We’re heading in to our second day of Parklife, and if you’re looking to massively elevate your festival experience, you might want to think about chucking a VIP upgrade onto your day.
Yesterday, 70,000 music fans descended on the festival to see performances from the likes of Fred Again, Aitch, and Little Simz.
Sunday’s instalment of the massive festival at Heaton Park will see local lads The 1975 headlining on the main stage, while The Prodigy dominate The Valley stage.
It’s a busy festival with loads to see and do, and if you’re wanting to have a little safe haven to escape from it all, the VIP area is it.
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Included in the VIP village, known this year as the Parklife Members Club, you’ll have your own fast-track private entrance, luxury loos, a street food market, a VIP bar, charging points and even access to your own stage and separate line-up.
In the street food quarter you’ll find a range of food not on offer on the main festival site – traders this year include Hip Hop Chip Shop, Triple B, Diamond Dogs and Wrap Up.
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VIP bar at ParklifeHip Hop Chip Shop at Parklife VIP. Credit: The Manc GroupPerformers in the VIP villagePerformers in the VIP villageThe VIP stage at Parklife
For the first time, Parklife has transformed its VIP area into an ‘immersive 90’s rave time-capsule’, with iconic photography displayed in a partnership with Mixmag.
There’s a chill-out area where you can recharge your phone (and your own social batteries), as well as VIP members-only bars.
You’ll also find a line-up of different artists taking over the VIP stage, which today includes Everybody Loves Lizzo, The Twisted Sista, and Rob Mcpartland, plus roving performers like the raving grannies and stilt walkers.
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For £30 plus booking fee, you can upgrade your ticket and have access to Parklife’s VIP area all day.
You can book your Sunday VIP upgrade here, which is only valid with a Sunday Parklife ticket.
Parklife says of its VIP section: “All thrills, no spills, enjoy Parklife 2023 to the VIP fullest with your own private members club. This is strictly for the good times.
“A space at the festival like no other for food, drink, relaxation, special guests, immersive rave exhibitions, sound-systems and your own personal dance floor.”
‘Breathtaking’ new 360° immersive dinosaurs exhibition to open in Manchester later this year
Emily Sergeant
A ‘breathtaking’ new immersive dinosaurs exhibition is set to open in Manchester later this year.
Fresh off the back of announcing its programme of events for the upcoming autumn-winter season last week, Factory International has now revealed that another new Lightroom experience will be arriving later this year, and it’s one any budding paleontologist will want to keep an eye on.
Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs blends iconic moments from Apple TV’s Emmy nominated Prehistoric Planet with never-before seen content.
It’s set to take audiences back in time to experience dinosaurs closer than ever before.
Narrated by critically acclaimed actor, Damian Lewis, the new 360° immersive experience is a celebration of our natural world told through captivating storytelling, breathtaking visuals, and groundbreaking technology, with visitors will be transported back in time, 66 million years ago, to experience dinosaurs up close.
Damian Lewis guides audiences through the fascinating role dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures have played in shaping our world – from Ammonites and Mosasaurs, to the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Lightroom’s state-of-the-art 360 projections will allow viewers to see these majestic animals at an awe-inspiring scale and travel alongside them through volcanoes, soaring skies and the deep sea.
As escapist as it is educational, audiences will not only experience some of the most beloved scenes from seasons one and two of Apple TV’s Prehistoric Planet, but they will also be immersed in exclusive extended CGI sequences and bespoke illustrations that bring the show to life in entirely new ways.
And to make it even better, the experience is set to an original score by multi-Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer, alongside Anže Rozman, and Kara Talve for Bleeding Fingers Music.
Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs opens at Aviva Studios, and tickets go on public sale tomorrow (Friday 26 June).
Featured Image – Supplied
What's On
Prestigious Edinburgh TV Festival to move to Manchester for first time in 50 years
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester will become the new host city for the TV Festival from 2027 onwards it was announced today.
For the first time in five decades, following an extensive consultation and competitive bidding process – which was launched in 2025 – the prestigious festival is set to move from its home in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh to our region from 2027 onwards, beating out other major northern cities like Newcastle in the process.
As part of a UK-wide strategic review into the event’s long-term future, the Festival’s board of directors say the review was undertaken in order to ‘examine how the TV Festival could continue to grow’ amid increasing challenges around accessibility, affordability, and sustainability across the television industry.
Greater Manchester‘s ‘successful and comprehensive’ bid included commitments around affordability, infrastructure, industry partnership, and long-term growth potential.
Plans include holding the Festival in locations in the newly developed St. John’s creative and cultural district.
“Greater Manchester presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates,” commented Campbell Glennie, who is the CEO of the TV Festival and The TV Foundation.
“This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes.
“The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance – it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council, said being chosen as TV Festival hosts is ‘brilliant news’ for Greater Manchester, adding: “It speaks to the growth, success and strength of our screen sector in the city region and the strong partnerships and talent we have here.”
The final Edinburgh edition of the TV Festival will take place this August, and dates and further details for the TV Festival in 2027 will be shared later this year.
Daisy Jackson -
11th June 2023 
