Preparations for Heaton Park's largest ever, live music event are underway as Manchester band Oasis prepare to perform on 4, 6, 7 June.

Concert promoters SJM Concerts selected Heaton Park, one of Europe's largest municipal parks, as the hometown location for the Manchester mega band's biggest ever tour of open-air venues.

Six months of planning by Manchester City Council and other agencies, and the resulting improvements to the park's infrastructure, will now position the venue as a serious contender for future large-scale events, the likes of which have not been seen at the park since the Pope's visit in 1982.

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A specially created temporary arena is to be constructed in the park to host the 70,000 ticket holders for each concert. Visitors will be able to take advantage of a special Park and Ride scheme, as well as shuttle buses to and from the city centre, which have also been arranged to complement the existing public transport to make travel easier for fans and to cause minimum impact to the local community.

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture & Leisure at Manchester City Council said: "This three day event clearly positions Heaton Park as an attractive alternative to other venues in the region such as Tatton Park and Old Trafford, bringing with it the potential for further investment and visitor numbers to North Manchester.

"We have worked hard with Bury and Rochdale councils. GMP, GMPTE, concert promoters SJM and the local community to ensure minimum disruption and are looking forward to welcoming visitors to what promises to be a real milestone event for one of Manchester's award winning green spaces."

(CD/JM)