Co-op Live opening shows pushed back

The official opening of the UK’s largest arena has been postponed due to a delay in completion of the power supply at the site.

A joint venture between Oak View Group (OVG) and City Football Group, the £365 million Co-op Live in Manchester was due to launch tomorrow with the first of two shows by comedian Peter Kay.

But the dates have now been pushed back to next week after a free test performance by Rick Astley at the venue was cut from 11,000 to 4,000 shortly before it was scheduled to begin on Saturday (20 April). Those with tickets for Astley’s concert who were unable to gain entry have instead been invited to The Black Keys gig at the arena on 27 April.

A spokesperson for the 23,500-cap venue said the decision was made “to enable us to test the spaces effectively”.

“Leading into our test event, some systems had limited electrical power which we were only able to mitigate by reducing capacity,” said a statement. “This meant we made the difficult decision to reduce the capacity of our test event and deeply regret the impact this had on our invited guests.”

Kay’s dates have been switched from 23-24 April to 29-30 April with refunds available for those who can no longer attend. The venue said the postponement was necessary to “ensure we have a consistent total power supply to our fully electric sustainable venue”.

“We will still be hosting The Black Keys on 27 April in the lower bowl with 10k fans as planned, and will continue to test the resilience of the venue and its operations,” reads the statement. “Rescheduling gives us the extra time we need to continue testing thoroughly. This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size.”

“We will still be hosting The Black Keys on 27 April in the lower bowl with 10k fans as planned, and will continue to test the resilience of the venue and its operations”

While the opening of the UK’s newest venue is slightly delayed, Saturday’s test event drew positive reviews from media in attendance.

Manchester World writes: ‘The clarity and depth of sound was notable. Even from the back and the sides, you could feel the bass in your chest and pick out the individual instruments in each ensemble.

“Visibility was also good. Granted, this was a much smaller crowd size than the arena will be pulling in when the opening season commences, but I still had a decent view of the stage from the back end of the floorspace.

“The state-of-art technology used to craft the gig experience inside the venue is truly impressive.”

Upcoming Co-op Live concerts include residencies by Take That, Eagles, Liam Gallagher and The Killers, exclusive arena dates with Pearl Jam and Stevie Nicks, plus shows by acts such as Olivia Rodrigo, Nicki Minaj, Jonas Brothers, Kings of Leon, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Eric Clapton, Pet Shop Boys and Megan thee Stallion.

Meanwhile, OVG chief Tim Leiweke has shed further light on the company’s plans to build “the greatest arena in the world” in London, as first revealed at this year’s ILMC. Leiweke told the Telegraph the firm was in talks to open a second UK venue near Hammersmith.

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