Pre-school channel Nick Jr's Jump Up festival has proved to be a major success ahead of the gates opening in Manchester on Saturday.

All 15,000 tickets for the event were snapped up within half an hour of going on sale, a rate of 500 tickets a minute. The Glastonbury Festival took an hour and 45 minutes to sell out.

Stars of top-rating pre-school TV shows, including Dora the Explorer, Bob the Builder and LazyTown, will appear at the event, which is being hosted and produced by Nick Jr.

"This is our third year of welcoming thousands of UK families to get active and join in the fun at Nick Jr. Jump Up and we know that it’s a must-attend event for parents with preschoolers. We’re thrilled by the unbelievable response this year," said Claire Drinkwater, Nick Jr spokeswoman.

This year’s event is sponsored by Pampers Kandoo and takes place in Wythenshawe Park, Manchester on the July 21 and July 22.