Ahead of a few major concerts taking place across the North East in a few weeks, residents have been advised to plan ahead for their journeys in advance.

May was a busy month for events due to the coronation of King Charles and the Queen Consort Camilla, as well as celebrations for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 and Beyoncé's concert.

But now, this weekend is set to bring two of the biggest names in music to Newcastle and Sunderland.

Who is performing in the North East in June?

Among those performing across the North East in June is musician Sam Fender from North Shields, who will play two sold-out concerts at St James’ Park in Newcastle on June 9 and 10.

American pop-rock singer, P!nk also has two dates at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on June 10 and 11. Both music icons will be performing at the same time on June 10.

Metro customers advised to plan ahead for journeys to Newcastle and Sunderland

Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, said there is a detailed plan in place to manage the demand on the concert dates.

Extra bus and Metro services will be running, but it is vital that customers plan ahead to get to and from the respective concerts using public transport.

Customer Services Director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said: “The fact that North East England is staging four sell-out stadium concerts in a single weekend will really showcase our region as a home for international cultural and sporting events.

“Public transport and the roads are going to be really busy before and after every concert, but particularly on Saturday 10 June when Sam Fender and Pink are playing at the same time.

“People need to plan ahead if they are going to any of the concerts – or if they think they might be making journeys around those times.”

Lewis continued to say: “Bus and Metro changes each night depending whether the event is in Newcastle, Sunderland or both but all the information you need about bus and Metro can be found at www.nexus.org.uk/concerts.”

“On the Saturday night fans leaving the Sam Fender concert will be able to use a combination of Metro and bus services extended beyond midnight to get people home to destinations in and around Newcastle. 

“The concert ticket sales data tells us a large part of the audience is local and we’ve tried to match that as far as we can. 

“The same night in Sunderland we’ll be providing late Metro trains aimed at getting thousands of visitors to our region back to hotels in Newcastle, as well as getting local people home across the network.”

Will the Metro stations be closed in Newcastle and Sunderland for Sam Fender and P!nk?

Lewis explained that in both cities some Metro stations will be closed just before the concerts end so they can manage the expected huge number of people safely and comfortably at the remaining stations.

This is to make sure trains keep running smoothly without getting delayed at overcrowded platforms.

Where stations are closed customers will be directed to the nearest alternative station or on to fast and frequent shuttle buses leaving Newcastle city centre, where there will be customer service teams managing crowd control.

He said: “The bus companies are providing more than 50 buses and drivers which means that as well as serving interchanges and town centres on Metro they will be going on to places including Cramlington and Low Fell which Metro does not reach. 

“Customers will be able to travel on both Metro and shuttle buses with the same return or day tickets to make things as simple as possible at the end of what promises to be a great Saturday night.”

Information on all of the transport services for the summer stadium concerts is available on the Nexus website.