Elton John is set to touch down in Manchester this week as the legendary musician continues his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
Elton has just played 10 (yes TEN) shows at the O2 in London, and now he’s heading up north.
He’ll be doing three huge shows at the AO Arena as part of this tour, his final ever.
It’s all ahead of his headline performance at Glastonbury too. We all knew Elton John wasn’t going to retire without a fanfare, come on…
His unparalleled career spans six decades, five Grammy Awards, and a frankly unbelievable 31 studio albums.
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His massive hits include Rocket Man, Saturday Night’s Alright (for Fighting), I’m Still Standing, and Candle In The Wind, which became the fastest- and biggest-selling single of all time after he performed it at Princess Diana’s funeral.
He was also the subject of the award-winning 2019 film Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton.
The tour has had to be rescheduled a couple of times but it is finally here. Here’s everything you need to know if you’re seeing Elton John in Manchester.
Elton is in town for three nights this week (it’s a really big week for live music – Coldplay are just up the road and Arctic Monkeys are on their way too).
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He’ll be performing on Wednesday 31 May, Friday 2 June, and Saturday 3 June.
Tickets for Elton John at AO Arena, Manchester
Unbelievably, there are still a few tickets left for Elton John – and all three dates too.
It’s mostly down to single seats around the arena, which are priced between £136.35 and £807.35 (ouch).
There are also some restricted view tickets on sale, with discounted prices to make up for it – they’re up at £74.45.
No one. He’s doing this one solo – to be fair, he’s got enough hits to fill a few hours…
Stage times
Despite the lack of support act, ticket-holders for Elton John are in for a long old night of live music.
The iconic singer is going to fill almost three hours with his hits.
Here are the expected stage times.
Doors open – 6pm
Show starts – 7.30pm
Show finishes – 10.15pm
Elton John’s expected setlist and songs
Elton John performing in 1972. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Based on his most recent show in Belgium, here are the songs you can expect to hear.
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Bennie and the Jets Philadelphia Freedom I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues Border Song Tiny Dancer Have Mercy on the Criminal Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) Take Me to the Pilot Someone Saved My Life Tonight Levon Candle in the Wind Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding Burn Down the Mission Sad Songs (Say So Much) Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me The Bitch Is Back I’m Still Standing Crocodile Rock Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting Encore: Cold Heart Your Song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
How to get to the AO Arena
Credit: AO Arena
The AO Arena is right in the heart of the city centre, so it’s fairly easy to get to.
On foot: The AO Arena is located within the Manchester Victoria Station complex in the city centre, on the corner of Trinity Way, Hunts Bank and Great Ducie Street. You can enter through the station (up the stairs), through the Trinity Way Tunnel, or from Hunts Bank.
By tram: Also super straight-forward – hop off the tram at Manchester Victoria and you’re right by the stairs to the venue. It’s also a short walk from Exchange Square and Shudehill. Trams run directly to Victoria Station from Rochdale, Bury, Altrincham, East Didsbury and the Airport.
By train: While Piccadilly is the city’s largest train station, plenty of trains do pass through Manchester Victoria. You can plan your journey through the National Rail website.
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Parking: The postcode if you’re driving to the AO Arena is M3 1AR. There’s an on-site CitiPark car park with 958 spaces, which can be pre-booked here. Bear in mind that Trinity Way is closed after concerts to allow gig-goers to leave safely, though cars are allowed out of the car park with direction from staff.
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Why fans are fearing cancellation of Catfish and The Bottlemen’s massive Manchester gig
Indie rockers Catfish and The Bottlemen are playing a headline show at Heaton Park in Manchester, but plenty of gig-goers have a genuine fear of a potential cancellation.
The Welsh band known for their stacked roster of hits, including ‘Cocoon’, ‘Kathleen’, ‘7’, ‘Pacifier’ and many more, are set to play Heaton Park on 13 June, but there has already been a fair amount of scepticism among fans online.
Just last year, Catfish and The Bottlemen cancelled an array of international shows, including one rather long-awaited gig in Ireland.
This Irish date would’ve marked the band’s first show in the country in five years; however, 15 minutes before doors were due to open, the Dublin date got cancelled.
Catfish and The Bottlemen are expected to play at Heaton Park on 13 June/ Credit: Supplied
No comments were made by the band as to why this decision happened, instead, all updates and communication came from the ticket company directly.
MCD Productions, who were in charge of hosting the would-be gig at Fairview Park, revealed that the reason for the abrupt cancellation of Catfish’s Ireland gig was due to ‘artist illness’, stating that all attendees would be issued and are entitled to a full refund.
