Manchester’s brand new arena, Co-Op Live, has been plagued with several issues since it was supposed to open last month. Technical problems have caused Olivia Rodrigo and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s concerts to be postponed and one fan witnessed a part of an air conditioning unit falling from a gantry inside the venue during soundcheck. Despite the test event featuring Rick Astley, the arena has yet to run a successful show on the day it was originally scheduled to begin.
Manchester’s Co-Op Live pulled A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s show, ten minutes after doors had opened due to “venue-related technical issues”. The technical issue was triggered by part of an air conditioning unit falling from the gantry in the arena during soundcheck. One source said “he saw what looked like a steel bar fall from the ceiling into the bowl” at about 5.30 pm.
The postponement of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3rd and 4th May was also due to an ongoing venue-related technical issue. The venue extended their apologies for any significant inconvenience that the technical issue will have caused to many concert-goers. Ticket holders have the option to either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund at the point of purchase.
Co-Op live, which can accommodate up to 23,500 visitors and is situated opposite the Etihad Stadium, obtained its license despite coming to blows in a licensing row with the 21,000-capacity AO Arena in the city. ASM Global, which operates the latter venue, opposed the application of the licence made by Co-Op Live due to “public safety” concerns and accused it of being “simply unlawful”. Despite the row, Co-Op Live received its license last month.
Co-Op Live faced many issues such as controversies, power test delay, and teething problems that caused performances to get postponed to later dates. The new arena also received criticism from fans and critics who claimed that it focused on older artists and disregarded younger talent, with no British artist under 30 years old scheduled to perform. The CEO of the Music Venue Trust claimed that Co-Op Live’s boss, Gary Roden, made remarks that were “disrespectful and disingenuous” and highlighted the irony of making such remarks when their own venue had been postponed due to technical difficulties
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