Manchester set for travel nightmare this weekend due to busy music weekend

Manchester City Council has warned roads in the city this weekend will be ‘very busy’, due to events including Parklife festival and an Ed Sheeran event encouraging people in Manchester to plan ahead for any travel this weekend.

The North’s biggest music festival is set to see appearances from 50 Cent, Joy Crookes, Tom Misch, Megan Thee Stallion and Lewis Capaldi. Additionally, Ed Sheeran is set to perform four performances at the Etihad from Thursday through to Sunday.

Those planning on travelling to the surrounding area have been encouraged to make plans as soon as possible to avoid travel disruption.

The advice comes as previous years have seen the City centre, the area surrounding Heaton Park and M60 junction, far busier than usual.

The council have further advised the Metro Tramlink will be busiest from 11am-5 pm and after 10 pm on Saturday and Sunday. If travelling near the event, the council have said Bury New Road will be the route with the least disruption. Parklife expects to welcome over 75,000 people, many being Manchester-based students, with travel to and from the venue causing problems in recent years due to the enormity of the event.

However, adding to the large crowds coming to the city, this weekend Ed Sheeran will be performing at the Etihad Stadium, The Killers at Old Trafford Cricket Ground and Alicia Keys at the AO Arena on Saturday night.

It is expected over 200,000 music lovers will be flocking to Manchester to enjoy all of these events.

Those attending the weekend festival can buy a £10 weekend Parklife Express travel pass, allowing shuttle bus access and travel on the city’s Metrolink.

However, some students have expressed concern about the viability of these tickets.

One UoM student who went to the festival last year said travel at the event caused chaos. ‘We were meant to be getting the shuttle bus back from the festival but there was no chance. We were in the queue for an hour and gave up. We ended up getting a £130 Über, which on any other day would have been £20. Nightmare. We’ve already pre-booked a cab for the evening this time. Ha, that should be fun.’

To follow all the latest travel updates, follow @OfficialTfGM on Twitter or visit the Manchester travel site at https://tfgm.com/major-works-and-events/.