Greater Manchester Police thank attendees for helping make Parklife Festival a huge success

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has thanked festivalgoers for making Manchester’s biggest music festival a huge success this weekend (10 and 11 June).

There were plenty of memorable moments and surprises over the course of the weekend and not just from the acts taking to the stage. Sweltering temperatures on Saturday turned into thunderstorms on Sunday, which forced the entire festival to be put on pause whilst waiting for the rain and lightning to stop.

Meanwhile the transport network experienced what was possibly the busiest weekend of the year and overcame numerous challenges, particularly issues with the Metrolink line on Sunday which meant alternative travel arrangements had to be organised quickly in time for the crowds heading home.

Despite the challenges however, Manchester’s biggest music festival still left people smiling and the weekend - which saw 70,000 people attending on each day - passed off safely and without any major incident.

Of the 70,000 people attending on the Sunday (11 June), the following arrests were made related to these offences:

• 7 on suspicion of possession of illegal drugs
• 2 on suspicion of possession of a bladed article
• 1 on suspicion of a public order offence
• 1 on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker
• 1 on suspicion of a sexual offence
• 1 on suspicion of drink driving
• 22 on suspicion of possession with intent to supply illegal drugs

This takes the total number of arrests made over the course of the weekend to 60.

Superintendent Andy Sidebotham, the lead for the Parklife policing operation, said: “I’m delighted to report that the vast majority of attendees at Parklife Festival enjoyed the event responsibly and safely.

“Most of the arrests made this weekend were the result of the proactive security operation led by Parklife and supported by GMP. Thanks to meticulous work by officers and staff, illegal drugs and weapons were prevented from entering the festival where they could have done serious harm to the public.

“This festival is important to Greater Manchester, and I am grateful to attendees for their enthusiasm and their patience through some of the challenges and for engaging positively with our officers.

“Finally, I want to thank our partners including Parklife organisers, North West Ambulance Service, Transport for Greater Manchester and Manchester City Council who were involved in months of planning and helped organise this fantastic event and made it a success.”