Parklife 2023 is nearly here and if there’s one thing we know about this staple of the British summer and festival season it’s that it never disappoints.
There’s once again an absolutely massive line-up heading to the fields of Heaton Park, including headline slots from Fred Again, Aitch and The 1975.
The sun and warm weather seems to have arrived in the nick of time too, with what looks like a sunny, mud-free Parklife on the way.
If you can believe it, it’s been 13 years since the first-ever Parklife was held and since then it’s gone on to be not only a Manc music institution and rite of passage, but one of the most famous festivals around the world – we’re just lucky it happens to be right on our doorstep.
With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know about Parklife 2023, from who’s playing and where to how you’ll be getting there and back.
As you can see, Parklife punters are in for an absolute stormer this year, with the organisers bringing along some of the biggest names across various different genres.
With headliners and local lads Aitch and The 1975 topping the bill, the bar is already pretty high, but with the likes of Fred again…, Little Simz, The Prodigy; Anderson .Paak, Nas, Self-Esteem; Skrillex, Annie Mac and even the Wu-Tang Clan all rocking up over the weekend, it really is going to be unforgettable.
We could literally go on forever when it comes to who we’re excited to see at Heaton Park this year – Peggy Gou, Charlotte De Witte, DJ Seinfeld, Patrick Topping and so on – but part of the challenge is always going to be sorting out your clashes.
If any of you ever figure out the magical power of being able to be in two places at once let us know but until then, here’s which Parklife artists will be appearing on which stages for 2023.
Parklife 2023 festival site map
Parklife takes over a corner of Heaton Park, just to the north of Manchester itself.
With so many stages and street food and parties scattered around the festival site, it’s good to get your bearings beforehand.
And Parklife has just dropped its festival site map for 2023, which you can see below.
Who’s playing when and where?
Since moving from its original home at Platt Fields (2010-2013), Parklife Festival now stretches across several stages, many of which are exclusive only to Saturday/Sunday.
There is, of course, the self-titled main stage, as well as The Valley, The Hangar and The Temple – all of which span across both days.
It won’t surprise you to learn that there aren’t a lot of Parklife tickets left for 2023, with all Saturday and full weekend passes now sold out and only travel packages really available.
However, that isn’t to say there aren’t any: there a still a handful of tickets left for the Sunday, with general admission costing you £92.95 including the booking fee.
There are also VIP passes still going for £123.65 with upgrades also available for Saturday too if you’re feeling fancy. After all, summer is getting into full swing and it’ll have just been payday (hopefully), treat yourself – or don’t know, we’re not the boss of you.
Travelling to and from Parklife
Speaking of travel, knowing how you’re going to get to and from Heaton Park is also something you should plan ahead for rather than just wing it on the day.
Luckily, Parklife’s famous Big Green Coaches will be running as per usual, all of which will be carbon neutral, will only set you back a £10 deposit and are running from all over the country.
As for public transport, the Parklife shuttle buses and regular TfGM bus services will all running across the weekend and into the early hours of each night to make sure everyone gets home safely.
The dreaded Metrolink strike has now been called off, so you can also use the tram to get up to Heaton Park – just hop off the Bury-bound tram at either Heaton Park or Bowker Vale.
For the shuttle bus, you can board it from the corner of Aytoun Street and Minshull Street (M1 2DD) near Piccadilly train station, with the drop-off site right inside the festival. For any further information, check out the travel portal on the Parklife website.
The Parklife travel pass is £10 for the whole weekend and can be used on trams or the shuttle buses.
Last but not least, there’s not much point in turning up to the festival without your wristband. Here are the three official locations to have your Parklife 2023 tickets verified and receive your wristband.
Open on Saturday 11 June and Sunday 12 June.
Minshull Street (next to the shuttle bus departure point) from 9.30am-4.00pm.
Cathedral Gardens (in front of the National Football Museum) from 10am-4.00pm.
St Peter’s Square (outside of Manchester Central Library) from 10am-4.00pm.
As always, we’d also remind you to steer clear of ticket touts – not worth spoiling your weekend by being stung.
Parklife 2023 is set to be an absolute stormer and with the weather looking to be holding up too, all the stars are aligning as punters prepare to descend on Manchester.
It’s a great weekend for the region and for the UK music scene, let alone Greater Manchester, and we can’t wait. You’ll see a few faces from The Manc going along too, so feel free to come up to us and say hello – we don’t bite.
Last but not least, look after each other out there and, above all else, enjoy yourselves. Roll on June 10!
Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour
Emily Sergeant
Olivia Dean has announced she’s set to head out on the biggest UK and Europe headline tour of her career next year.
Fresh off-the-back of supporting the North East’s finest, Sam Fender, on his run of big outdoor gigs this summer – including a massive one at Wythenshawe Park this past weekend – Olivia Dean has now announced her very-own headline tour.
And of course she’ll be making a stop off here in Manchester as she heads around the UK.
The tour announcement comes ahead of the release of her sophmore album, The Art of Loving, which is out next month on 26 September, and follows the release of a collection of singles, including the already high-charting ‘Nice To Each Other’.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter will first head out on a tour of some of the UK’s major cities, before taking on the rest of the continent and visiting cities like Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam along the way.
