Rochdale schoolchildren given 'Work Place Safari' of Parklife Festival

The Parklife Festival set in Heaton Park

Rochdale schoolchildren were amongst those given the chance to hear first-hand from people working in the festival industry during a tour of the Parklife Festival set in Heaton Park.

The city-region’s Night Time Economy Adviser and co-creator of Parklife, Sacha Lord, invited children from 10 schools in Greater Manchester – including from Oulder Hill and Redwood schools – on a ‘Work Place Safari’ of the festival set while it is in build mode on Thursday 9 June.

Young people attending the tour were given the opportunity to find out what goes into putting on the largest metropolitan festival in the UK, while also hearing from different staff members ranging from sound and lighting engineers, catering workers and set design staff. They were also invited to ask questions to find out about what qualifications are needed to enter the industry.

During a morning session more than 50 Year 10 students, aged 14 to 15, experienced Parklife without the crowds and heard about all of the different jobs available in this area of hospitality and leisure.

An afternoon session for 50 children from Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools in the city-region took part in a tour which was tailored to their needs.

The Workplace Safari is part of the Meet Your Future project, a partnership which includes Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), The Careers & Enterprise Company and BridgeGM, to give young people workplace shadowing opportunities showcasing the amazing breadth of careers across Greater Manchester.

Sacha first launched Parklife back in 2010 at Platt Fields Park, with the likes of artists such as Snoop Dogg, Liam Gallagher and Skepta previously headlining. The festival has since moved to Heaton Park and employs over 4,500 people across the weekend.

Sacha Lord, Co-creator of Parklife and Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Adviser, said: “Events such as Parklife don’t happen overnight.

“They take months of preparation, planning and hard work behind the scenes, and we have been excited to showcase this to the attendees today.

“These students may be the set designers, musicians or hospitality operators of the future, and after an extremely difficult few years for the industry: we hope today’s behind-the-scenes access has provided an exciting and inspiring overview of what a career in events can look like.”