Reasons to be cheerful about Sheffield Tramlines

How does it attract a whopping 100,000 music-lovers every year? Here's just a few answers.

1. It turns a city into a festival. Impressive, huh? Tramlines takes the reins on four outdoor stages and 15 venues across the city centre and beyond, creating one enormously lively festival. The fringe activity is countless, though, with music pouring from all types of venues; even the butchers, bakers, and, erm, candlestick-makers put on a party. Tramlines spans alternative warehouse spaces such as Hope Works, the stunning Cathedral, independent music venues including the Leadmill and The Harley, as well the city's parks, with the beautiful forest glade in Endcliffe Park home to the Tramlines Folk Forest Stage.

2. It's got an inner-city location with greenfield vibes. Catching international headline acts alongside breaking talent at the newly increased 17,500-capacity Main Stage on Ponderosa Park offers up guaranteed greenfield festival vibes. If it weren’t for the rising tower blocks surrounding the park, you could easily forget you were in the centre of the city.

3. There's no mud and no camping. Admittedly, the two largest stages - the Main Stage and the Devonshire Green Stage - are both on city parks so, technically, mud can get underfoot. However, Sheffield’s concrete jungle makes up the majority of the vast festival site, so there’s not an ankle-deep mud trench in sight. And if the thought alone of camping for three days leaves you aching for a shower, Tramlines is the ideal festival; stay in one of the city’s many hotels or book an Airbnb and return fresh as a daisy each day.

4. There's something to discover around every corner. Weird and wonderful street theatre fills Barkers Pool, while the Peace Gardens offers up break-dancing battles and spray-can art. There’s also a brand new hand-picked film programme at Showroom Cinema this year featuring ‘Suede: Night Thoughts’ followed by a Q&A with the band among the highlights. There are even arts and craft for the kids in (free) family friendly areas like Weston Park.

5. You can party all day and all night. From 6pm on Friday July 22 until 4am on Monday July 25, consider the party in full swing. Start with the outdoor stages and bands by day, and then move onto the clubs, warehouses and after-parties at night for a banging electronic programme. And probably book Monday off work!