Manchester City Council to also charge Oasis over concert costs
It has been confirmed that Manchester City Council will be charging Oasis over their massive hometown shows next year.
The Britpop heroes first announced their long-awaited reunion back in August, with a long string of gigs in the UK and Ireland. They stated that these would be their only shows in Europe, but vowed that – while they will not be playing any festivals next year – other headline dates around the world were planned.
Their UK reunion includes a five-night run at Manchester’s Heaton Park where it is estimated that 80,000 fans will be in attendance. As per BBC, it was revealed that the Manchester City Council – who own the 600-acre park located in the Gallagher brothers’ hometown – will be charging the group themselves for additional costs to accommodate the show with things like extra toilets and security arrangements.
The City of Edinburgh Council recently announced that they’ll be billing the band as part of a new policy which applies a 100% cost recovery to commercial events. The new regulations will come into force in the coming days – almost a year before the newly reunited Gallagher brothers play in the arena.
Council leader Cammy Day said taxpayers should not “bear the costs” of the city hosting large-scale events, per BBC News. “Of course, these concerts bring tens of millions of pounds to the city and it’s hugely successful and we want that to continue, but the impact shouldn’t be on our residents,” he said.
John Hacking, Manchester’s executive councillor for leisure, confirmed that the council are adopting a similar policy to the one implemented in Scotland. “The staging of next year’s concerts at Heaton Park come at no cost to the public purse,” he said in a statement (per BBC).
He continued: “Obligations are placed on the concert organisers as part of licensing requirements for them to provide all necessary infrastructure and services needed to support the concerts, and any additional costs outside of the licence are met through the charges levied to hire the space.”
Devoted Oasis fans have been excitedly waiting for the Oasis reunion since their announcement in August. Speaking to NME in a feature about the band’s return to their hometown, 29-year-old Oasis enthusiast and Manchester-based sports writer Razz Ashraf opened up to journalist Gary Ryan while at Sifters Records – the record shop the Gallagher brothers used to visit and name-checked in their 1994 track ‘Shakermaker’– and shared: “All I wanted to do was come down here and touch the sign and be where it all started.”
“I get emotional about it. I’ve been fantasising about this moment for so many years,” he added, explaining that his father would play Oasis around the house. “He wasn’t that big into rock, but because they were from Manchester, he could understand it. As I started connecting more to my city, they started meaning more to me.”
Elsewhere, Oasis have recently announced the Australian leg of their 2025 reunion world tour. Yesterday (October 7), it was revealed that the band will head Down Under in 2025 for concerts at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne (October 31) and the Accor Stadium in Sydney (November 1).
NME has been informed that the band are still set to announce dates in more cities across the globe. The remaining territories with dates that will soon be announced are South Korea, Japan, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.
Oasis previously ruled out a headline performance at Glastonbury 2025 and said they won’t be appearing at any other festivals next summer. Liam and Noel have shot down rumours of a return to Knebworth in 2026 too.
Meanwhile, fans have been speculating over who will be opening for Oasis at their reunion shows next year. So far, support has only been announced for the North American leg – which will see Cage The Elephant join the line-up.
It was reported last month that Liam Gallagher was seeking “established acts” to appear on the bill. The frontman has since suggested that Manic Street Preachers and Richard Ashcroft could take on opening slots.
Elsewhere, Blossoms recently spoke to NME about the possibility of supporting Oasis at their Live ’25 dates. It currently looks unlikely that Suede or Fontaines D.C. will be on the line-up after Liam hit out at both bands online.
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Anagricel Duran
NME
