Music Venue Trust say Manchester Co-Op Live Arena is “a great idea” but urge them to “work in a way that secures the future of live music”

After weeks of uncertainty and a string of setbacks, Manchester’s long awaited Co-op Live arena finally opened its doors on Friday night with a stellar performance from Bury based band Elbow. The headline act delighted audiences with a special performance to mark the release of their 10th studio album Audio Vertigo, and in the process made history as the first act to ever perform live at the new arena.

set to open three weeks ago with a performance from comedian Peter Kay, however this gig, along with a show by The Black Keys, was pushed back at the last minute due to the building not being ready.The delays continued from there, as organisers announced on May 1 that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie‘s show was cancelled following a “venue-related technical issue”. Shortly afterwards, they also axed Olivia Rodrigo’s gigs – which left her “so disappointed” – as well as shows by Keane and Take That, with the latter relocating their dates to the rival AO Arena.Unsurprisingly, the slew of issues facing the arena led to music lovers coming forward to express their frustration at the postponements, and branded the venue as “Manchester’s own Fyre Festival”.The issue at hand was revealed to be due to part of the ventilation system falling from the ceiling during Boogie’s soundcheck, and the bosses of the venue being forced to keep the venue closed until it was safe.“If that was 15 minutes later, something catastrophic could have happened,” Tim Leiweke, chief executive of the arena’s operator Oak View Group, told BBC News.He also went on to explain that one of 95 pre-manufactured filters had fallen and landed in the standing area just before doors were set to open, and there had been “no way” to have known that it wasn’t installed correctly beforehand.Speaking with Financial Times, he went on to blame a shortage of labour workers at the venue for the series of delays, adding that organisers of Co-Op Live “couldn’t find people to work” to get the site ready in time.He echoed the sentiment to BBC too, explaining that the issue with the air vent was because those hired to install it “didn’t put the bolts in”.

Elbow.The venue – which has a capacity of 23,500 and is the biggest indoor arena in the UK – has been plagued by issues over recent months, and has experienced countless delays when it comes to opening.Originally, the arena was set to open officially three weeks ago with an opening gig from comedian Peter Kay, however this, along with many other planned shows, were postponed at the last minute.Now, the venue has finally opened its doors to the public and seen Elbow become the first act to complete a scheduled date in the venue’s calendar.Guy Garvey and co. received an enthusiastic response from the crowd last night (May 14) and made references to the long-running issues that have loomed over Co-Op Live in recent weeks.“Good evening Manchester! Let’s open this venue properly shall we?,” the frontman said at the beginning of the gig, opening with ‘Things I’ve Been Telling Myself For Years’.

Elbow have said they are “ready” to open the new Co-Op Live arena in Manchester tonight (May 14) following weeks of chaos at the venue.Guy Garvey and co. are scheduled to perform at the 23,500-capacity arena – which is the UK’s largest indoor venue – as part of their current UK headline tour.

Elbow’s upcoming show will now serve as the venue’s much-postponed opening night.Guy Garvey and co. are scheduled to play the arena, which is set to be the UK’s largest indoor venue with a capacity of 23,500, on May 14 as part of their current UK tour.The arena have had a disastrous few weeks, after a series of events prevented it from being able to open its doors on time.But the venue have now confirmed to Manchester Evening News that, “At this time, we do not expect further impact on our opening season.”The same report suggests that Co-Op Live are also still working on rescheduling Olivia Rodrigo’s postponed shows, with an announcement expected in due course.The BBC also note that the arena has completed an inspection which found that the fault that forced the A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie delay on May 1 was “isolated” and that the venue is now “satisfied” that the opening can go ahead on May 14.The inspection is said to have been carried out by the same subcontractor, SES, that was also responsible for installing the arena’s air handling units.

Andy Burnham has said the opening of Co-op Live has ‘not been handled well’ after the 23,500-capacity venue suffered a nightmarish start to life.

Just days after hosting the first of six rescheduled gigs from Co-op Live, Manchester’s AO Arena has been named as one of the best music venues in the country.

A post shared by Tunbridge Wells Forum (@twforum)Recently, it was announced Alien Ant Farm and CKY had become the first American band to add a £1 ticket levy to their UK tours.It follows a similar move by Enter Shikari last year; last May, the band shared details of a 2024 run of UK tour dates, where £1 from each ticket sold was donated to the Music Venue Trust.Other companies have launched similar initiatives. Independent ticketing company Skiddle announced in October it would donate 50p of every ticket sold towards saving grassroots music venues, while taxi firm FREENOW pledged to donate £1 from every ride to the cause.Ticketmaster have introduced a Music Venue Trust charity upsell option, enabling fans to make direct contributions to MVT when purchasing tickets.

