A muddy brawl broke out among festivalgoers at this year’s Parklife festival (Picture: TikTok/leahmurtagh23)
Manchester’s Parklife festival once again descended into chaos over the weekend after a huge fight erupted in the crowd while revellers fled in horror.
Footage of the brawl shared on TikTok shows around a dozen men clad in black engaged in a vicious scrap as music blares in the background.
One man appears to fall to the ground after getting punched in the head, while another throws what looks like a can at another man’s head.
Another one of the fighters then picks up the object and attempts to wield it as a weapon while onlookers keep their distance.
Punches were thrown while revellers looked on in horror and bemusement (Picture: TikTok / leahmurtagh23)
The annual festival was headlined by Doja Cat, Disclosure and Rudimental this year (Picture: Burak Cingi/Redferns)
The violent scenes unfolded at the annual gathering at Heaton Park, which saw police make 52 arrests across the weekend with ‘weapons and illegal drugs’ among the items seized.
The original video footage has since been removed from TikTok.
Acts such as Doja Cat, Disclosure and Rudimental headlined the festival, which was hit with heavy downpours of rain throughout Sunday afternoon.
A number of suspects were taken into custody over the weekend, for a range of offences including robbery, assault and the possession of drugs.
Greater Manchester Police said that the ‘vast majority of attendees enjoyed themselves responsibly’ but that the drugs and weapons seized could have had ‘serious and fatal consequences if they managed to get inside the festival site.’
Superintendent Andy Sidebotham, who led the policing operation for Parklife this year, said: ‘I want thank the vast majority of attendees who enjoyed themselves responsibly over the course of two wonderful days in Heaton Park.
‘Many people came up to our officers, asked them questions and posed for pictures, and our officers were more than happy to engage with revellers from across the country.
GMP say 52 arrests were made throughout the weekend (Picture: TikTok/leahmurtagh23)
‘The illegal drugs and weapons intercepted over the weekend could have had serious and fatal consequences if they managed to get inside the festival site.
‘The vast majority of these 52 arrests were the result of proactive work between GMP and event security staff, and a thorough search regime in place on the entry gates across Heaton Park.
‘Parklife is a huge item on Greater Manchester’s calendar, and I would like to thank our partners, including Parklife organisers, North West Ambulance Service, Transport for Greater Manchester and Manchester City Council for their months of hard work in ensuring a robust security plan was in place to protect the public, making Parklife 2024 a successful event.’
‘Isolated incidents can always take place where large gatherings of people congregate together,’ a spokesperson for Parklife told the Manchester Evening News.
The Parklife spokesperson added: ‘Working alongside our operational partners in Greater Manchester Police and other local authorities, we’re pleased to see a significant decrease in arrests and anti-social incidents both on and off-site at the festival this year.
‘Faced with challenging weather conditions, we want to thank the vast majority of festival-goers for their responsible behaviour across the weekend.’
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