Heaton Park - Activity in The Park

Activity in The Park

In 1909, the great Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso, performed at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. The concert was attended by one William Grimshaw, a gramophone salesman from Prestwich and a few days later, he took his gramophone to Heaton Park and played recordings of the songs performed by Caruso to an assembled crowd of 40,000 people who, according to the Prestwich and Heaton Park Guardian, "remained as if spellbound from the moment of arrival to the close of the programme, which, it is hardly necessary to say, was intensely enjoyed." Caruso later wrote to Mr. Grimshaw to thank him for the way his voice had been reproduced, sending him a signed cartoon of himself. Grimshaw was the first person in England to give gramophone concerts in the open, an idea which soon spread across the country. The concerts were carried on for several seasons and as they grew in popularity, Grimshaw became known across Lancashire as "the gramophone King"

Since the 1980s a number of open air pop concerts have been held in the park, headlined by popular bands of the day such as Travis and Supergrass. On the 31 May 1982 Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in the park for over 100,000 people and ordained 12 new priests. This event is commemorated by the papal monument in the south-west of the park

In recent years the park has hosted some open-air theatre productions. In 2005 there was a performance of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. In the same year there was a sell out production of Dracula by Feelgood Theatre Productions as well as a Stella ArtoisScreening of Pulp Fiction with a film inspired set from the Fun Lovin' Criminals.

In 2006 Feelgood returned with a performance of Arthur - King of the Britons. Feelgood also runs a series of acting and writing workshops in the park.

The park has been the venue for the BBC's "Proms in the Park" on a number of occasions.

There are often charity run events such as the Race for Life and seasonal fairs are located near the Papal Monument.

There is a large bonfire and firework display held on the 5th of November (Guy Fawkes Night) each year.

The Shakespeare's Globe Theatre performs open-air theatre annually with performances of Shakespeare's greatest works in 2008, 2009 and A Midsummer Night's Dream in June 2010.

Manchester band Oasis performed to a total audience of 210,000 over three nights, these being 4, 6 and 7 June 2009. A 5 km run against the clock is organised by the group Parkrun most Saturday mornings.

The Stone Roses played three gigs at Heaton Park on successive nights between 29 June and 1 July 2012, watched by a total audience of 225,000.