Parklife 2026: Line-up, road closures, and how to get there

Thousands of music lovers will be arriving in Manchester this weekend as Parklife Festival returns to Heaton Park for its 13th year at the venue.

More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the event, where Scottish DJ, Calvin Harris, famed for his chart-topping records and Ibiza performances, is set to headline.

Other big names on the line-up for the two-day festival on Saturday and Sunday are Sammy Virji, Skepta and Zara Larsson.

From main stage timings to travel, here's everything you need to know about Parklife 2026.

Gates open at the non-camping festival on Saturday from 12:00 until 23:00 BST, with festivalgoers welcomed in an hour later on Sunday from 13:00 to 23:00.

Last entry into Parklife on both days is 17:00 and you cannot go back in after leaving the festival site.

Organisers have said no one under the age of 17 is permitted to attend without a responsible guardian aged 18 or over.

Calvin Harris will be headlining, ten years after he last performed at the festival.

Other artists to headline the festival will be Sammy Virji, Skepta, Zara Larsson - along with performances from Chris Stussy, Josh Baker, Nia Archives, Kettama and more.

Organisers have said headline acts will be on early and festival-goers have been advised to arrive at Heaton Park to join the queue to enter between 11:00-12:00.

Full details of the weekend line-up across the festival's five main stages are available on the Parklife App, but the main Valley stage will see performances from the following artists:

Saturday

12:00 -13:00 - Rich Reason & Yami

13:00-14:00 - Alexandria

14:00-15:30 - Prospa

15:30 -17:00 - Josh Baker

17:15-18:00 - 4am Kru

18:30-19:30 - Nia Archives

20:00-21:00 - Skepta

21:30-22:45 - Sammy Virji

Sunday

13:00-14:15 - Nicola Bear

14:15-15:15- Mix-Stress

15:30-16:15 - Clementine Douglas

16:30-17:30 - Armand Van Helden

18:00-18:45 - Rudim3ntal

19:15-20:15 - Zara Larsson

21:15-22:45 - Calvin Harris

The two-day festival will be hosted at Heaton Park, around five miles north of Manchester city centre.

Walking from Manchester city centre to the festival site takes around 50 minutes and there will be a signposted walking route along Bury Old Road.

To enter the festival there will be two main public entry and exit gates, one of which will be the West Gate, on Bury Old Road and the second will be the East Gate, on Sheepfoot Lane.

Festival organisers have advised people to plan their journeys to and from the event ahead of time.

Bee Network shuttle bus services will be operated to and from the city centre and the festival by Transport for Greater Manchester.

Shuttle buses will depart from Aytoun Street in the city centre, starting from 10:30 on Saturday and 11:30 on Sunday.

Journeys will take around 30 minutes on the bus and return buses will be running back into Manchester from 18:30 until the site is clear.

Alternatively, Metrolink journeys on the Bury tram line from Victoria will run every 7.5 minutes and take approximately 15 minutes, with the Heaton Park drop-off located near the West entry gate.

The Heaton Park stop will be closed from 21:00, after which point the Bowker Vale stop should be used for trams back to the city centre.

To use the shuttle bus service you must have a Parklife Travel Pass.

The travel pass allows users to travel on all bus or tram service in Greater Manchester including the direct Parklife shuttle bus and Metrolink services from the city centre.

Tickets can be purchased on the Manchester Bee Network app - and organisers have said buying tickets in advance will help reduce your queuing time for buses.

If you are driving or need to be dropped off or picked up, there are park and ride sites in Greater Manchester, where you can park your car for free, and use the tram.

The park and ride sites on the Bury line are Whitefield and Radcliffe.

For taxi users, there will be black cab ranks on Blackley New Road and Bury New Road - just before the junction with Scholes Lane.

For those travelling by private-hire vehicle or getting picked up or dropped off, organisers have advised festival-goers to arrange a drop off/ pick up spot around 1km from the park - as the immediate area will be closed to public traffic.

The roads around Heaton Park will be closed to public traffic at the end of the event on both Saturday and Sunday for safety reasons.

Drivers are advised that Sheepfoot Lane may be closed at any time over the course of the weekend for pedestrian safety.

Transport for Greater Manchester has said this will only happen when pedestrian footfall is beyond the capacity of the pavements and verges.

Full details on road closures across the weekend are available on the Transport for Greater Manchester website.

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