Traffic advice for Manchester’s Olympic Athletes’ Parade

Nicola White shows her Olympic gold medal

Fans heading to see their Olympic and Paralympic heroes in Manchester later this month are being advised to plan their journeys to reduce delays.

More than 150,000 people from across the country are expected to descend on Manchester city centre to celebrate the achievements of Team GB and Paralympics GB in Rio with the Athletes’ Parade on Monday 17 October.

Highways England is working in partnership with lead agency Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to ensure visitors have all the information they need to make the best travel decisions on the day.

The parade, which will be one of the largest single events the city has seen in recent years, starts at Castlefield at 4.30pm and then makes its way through the city before culminating in a civic reception in Albert Square.

Highways England emergency planning manager Chris Chadwick said: “When popular events take place in our major cities, they can be enjoyed by everyone with a little forward planning. Please don’t just set out hoping for the best, or your day might be ruined. Check the day before, plan a route, allow extra time and consult traffic updates regularly by radio if you are driving, or on Twitter as a passenger.”

Highways England advice is:

• Plan your journey.
• Leave plenty of time for your journey.
• Use recommended park and ride where possible.
• Enjoy an evening in Manchester and travel home later to avoid getting caught in the rush.

The motorways around Manchester are likely to be congested, particularly at peak times when people are arriving and leaving. A football match is also scheduled at Anfield between Liverpool versus Manchester United at 8pm, which means further delays should be expected on routes such as the M60 and M62.