From her earliest show in 2017 with a crowd of just 70 people, on to three triumphant sold-out nights at the Hammersmith Apollo, Olivia has been firmly building herself powerful live legacy and is already on her way to carving out a legendary path.
On release, the multi BRIT Award nominee’s debut album Messy received widespread critical acclaim and cemented her status as one of the most compelling voices across neo-soul and pop.
Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour / Credit: Jack Davison (Publicity Picture) | The Manc Group
While still relatively early on in her career, Olivia has already earned comparisons to the greats, and 2025 sees her ready to ‘scale up’ and ‘conquer’.
Olivia will kick off her tour next year in April, and will be taking to the stage of Manchester’s newest live entertainment arena, Co-op Live, on Saturday 25 April 2026, following a trip to Glasgow and before two huge gigs at London’s OVO Hydro Arena.
Tickets go on pre-sale at 10am next Wednesday 27 August for Co-op Members, and the general sale will follow on Friday 29 August, again at 10am – with tickets available here.
You can also re-order the album for early access to tickets here.
Featured Image – Gwen Trannoy (Publicity Pictures)
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Manchester Mardi Gras lineup and stage times in full – the ultimate guide to Pride 2025’s new event
Danny Jones
This year’s Manchester Pride festival is nearly here, and with the organisers introducing an all-new addition to the celebrations in the form of Mardi Gras, 2025 is going to be unforgettable.
Promising to be bigger, better and bolder than ever, this new entire sub-section/spin-off/side-event (whatever you want to call it) is designed to up the party atmosphere even further over the long August bank holiday weekend.
For anyone as yet unaware, Manchester Pride 2025 will not just boast the usual parade, Gay Village Party and numerous other specific events in and around Canal Street, but an entirely new series; this year, Mardi Gras is taking over Depot Mayfield and Freight Island too, promising a whole host of shows.
So, without further ado, let’s get stuck into what’s on where and when, shall we?
Now, for starters, you can see the full lineup down below, including the likes of blockbuster headliner Nelly Furtado, who was announced as the final act for the closing night of Mardi Gras 2025 last week.
The are plenty of other big names playing Pride this year – take a look for yourselves.
It’s also worth noting that wristbands for Mardi Gras still grant you entry to all of this year’s Gay Village Party events, too.
Mardi Gras stage times for MCR Pride 2025
Next up are the stage times, and while we can certainly lay everything out for you, as with any festival, having to painstakingly check all of the clashes is up to you.
Anna Phylactic – 2:45-2:50pm N-Trance – 2:50-3:20pm Louis III – 3:30-4pm K-Klass – 4:10-7:10pm Louisa Johnson – 5-5:40pm Banksie – 5:20-5:35pm Tayce – 5:45-18:00 Big Freedia – 6:30-7pm Tulisa – 7:20-7:50pm Olly Alexander – 9:40-10:40pm Nelly Furtado – 11:30pm-12:30am
The former Little Mix star is headlines the night of Mardi Gras.Gok Wan sets always go off.Credit: Press Shots (supplied)
Freight Island
Sat, 23 August
Sun, 24 August
Bongo’s Bingo – 4-5pm Red Bull ‘Dance Your Style’ – 5:15-35pm Yshee Black – 5:35-5:50pm Shanika Sunrise – 5:55-6:10pm Bailey J Mills – 6:15-6:30pm Red Bull ‘Dance Your Style’ (second set) – 7-7:20pm Charity Shop Sue – 7:20-8:05pm Queenz: ‘Drag Me To The Disco’ – 8:15-9pm Dean McCullough’s Pop Machine – 9:15-10:15pm The Danny Beard Show – 11:33pm-12:28am
Bongo’s Bingo – 3:45-4:45pm Lucky Roy Singh – 5:20-5:25pm Tequila Thirst – 5:25-5:30pm Fortune – 5:35-5:40pm Minara el Waters – 5:40-5:45pm Lady Imelda – 5:45-5:55pm DJ – Club Zindagi – 6-6:30pm Singh/Raj/Fortune/Kaan/Awas – 6:30-6:35pm Sitara Malik – 6:35-6:40pm Awais – 6:40-6:45pm Saki Yew – 6:45-6:50pm Raj – 6:50-6:55pm Duniya Dhoom – 6:55-7pm Khaan – 7-7:05pm Buffer – 7:05-7:15pm Zahirah Zapanta – 7:15-7:20pm Amirck Channa – 7:20-7:25pm DJ – Club Zindagi (second set) – 7:25-7:55pm House of MCR ‘Pride Edition’ – 9pm-12:04am
The Garden Stage is often the quieter, more laid-back part of Freight Island, but there’ll still be plenty of entertainment to be found there this bank holiday…
That’s just about everything you need to know ahead of the inaugural edition of Mardi Gras as part of the annual Manchester Pride celebrations.
We hope you all have a wonderful time this weekend – look out for one another, be happy, unapologetically yourselves, and show this city in its best light like you every year.
And last but not least, you can find out everything else you need to know from our complete MCR Pride 2025 guide right here.
Danny Jones -
28th May 2023 