Keane and Take That have become the latest artists to have their shows at Manchester’s troubled Co-Op Live Arena affected by ongoing “technical difficulties” at the venue.Keane were supposed to play the new 23,500-capacity arena on Sunday (May 5) as part of a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album ‘Hopes And Fears’, while Take That were supposed to be playing five gigs at Co-Op Live from May 7-12.In a disastrous week for the venue, Co-Op Live had to cancel A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie‘s gig last night (May 1) just 10 minutes after doors opened due to a “venue-related technical issue”, which was later revealed to be caused by part of an air conditioning unit falling from the gantry inside the venue during soundcheck. Later that evening, the venue confirmed Olivia Rodrigo’s shows on Friday and Saturday (May 3-4) would also be postponed, which the artist said she was “so disappointed” about.A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s show has been rescheduled for Saturday (May 4) at the nearby AO Arena.Now, Keane have confirmed that their show will not be going ahead as planned.

Keane have announced theit Co-op Live show on Sunday is CANCELLED following a week chaos for Manchester's newest arena.

A Boogie Wit da Hoodie has announced that he will perform at the AO Arena on Saturday night (May 4) following the last-minute cancellation of his original gig at Co-op Live.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie that was cancelled last-minute at the ill-fated Co-Op Live Arena yesterday.The rescheduled show will take place on Saturday (May 4), partly confirming reports earlier today by Manchester Evening News that the AO Arena was preparing to host gigs scheduled for Co-Op Live following the venue’s recent string of technical difficulties.“Yesterday’s canceled Manchester show has been Rescheduled for this Saturday at AO Arena! We won’t give up that easy let’s go!” the rapper confirmed on X/Twitter.Yesterday's canceled Manchester show has been Rescheduled for this Saturday at AO Arena! We won't give up that easy let's go!— ABOOGIEWITDAHOODIE (@ArtistHBTL) May 2, 2024Last night, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s show was pulled just 10 minutes after doors opened due to a “venue-related technical issue”, which was later revealed to be caused by part of an air conditioning unit falling from the gantry inside the venue during soundcheck. Later that evening, the venue confirmed Olivia Rodrigo’s shows on Friday and Saturday (May 3-4) would also be postponed, which the artist said she was “so disappointed” about.The outlet also reported that the upcoming show by Keane may be rearranged, and looking to be held at the AO Arena instead of Co-Op Live.

A support network run by survivors of the Manchester Arena attack have urged Co-op Live bosses to postpone concerts until the building is fully ready.

performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24. However, following a test event with Rick Astley, the comedian’s gigs were moved to April 29 and 30 due to a failed power test.

Olivia Rodrigo fans say they have been left 'in tears' after her Co-op Live gigs were pulled just days before she was set to perform.

a performance by rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie last minute due to a “venue-related technical issue”.The venue announced just 10 minutes after doors had opened that the show could no longer go ahead due to technical problems. “We kindly ask fans to leave the area.

BBC, Mark Davyd (CEO of the Music Venue Trust) said he was to meet with the Co-Op Live once the venue was up and running. The meeting comes amongst the furore with Co-Op Live’s executive director Gary Roden, who suggested some grassroots venues were “poorly run” whilst discussing the case for a £1 ticket levy to preserve them.Davyd later criticised Roden’s comments, pointing out the average age of the artists booked to play at the venue was 52: “The average length of time it takes for a British artist to be booked to headline the Coop Live Arena from the date of the release of their first album is 30 (THIRTY) years.

marred by issues ahead of its launch, with both Peter Kay and The Black Keys being forced to postpone their shows at the last minute.The 23,500-capacity venue – now the largest arena in the UK – has faced numerous controversies and teething problems in recent weeks, including arena boss Gary Roden’s own resignation.Speaking to The Telegraph, Leiweke said it could be up to a year before plans become official. As for location, the investor said: “If you guessed Hammersmith, it would be a good guess.“We’re pretty focused on a particular site.

A Greater Manchester Police car has been taken off the road after having two windows smashed up in Salford. Images have been shared on social media today (April 26) of a Peugeot 308 in GMP livery, parked up on Woodland Grange, in Worsley.

Peter Kay's fans have been hit with more disappointment as the comedian's shows at Manchester's Co-Op Live have been postponed for a second time.