It’s almost time for tens of thousands of people to flock to the fields of Heaton Park for this year’s Parklife festival, which is bigger than ever in 2024.
The huge festival brings together the biggest names in dance, house, hip hop, grime and electronic music for two days of partying.
This year’s line-up is arguably its biggest yet, featuring headline performances from Doja Cat, Disclosure, Becky Hill and loads more.
And even with the incredible European debut of Fisher and Chris Lake’s Under Construction now pulled from the line-up, it’s still set to be Manchester’s biggest party of the year.
If you can believe it, it’s been 14 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.
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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.
Parklife 2024 line-up
Aitch performing at Parklife 2023. Credit: Sam Neill
The city’s biggest music event has lined up huge names like Doja Cat, Disclosure and J Hus to perform over the weekend of 8 and 9 June.
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Returning Parklife favourites Peggy Gou, Becky Hill, and Four Tet are also heading up the huge 2024 Parklife line-up.
The pop and R&B side of the line-up will be taken care of by names like Sugababes, Anne-Marie and Mahalia.
Also on the bill will be Kaytranada, Camelphat, Rudim3ntal, Nia Archives, Hybrid Minds, Patrick Topping, Barry Can’t Swim, Folamour, Dom Dolla, Casisdead, Wilkinson, Shy FX: Specials, Interplanetary Criminal, Sammy Virji b2b Interplanetary Criminal, Kenya Grace, ANOTR, PAWSA, TSHA, Girls Don’t Sync, Max Dean, Hedex, Bou, Uncle Waffles, Skream, Jyoty, Loco Dice, Sub Focus and loads more.
The good news if you’ve not yet booked your Parklife tickets is that there are still some available, whether you’re picking a day to go or want to take on the whole weekend.
How much is a VIP upgrade and what does it get you?
Having done a fair few Parklife festivals now, we can confirm that the VIP upgrade is well worth the money.
You’ll get fast-track entry to the festival (no queues for you!), and access to a whole separate area of the festival to relax in.
The VIP area at Parklife has exclusive DJs, a street food market, cocktail and spritz bars, lockers, fast-track loos, a make-up artist and glitter station, and even a streetwear stall by Suzy Loves Milo.
It’s £35.50 to upgrade a day ticket to VIP, or £34.50 for weekend ticket-holders – again, check here to book yours.
Parklife 2024 festival site map
The map of the Parklife festival site for 2024
Parklife 2024 dates and opening times
Saturday 8 June : 12pm – 11pm
Sunday 9 June : 1pm – 11pm
Last entry into the festival is 5pm
Stage splits for Parklife 2024 headliners
It’s always the eternal question for festival-goers – how am I actually going to see all this amazing music and one weekend, and who’s going to clash this year?
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Parklife has already confirmed the stage splits for its 2024 instalment, so we know exactly who’s going to be playing which stage.
Stage times aren’t out yet but usually drop a good few days before the festival – you can download the Parklife app (here for Apple, here for Android) for all you need to know.
How to get to and from Parklife festival 2024
As Parklife is a non-camping festival, getting home at the end of the night is always a question people ask.
Organisers make it as straight-forward as possible for people to get back home after the stages wrap up in Heaton Park.
The fastest and easiest way to travel to and from Parklife is with the official Parklife Travel Pass, a partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (Bee Network), Manchester City Council and Parklife, which allows you to travel on the direct Parklife Shuttle Bus and Metrolink service from Manchester City Centre.
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Buses will operate back into Manchester from the early evening, until the site is clear, and fans should use the NORTH EXIT of the site for the bus departure point.
Tickets are just £5.50 per day.
You can see more travel advice from Parklife here.
Niall Horan at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Former One Direction member now-soloist Niall Horan is making his return to Co-op Live as part of his UK shows: ‘Dinner Party Live On Tour’.
Known for his work alongside One Direction bandmates Harry, Louis, Liam and Zayn, Horan has since started a solo career and continued to have a large fanbase.
His singles include ‘Nice To Meet Ya’, ‘Heaven’, ‘Drive Safe’ and ‘This Town’ with the latter amassing over 1 billion streams since its release in 2017.
Collaborating with the likes of pop artist Anne-Marie, Myles Smith, Maren Morris, the Irish-born musician’s style fuses both acoustic and country sounds.
Niall’s most recent LP Dinner Party dropped earlier this summer with the album title inspired by his initial encounter with his long-time girlfriend.
Gig guide – Niall Horan at Co-op Live, Manchester
Niall Horan UK tour dates
Tue 22 September – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Wed 23 September – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 25 September – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Mon 28 September – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tue 29 September – Sheffield, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 2 October – London, UK – The O2
Sat 3 October – London, UK – The O2
Are there any tickets left for Niall Horan at Co-op Live in Manchester?
If you’ve got ‘Slow Hands’ then you better get booking tickets to Niall Horan’s upcoming concert at Co-op Live in Manchester now as they’re selling pretty quickly.
You can find tickets for both seated and standing options starting from £50.75 HERE.
Although the official setlist for Niall Horan’s upcoming Dinner Party Live On Tour is yet to be revealed, here’s the tracklist for his most recent LP of the same name:
Tastes So Good
Dinner Party
Monochromatic
She Gets It From Her Mother
Better Man
Little More Time
Flowers
Boys Are Fun
Fighting Over Nothing
Pretty
Die If I Don’t
End of an Era
What are the stage times for Niall Horan in Manchester?
Doors for Niall Horan open from 6.30pm and expect to fall in love with singer-songwriter flowerovlove who will take to the stage just before.
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm meaning you have a ‘Little More Time’ to lie in before the clock hits twelve.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live.
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Featured Images – Publicity Picture (via Supplied)
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‘Queen of Christmas’ Mariah Carey announces huge Manchester arena gig this December
Emily Sergeant
Mariah Carey has officially defrosted and she’s heading out on a UK arena tour this festive season.
That’s right, the rumours were true… the best-selling female artist of all time, and the undisputed ‘Queen of Christmas’ herself, will be bringing the magic of the most wonderful time of the year to UK this winter, taking to the stage at Manchester’s Co-op Live in early December, as well as several other major UK cities along the way.
The US pop powerhouse last performed in our city nearly a decade ago now when she brought her famous All I Want For Christmasshow to the UK for the first time ever.
But this upcoming tour will mark Mariah’s first consecutive run of dates on British soil since 2019.
The shows will see Mariah celebrate the festive season by bringing together her timeless festive catalogue, global hits, and fan favourites – including the song that has become synonymous with Christmas around the world, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’
Originally released in 1994 as part of her landmark Merry Christmas album, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ reached number 1 on the UK charts for the first time in 2020, and has been in the top five every year since.
Mariah Carey will take to the stage in Manchester at Co-op Live on Wednesday 2 December, and tickets officially go on sale this week.
Mariah Carey UK Tour Dates 2026
Friday 27 November – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Monday 30 November – The O2, London
Wednesday 2 December – Co-op Live, Manchester
Pre-sales start at 10am on Wednesday (23 September), with the general sale then following later in the week on Friday 25 September, also at 10am.