The following week, Catfish also cancelled all of their US and Australia tour with no official statement from the rock group, and fans were frustrated to say the least.
Two weeks after these stark cancellations, the indie rockers announced two stadium shows: Cardiff and London, with the Manchester date in Heaton Park revealed a month later – all scheduled for this summer.
The issues don’t just lie with gig cancellations either; the band’s lineup has been in turmoil over recent years, with musicians joining and leaving this Welsh rock act.
Catfish and The Bottlemen back in 2016 ahead of Sound City in Liverpool / Credit: Supplied
Only two original members remain: Van McCann, lead singer and now the main guitarist since Billy Bibby left in 2021, and Benji Blakeway, the band’s bassist and backing vocalist.
Many have speculated on some of that behaviour, and the source behind at least some of the band’s problems is the extremely talented, charismatic, but often frenetic frontman himself; you only need to search his name on the likes of TikTok to fall down the rabbit hole.
While there are lots dismissing some of his behaviour on stage as nothing more than loose, in-the-moment ‘rockstar energy’, others have expressed concern for his well-being at times.
Catfish’s latest Instagram post reporting the fact that the Heaton Park date is now sold out has been met with hundreds of comments from fans worrying that it won’t go ahead.
One user wrote, “Are u gonna cancel this one 7 mins before doors open too?”, while another took to the comment section to say, “I’ll be there. Don’t know about van tho”.
Replies to their tweets on X (formerly Twitter) have been similar too, as one fan writes: “Don’t worry guys, it’ll be cancelled soon!”.
These are, of course, just a taste of a much larger sample size, as their ‘comeback’ in February 2024 with ‘Showtime’ – their first new song in five years – looked like it could be the start of a new album cycle, but there hasn’t been anything else since then.
Barring the 10th anniversary version of their debut LP, The Balcony, and the re-release of old single and cult favourite ‘ASA’, there’s very little to suggest that there is even a latest project that currently exists to make any progress on.
Catfish and The Bottlemen are scheduled to play Heaton Park in Manchester on 13 June – let’s hope it’s not a ‘Longshot’. For those of you going, do you have any actual doubts whether or not it will go ahead?
Parklife 2025 kicks of a thrilling summer of musical events in Manchester this weekend, but attendees should expect disruption.
Manchester‘s major music festival will once again be taking over Heaton Park this weekend (15 and 16 June), with headliners Charli XCX and 50 Cent, alongside other huge names and festival favourites like Jorja Smith, Bicep, Peggy Gou, Rudimental, Confidence Man, and countless others.
But with all the action, of course, comes the annual travel warning.
That’s right, just as we’ve come to expect every year, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is urging anyone attending Parklife, or anyone travelling around the Heaton Park area, to ‘plan their journeys’ by public transport ahead of time, and allow plenty of time for travel too.
Not only are around 110,000 people expected to make the journey Parklife this weekend, but there’s also events on at Co-op Live and Old Trafford too, so it’s all making for a busy weekend on the transport network.
TfGM wants festivalgoers to use trams and dedicated shuttle bus services to get to and from Heaton Park as much as possible to avoid disruption, and it’s also advised to pre-purchase travel tickets on the Bee Network app to make the process smoother too.
Anyone planning to get the tram to Heaton Park should travel from Victoria station, according to TfGM, as this will help safely manage the demand for transport and allow trams to run every six minutes.
Both Heaton Park and Bowker Vale stops are just minutes from the festival gates.
A travel warning has been issued as more than 100,000 people head to Parklife 2025 this weekend / Credit: TfGM / Parklife
Parklife shuttle buses will run from Lever Street in the Northern Quarter from mid-morning to the last bus at 4:30pm – with drop-off being right inside the festival site.
After the event, returning trams will run from Bowker Vale to the city centre until 1:30am, but the Heaton Park stop will close at 9pm. The last services from Bowker Vale to Bury will run at 12:46am on Saturday and 12:44pm on Sunday.
Return shuttle buses to Manchester city centre will run from inside the park in a temporary bus station, until the site is clear.
Anyone travelling at the weekend, but not to Parklife, can expect roads and public transport be ‘busier than usual’, TfGM admits, especially with the other events at Co-op Live and Old Trafford.
Extra staff and TravelSafe Support Officers will be ‘out and about’ across the transport network to help passengers throughout the weekend.
Key travel and ticket advice for getting to Parklife, as well as general travel advice for the busy weekend ahead, is available now at on the Bee Network website here.
Daisy Jackson -
30th May 2023 
