Beyoncé is bringing her huge Renaissance tour to Cardiff on Wednesday, May 17. The much-anticipated tour will hit the Principality Stadium for one night with tens of thousands of fans expected to hit the Welsh capital.
The Crazy in Love star last performed in the Welsh capital in 2018 with her husband Jay-Z opening their combined world tour On The Run II, bringing the city to a standstill. She also visited as part of her Formation tour in 2016.
The Renaissance tour, her first solo shows in six years, follows the release of her seventh studio album of the same name and will also call in Edinburgh, Sunderland, and London.
Queen Bey is yet another megastar to announce she is visiting Cardiff, with Harry Styles and Coldplay also bringing their tours to the city in June 2023. Harry's Love On Tour shows will take place on June 20, and 21 2023, marking the first time the former One Direction star turned actor and solo artist has performed in Wales. You can find details on those shows here.
And while lots of the budget hotels in the city booked up completely before tickets even went on sale, thousands of people will also be looking to drive or get public transport to the event. For those who will be thinking of doing this, there will be several road closures in place:
Road closures
From 7am, Scott Road and Park Street will be closed because of the need to prepare Gate 5 and protect queuing fans.
The following roads will be closed as part of the full city centre road closure which will take place between 4pm and midnight.
Kingsway from its junction with North Road to its junction with Duke Street.
Cowbridge Road East from its junction with Cathedral Road to its junction with Westgate Street.
Tudor Street from its junction with Clare Road to its junction with Wood Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted via Fitzhammon Embankment).
Plantagenet Street and Beauchamp Street from their junctions with Despenser Place to their junctions with Tudor Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted).
The following roads will be closed in their entirety: Duke Street, Castle St, High Street, St Mary Street, Caroline Street, Wood Street, Central Square, Westgate Street, Quay Street, Guildhall Place, Golate, Park Street, Havelock Street and Scott Road.
Station Terrace and Guildford Street from the junction with Newport Road to the junction with Churchill Way will be access for buses only during the times of the road closures. This is to ensure that there is reliable access for buses to the satellite points in Churchill Way.
Additionally, Penarth Road will be closed 30 minutes before the concert finishes and up to hour after the concert ends on safety grounds for train passengers arriving and departing from the train station.
Access to part of the Civic Centre will be controlled throughout the day, with access allowed only for event parking, limited commuter parking, loading and access to private car parks. Other roads affected include King Edward VII Avenue, Museum Avenue, City Hall Road, College Road and Gorsedd Gardens Road.
Trains
Transport for Wales is carrying out infrastructure upgrades across the Core Valley Lines network for the South Wales Metro, resulting in buses replacing rail services all day between Pontypridd and Treherbert on Wednesday May 17th.
Due to over-running engineering works as part of the South Wales Metro transformation, there will be no trains north of Pontypridd (Treherbert and Merthyr Tydfil Lines) and Mountain Ash (Aberdare Line) all day on Wednesday.
This will impact passengers travelling to/from the Beyonce concert at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Journey planners on the TfW and other websites will be updated from Saturday 13 May to reflect the latest changes. Please visit www.journeycheck.com/tfwrail.
Replacement buses will be in operation on these routes, with changes for rail services at Pontypridd and Mountain Ash. Ticket acceptance has also been agreed with Stagecoach for the below services:
- T4 Merthyr – Pontypridd
- 60/61 – Aberdare to Pontypridd
- 120-130 – Treherbert – Pontypridd
- 132 – Pontypridd - Porth
TfW will be providing additional capacity where possible on routes in/out of Cardiff, but services are expected to be very busy so please allow plenty of time for your journey.
Post-event queues for mainline rail services will be on Central Square and queues for Valleys services will be to the rear of the station. Cardiff Queen Street station will close at 9.45pm except for direct journeys to Cardiff Bay.
Due to the finishing time of the event, there are no post-event services to Birmingham, London or Holyhead.
Visit https://tfw.wales/ or the new TfW app for the latest travel information.
If you have any issues on the railway, please speak to a conductor or, for more serious matters, you can text the British Transport Police on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40. In an emergency, always call 999.
Great Western Railway (GWR). GWR will run additional services to help customers get home after the concert. Extra trains will operate from Cardiff Central to Swansea, Newport, Bristol and Swindon; with plenty of parking available at station car parks.
Trains are however expected to be very busy immediately after the event and a queueing system will be in place outside the station to help people board trains safely.
Those travelling from further afield should check connecting services, and the time of their last train home.
The ASLEF (train drivers) union have also announced action short of a strike in the period covering 17 May. GWR plans on running a full timetable, but this action is likely to cause some short-notice changes and cancellations – we strongly advise customers should check before travelling at www.gwr.com/check.
Big Green Coach .As an alternative, Big Green Coach offers carbon neutral return coach travel from: Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Gloucester, Newport and Worcester. Customers can book via this link: https://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/events/beyonce-renaissance-tour-coach-travel-cardiff-sunderland-tottenham
Park & Ride facilities
Event Park & Ride is available at Cardiff City Stadium at Leckwith and can be accessed from junction 32 off the M4, following the signs to the site.
The drop off point will be at Fitzalan Embankment.
The Park & Ride is 1.5 miles from the city centre which takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
The cost is £12 payable on the day.
Staff will arrive at the car park at 9am when the site opens, with the first bus leaving at 9.30am. The last bus will leave Fitzalan Embankment at midnight and the park & ride site will close at 12.30am on May18th.
Park & Walk facilities
An Event Park & walk facility will operate from County Hall car park in Cardiff Bay.
The park & walk site will open at 2pm and will close at midnight. The cost to park is £5.
Civic Centre Event Day Parking (Cars and Coaches)
Getting there: Exit Junction 32 of the M4, head south on the A470 towards the city centre and follow signage to the civic centre.
Cost: £20 payable on the day at the car park – card payments are also now available.
Parking time: The car park will open at 8am and closes at 12 Midnight.
Event Day Parking at Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens (cars)
(Approximately, 0.5 mile walk to the Principality Stadium, Gate 2).
Sophia Gardens Event Day Parking
Getting there: Exit junction 32 off the M4
Cost: £20 payable on the day at the car park – card payments are now available.
Parking time: Car park opens at 8.00am and closes at 12 midnight
Please note: Sophia Gardens car park will be staffed until midnight, all vehicles are left on site at the owner's risk. Cardiff Council will not be held responsible for any theft or damage to motor vehicles or personal possessions. Any vehicles left in the car park after closing time will be fined.
Bus
Local buses:
Bus services will be diverted while the city centre road closures are in place.
Please visit the relevant bus operator's website for more information about your specific bus routes.
All Cardiff Bus services will divert to the satellite pick up and drop off bus stops from 4pm until the last bus. All the diversion bus stops for Cardiff Bus services after 4pm can be seen here - Principality Stadium Events - Cardiff Bus
Alternatively for Stagecoach services, please visit: Welcome to Stagecoach (stagecoachbus.com)
Or for NAT services, please visit: https://www.natgroup.co.uk/
National Express:
National Express coaches will use Sophia Gardens as usual. At 3pm, National Express Services will leave and arrive from Cathedral Road.
Shopping Parking
City centre car parks are also available: North Road Car Parks, St David's Shopping Centre, John Lewis, Capitol Shopping Centre, and NCP (Adam Street, Dumfries Place and Greyfriars Road.)
Disabled parking
Disabled drivers are advised to use Sophia Gardens. Disabled parking is also available at various private car parks.
Please check individual websites for availability.
Taxis
St Mary Street taxi rank (outside the House of Fraser building) will close at 4pm and will re-open at midnight.
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