The Mancunian Way: A night of chaos
02.05.2024 - 14:41
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
This time yesterday in the M.E.N office, we were settling in to cover what looked set to finally be opening night for Manchester’s Co-op Live.
Our What’s On editor Jenna Campbell was outside the arena, speaking to excited fans who had travelled from as far as Peterborough to see American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. Everything seemed under control.
Then suddenly, it wasn’t. Around 45 minutes before the Co-op Live announcement, the M.E.N received a tip from a trusted source. The gig was going to be cancelled, he said. Watching hundreds flock to the queue outside the huge arena on Jenna’s Facebook live, it seemed implausible.
But at exactly 6:40pm, Co-op Live posted a statement on X announcing the gig had been cancelled due to ‘technical issues’ and asking fans to ‘leave the arena’. It was just minutes before the opening acts were due to perform. Still outside the arena, Jenna and photographer Sean captured the chaos as concert-goers were turned away at the last minute.
Shortly after, the M.E.N revealed the gig had been cancelled after a 'piece of air conditioning unit' fell from the ceiling during A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s soundcheck. One person who was working at the venue at the time told the M.E.N. that he witnessed what looked like a "steel bar fall from the ceiling into the bowl" at about 5.30pm.
Two hours after their original announcement, the venue confirmed Friday and Saturday’s gigs with pop star Olivia Rodrigo would also be cancelled, sending fans into meltdown online. "Absolute shambles two days before. Got a 12 year old daughter in tears. Plus money lost on hotels etc," one dad wrote on X.
This morning, Dianne Bourne and Adam Maidment have broken the news that Manchester's AO Arena is preparing to host some