Co-Op Live, Manchester’s new arena, cancelled a performance by rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie at the last minute due to a “venue-related technical issue”. The venue announced that the show would no longer go ahead just ten minutes after doors had opened due to technical problems. Following the announcement, ticket holders were advised to leave the area and received further information in due course. The 23,500 capacity arena, located opposite Etihad Stadium, has been beset by numerous issues since its supposed opening last month, facing rows, controversy, and teething problems.
Aside from a test event featuring Rick Astley, for which some tickets were cancelled, reducing the audience to 11,000, the venue has yet to run a successful show on the day it was originally scheduled. It was set to open with performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24, but due to the venue’s power testing falling behind schedule the shows were moved to April 29 and 30. Later, a gig from The Black Keys that was scheduled for April 27 had to be moved to May 15, while the Peter Kay shows were moved again to May 23 and 24.
The venue’s boss, Gary Roden, resigned last week following numerous issues. Roden had come under fire for his comments about grassroots music venues and calls for a £1 ticket levy on all gigs arena-sized and above. Mark Davyd, CEO of the Music Venue Trust, told NME that he believed Roden’s comments were “disrespectful and disingenuous”. He also highlighted the irony of the comments made on the same week that the new venue had to postpone its own launch due to logistical problems.
Co-Op Live and the existing AO Arena in Manchester, with a 21,000 capacity, came to blows in a licensing row. ASM Global, which operates the latter venue, objected to Co-Op Live’s licence due to “public safety” concerns and labelled the licence application as “simply unlawful”. Despite the row, the venue was granted its licence last month. The launch of Co-Op Live comes after a year of significant obstacles as the live events industry is expected to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
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