Urgent Warning issued to drivers as thousands head to Parklife, Chris Brown and Soccer Aid this weekend

Over 100,00 music fans are expected in Manchester this weekend with events at Heaton Park, Old Trafford and Co-op Live

14:35, 10 Jun 2025

Crowds at Parklife 2022 watching Lewis Capaldi perform on the main stage on Sunday(Image: Adam Vaughan)

Music fans heading to major events in Greater Manchester this weekend are being urged to take the time to plan their journeys. This weekend, a number of concerts and events are taking place across the region including Parklife [1] at Heaton Park [2] and Soccer Aid at Old Trafford [3].

National Highways is warning drivers that congestion is likely around the local motorway network around Manchester at key times over the weekend especially with Parklife Festival on June 14 and 15. The huge music event sees hundreds of thousands of gig-goers attend.

As well as the Parklife weekend, Catfish and the Bottlemen, supported by James, are also performing at Heaton Park on Friday (13 June).

Other events taking place this week and over the weekend include Lionel Richie at Co-op Live on Thursday (June 12), Jeff Dunham at the Co-op Live on Saturday 14 June, and Chris Brown on Sunday evening (June 15).

Annual football fund raiser Soccer Aid is also taking place at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

Parklife festival in Heaton Park Manchester(Image: PA)

Working alongside Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), National Highways has long-standing procedures in place to deal with traffic associated with events at Heaton Park and the annual Parklife festival - which is celebrating its 15th year in the city this weekend.

Article continues below

Some overnight roadworks have been suspended and the motorway network will be monitored around the clock via CCTV. Extra patrols of National Highways traffic officers will also be stationed at key locations.

Congestion along the M60 [4] is expected when concert goers are leaving Parklife each night from around 9pm onwards, potentially into the early hours.

As in previous years, the exit slip roads at junction 19 of the M60 for Middleton [5]/Heaton Park will be closed between 7pm and 2am on Saturday and Sunday. All queueing traffic for the event will be restricted to the clockwise exit slip road at Junction 20 at Blackley.

The motorway hard shoulder around junction 19 will also be closed off at times to prevent illegal use.

Event goers are being reminded that it's illegal as well as a safety hazard to use the motorway to drop off or pick up concert goers, hitch a lift or take a short cut with good arrangements in place off the motorway network for drop-offs and pick-ups across the weekends.

Parklife festival takes place at Heaton Park every June (Image: Gary Oakley/Manchester Evening News)

National Highways' senior network planner Gary Farrell said: "This weekend is the first in a busy summer around the M60 with sold-out Oasis concerts taking place over five nights in July and we're advising drivers to get into the habit of checking traffic conditions before setting out on journeys."

A guide to travel options for Parklife, including tram services and the established Parklife pick-up zone at Heaton Park Road Sainsbury's, is available here [6].

Transport for Greater Manchester's dedicated Parklife website [7] also includes key advice for festival-goers including how to get around using the Bee Network app.

Article continues below

If you're not attending the events, TfGM has said there will be congestion on all forms of transport, and they also strongly recommend planning your journey in advance, to keep checking the Bee Network app or checking our travel alerts [8] for factors that may impact their journey, and re-time or re-route your journeys to avoid hotspots and busy periods.

TfGM has also warned that tram services will be busier than usual across the weekend.

If you can, consider travelling in the morning or whilst the event is taking place (between 4pm - 8pm), when services may be quieter.

Heaton Park and Bowker Vale stops will be most affected across the two days, as well as Victoria and Piccadilly stations in the city centre.

References

^ Parklife (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ Heaton Park (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ Trafford (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ M60 (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ Middleton (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ here (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ website (tfgm.com)
^ travel alerts (tfgm.com)