June weekend

Friday 19, Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 June 2026

The busiest weekend of the year is coming up (Friday 19, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June), with events taking place across Greater Manchester.

If you are off to dance the night away at Parklife, watch some T20 Women's World Cup action at Emirates Old Trafford, see Take That never forget where they come from at the Etihad or off out to do some shopping/go to work, we have got you covered with the latest travel advice.

With so many people making journeys over the weekend, it's important you plan ahead to avoid the busiest times and locations.

Making a journey?

If you are making a journey; be it into the city centre, cross-city or close to where one of the events take place, here are some handy travel tips:

Please plan your journey before you leave to ensure your route is not impacted by delays or disruption.
Tram service patterns have been tweaked to ensure there is sufficient capacity and resilience for the events. This may mean there's a change to your usual service and you may have to change trams. Please take a look below for the tram service patterns for the weekend.
Trams are expected to be very busy, especially in the city centre, so consider setting off earlier in case you need to queue to board a tram.
The busiest times to travel will be between midday and 7pm - as people make their way to events - and then after 10pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
If driving, please try to avoid driving across the city centre. The northern part of the Inner Ring Road will be busy due to the AO Arena, Co-op Live and Etihad Stadium events. You may find that travelling via the Outer Ring Road will be quicker.
Journey times on roads such as Great Ancoats Street, Cheetham Hill Road, Oldham Road and Ashton Old Road are expected to increase significantly, especially between 4pm and 7pm.
Complete short journeys by walking or cycling via bike hire, we have a dedicated webpage which will help you plan your route.

Travelling to an event?

Take That return to Manchester with their Circus Live tour at the Etihad Stadium on Friday 19, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June (doors open from 5pm).

Tram services will run between the city centre and Etihad Campus every 7.5 minutes.
There is a well lit, signposted walking route that takes approximately 25 minutes from Piccadilly Station.
The 216 bus operates from the north side of Piccadilly Gardens [next to the Travelodge] to the stadium.
There will be a post-event shuttle bus from the Etihad Stadium back to the city centre, departing from opposite the stadium on Ashton New Road.

Parklife returns with a star studded line up this year at Heaton Park on Saturday 20 (12pm to 11pm) and Sunday 21 June (1pm to 11pm).

Pre-event, please use the Bury line from Victoria to travel to Heaton Park.
In order to safely manage queueing and crowds, Heaton Park tram stop will be closed after the event. Instead, please use the nearby Bowker Vale stop - which will be clearly signposted - to travel back to the city centre.
The Parklife Express Shuttle Bus operates from the city centre to Heaton Park and then back again post-event. Buses to the park will depart from Aytoun Street, near Piccadilly Station, and then from Bury Old Road on return.
Parklife travel tickets are available on the Bee Network app, allowing you to travel on any bus, any tram and any Parklife Shuttle Bus to/from Heaton Park.

Lily Allen (from 6pm) and B52's and Devo (from 5:30pm) will preform at the AO Arena over Friday 19, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June.

Victoria station sits next to the AO Arena and is well served by tram and train services. Many bus services arrive and depart from the nearby Shudehill Interchange and Piccadilly Gardens.
If you have no other choice but to drive, consider using a Park and Ride site and completing the final part of your journey by tram. Parking is free with a valid tram ticket, and you'll avoid the congestion in the city centre.
With so many events taking place near the city centre, roads surrounding the arena are expected to be much busier from early afternoon and again after the event. Expect journey times to take a lot longer and allow more time for travel.

The Soft & Gentle Netball Super League Final will take place at the Co-op Live on Saturday 20 June (doors open at 12:30pm for a 3pm start).

A shuttle bus will operate between the city centre and the Co-op Live for event ticket holders only.
If you are travelling to the arena, please board the bus at either Stop EX on Piccadilly, located by Piccadilly Gardens or Stop C on Fairfield Street, near Piccadilly rail station.
After the event, please make your way to Alan Turing Way/ near Co-op Live bus stop to board the bus back towards the city centre.
Take That perform next door at the Etihad Stadium, so trams to the venue are expected to be busier than normal. Please allow plenty of time for your journey,

It's the Women's T20 World Cup on Sunday 21 June with South Africa facing off against India (first ball at 2:30pm).

There are plenty of tram stops near Emirates Old Trafford that you can travel to, including the Old Trafford stop right outside the ground.
Tram services operating on the Altrincham - Etihad Campus line serve Old Trafford tram stop every 15 minutes.

Tram travel

The following service pattern will be in place across the weekend:

Bury - Victoria
Bury - Altrincham (via Market Street) (peak-time Saturday only) then Bury - Victoria (off-peak and Sunday)
Altrincham - Etihad Campus
Ashton-under-Lyne - Eccles via MediaCityUK
Rochdale Town Centre - East Didsbury via Exchange Square
East Didsbury - Shaw and Crompton via Exchange Square (peak-time Saturday only)
Manchester Airport - Piccadilly
The Trafford Centre - Deansgate-Castlefield

The following tram stops will be closed across the weekend to help safely manage crowds:

Heaton Park from 9pm on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June. Please use Bowker Vale to board a service.
Market Street and Shudehill from 12pm until 5pm on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June.
Velopark, Holt Town and Clayton Hall (heading to Manchester) from 10.30pm on Friday 19, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June.

Bus travel

Over the course of the weekend, there will be a number of bus services on diversion. You can keep up to date with the latest disruption information on our travel alerts page or on the Bee Network app

Due to road closures for the Parklife festival, the following bus services will be on diversion at various times over the weekend: 41, 59, 66, 90, 94, 135 and 156. View the full bus diversion information.