The Matinee stage was suddenly closed off and crowds told to leave immediately
21:28, 15 Jun 2025Updated 21:28, 15 Jun 2025
Parklife bosses were forced to shut down the Matinee stage and empty crowds out following safety concerns(Image: Jake Lindley / Manchester Evening News)
Festival-goers have been told that one of the main Parklife stages at this year’s festival will now be closed for the rest of the day due to ‘safety’ concerns.
Earlier this evening, revellers were asked to leave the Matinee stage after bosses at the Heaton Park festival made the decision to pause proceedings at the dance arena following ‘advice from the safety team’.
Manchester-based DJ and performer Josh Baker alongside Danish DJ Chris Stussy had both been due to take to the stage on Sunday evening. In a statement on Instagram, Josh, who had been due to perform from 6.30pm until 8pm, said he was ‘deeply sorry’ that he was unable to perform.
He told his followers on social media: “Unfortunately, I will not be performing at Parklife due to reason[s] outside of my control. I deeply apologise. I can’t really put into words what today was going to mean for me.”
Chris Stussy had been due to headline the stage from 8pm until 11pm, but the three-hour set also has not gone ahead.
He posted on Instagram that he was ‘really gutted’ he was unable to perform, but said ‘safety comes first’. He also said the stage had been closed ‘due to safety reasons’ and the ‘stage being over-crowded’.
Festival-goers outside the Matinee stage after crowds were told to exit the area(Image: Jake Lindley / Manchester Evening News)
In an original message to festival-goers via the Parklife app, festival bosses explained that the Matinee stage had been paused. The pop-up message said: “Upon advice of the PL safety team, the show on the Matinee stage has been paused. We will update asap.”
And, in a new statement issued tonight, a spokesperson for Parklife said: “As a result of crowd movement at the Matinee Stage and on the advice of our safety team to remove the risk of any potential incidents, Parklife made the decision to close the stage for the remainder of the final day of the festival.
“Unfortunately it has been impossible to relocate Josh Baker’s and Chris Stussy’s performances to a new stage.
“Our teams worked quickly and diligently to address the situation and the safety of our festival attendees is always our utmost priority.”
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, festival-goers said they felt the crowds in the stage area were ‘all packed together’ and with ‘too many people in’. They claimed that a staff member took to the stage to ask everyone to leave for a ‘health and safety emergency’.
Lizzie Brown, 18, from Birmingham, said: “I was in there and they were letting too many people in. We were all packed together, but stuck.
Parklife bosses shut down the Matinee area at around 6.30pm, meaning two big closing acts were forced to miss their sets(Image: Jake Lindley / Manchester Evening News)
“This man on the mic said everyone needs to leave. He said it was a health and safety emergency.
“When we were coming out we had to climb over the barrier to get out.”
A number of festival-goers waited outside the Matinee stage in the hopes that it would reopen, but many dispersed after the stage failed to reopen in time for Stussy’s set to start as scheduled.
All the other stages are running as planned.