Co-op Live Arena in Manchester has cancelled its opening show for the third time after an air conditioning unit reportedly fell from the ceiling of the venue just before the doors were due to open on May 1. The venue had been scheduled to open on Saturday, April 20, however, there have been a string of delays in opening the £365 million venue. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was booked to perform to a full-capacity audience of 23,500 fans but cancelled the show due to “technical issues” and is expected to reschedule. The venue’s original opening was a sell-out concert set to feature pop star Harry Styles. Further shows were also cancelled or postponed in April.
Co-op Live Arena is now the largest indoor arena in the UK. Olivia Rodrigo had been due to perform on May 3 and 4, but these shows have now been cancelled haivnig given fans only 48 hours notice. There have been controversy and rows surrounding the venue following the resignation of General Manager Gary Roden just days after the first show was scheduled to take place.
The venue issue is not limited to the UK, as €300m ($359m) has been spent on Dublin’s Point Village Arena so far, but a new government report shows the outstanding bill could reach €987m ($1.2bn) once it opens in 2023, with taxpayers footing the bill. It is being developed in phases, and the first phase, the 14,000-capacity 3Arena, opened in 2008. The report released by the Irish government however reveals that the overall cost is scaling at an alarming rate
Read the full article from Mixmag here: Read More