By Oliver Radcliffe
Tens of thousands of fans will be swarming into Cardiff city centre for two nights as Oasis kick-off their hotly anticipated world tour in the Welsh capital. With the UK only getting dates in four cities fans from all over the country will be travelling to Cardiff. For anyone driving to the gig, the Principality is just 15 minutes away from the M4, just take junction 28 onto the A48 and you’ll find yourself approaching the stadium. When events are in that stadium, smaller local roads directly outside and around the stadium will likely be closed off. But with all those fans comes a travel nightmare, so for those opting to drive to the event, finding a parking spot is an important task. For concerts and gigs, the Cardiff stadium has a capacity of 74,500. With two dates planned at the venue, that means there will be just under 150,000 tickets available for these shows. With all those fans, planning your transport is crucial to try and avoid some long queues. The first gig of the entire tour will take place on Friday, July 4 and the same time the following day – with gates opening at 5pm. After the two nights in Cardiff the band will head back to Manchester for a five-nights of homecoming shows in front of 80,000 fans in the iconic Heaton Park . Join our Oasis WhatsApp group here The stadium itself doesn’t have a dedicated car park for visitors and doesn’t have a specific associated spot nearby it suggests. However, being in such a central location fans can park in several of the city’s multi-storeys and take a short walk across the capital before the gig. Some of the closest car parks include North Road Car Park, St David’s Shopping Centre, the John Lewis car park and the Capitol Shopping Centre. Private car parking company NCP also has car parks in Adam Street, Dumfries Place and Greyfriars Road. On the evenings of both events, these car parks are likely to be very busy, which may cause you some delays. Traffic is also expected to be extremely busy across the city for drivers both before and after the concert. One option to avoid the traffic queues may be to use one of Cardiff’s Park and Rides. The system operates slightly differently than in my cities, with 2,000 spots split around 24 train stations around the city, rather than the traditional huge car parks with a shuttle bus. All the Park and Ride routes will get you into Cardiff Central train station, which is a very short five-minute walk from the main event. Details on all the stations and the park and ride routes can be found on the Transport for Wales website.