredible few weeks over in North America this June and July.
Emily Sergeant -
24th March 2021 
