Opening act revealed for Manchester’s Co-op Live

Comedian Peter Kay has been revealed as the opening act for Co-op Live, the UK’s largest live entertainment arena.

One of most successful stand-up comics of all time, Kay will open the 23,500-seat Manchester venue with his current record-breaking tour on 23 April.

“When you think of Manchester, it’s hard not to think of Peter Kay. He embodies what this city is about, and to have him headlining Co-op Live is tremendously exciting,” says Co-op Live executive director and general manager Gary Roden.

“We’re creating an arena that is truly part of the community around it, and having Peter as our opening act is a perfect reminder of that.”

The arena will go on to welcome acts such as A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (1 May), Olivia Rodrigo (3-4 May), Keane (5 May), Take That (7-8 & 10-12 May), Elbow (14 May), Eric Clapton (18 May) and Barry Manilow (19 May) in its first month.

“The venue’s ‘Gigs that Give Back’ scheme will generate at least £1 million annually for the Co-op Foundation to support causes”

Aiming to become Europe’s most sustainable arena, Co-op Live will be 100% electric, include rainwater recycling technology and operates with reusable cups to significantly reduce plastic usage across the site. The venue’s ‘Gigs that Give Back’ scheme will generate at least £1 million annually for the Co-op Foundation to support causes on a local and national scale, including delivering on its new youth-led strategy.

Meanwhile, the Manchester Evening News reports that venue bosses have made a series of changes to the operation after a report into its licence application revealed concerns from Greater Manchester Police and other organisations.

“There are no counter terrorism plans/contingency plans/major incident plans which are currently available to scrutinise,” said police.  “So any decision as to their effectiveness/robustness/scope cannot be made at this stage, and GMP would want to have sight of these before any approval for grant of the licence could be considered.”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the venue has drawn up security plans, but these were not shared with police before it wrote its submission.

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House rules: The O2’s roaring residency trade

The O2 has hailed the ‘return of the residency’ as it reports its busiest-ever year for runs of four nights or more.

By the end of 2023, London’s flagship venue will have hosted five concert and comedy residencies including Peter Kay (12), Elton John (10), Micky Flanagan (9), Madonna (6) and Chris Brown (6), compared to just two residencies in 2022.

“Residencies are something that are becoming more and more important in the way we programme the venue,” says Emma Bownes, vice president of venue programming at The O2.

“There is a huge demand for live music at the moment at arena, stadium and outdoor level, so artists are realising they can serve the amount of fan demand by sitting down at The O2. We’re lucky that we’re in London and there’s a huge catchment area of really active music fans. I can see that an artist will opt to play potentially 10 shows at The O2 rather than looking at a stadium or a festival headline slot.”

Robbie Balfour, director of marketing and brand at the AEG venue, also points out that “with the economic situation that touring finds itself in, there are some efficiencies with being in one venue for a longer period”.

Madonna is one such artist who has opted for the advantages of an arena residency over stadium shows or headline sets at festivals (though she’s rumoured to play Glastonbury 2024).

“Residencies are something that is becoming more and more important in the way we programme the venue”

Tonight, the Queen of Pop returns to the 21,000-capacity venue to perform the penultimate London show on her Madonna: The Celebration Tour, having delivered four in October (14, 15, 17, 18).

Across the six concerts, the 65-year-old has shifted 85,000 tickets, with prices ranging between £47.55–432.25 for general admission and up to £1,307.75 for VIP.

With ticket prices rising, giving fans more value for their money is something Balfour is wary of when enhancing the fan experience around residencies and concerts.

“People expect a lot more and need to see the value of their investment in a ticket,” says Balfour. “We want to repay them and make sure that from the moment they arrive, it feels like a big day out and not just the two or three hours that the show is taking place.

“As a venue, you could think you’ll invest in the fans until they’ve bought their tickets and then that’s where you stop. We have a policy to invest in the fans after they become a ticket holder.”

The extended period of time a residency offers enables The O2 to go the extra mile for both fans and artists – an opportunity they’ve consistently seized upon.

“I can see that an artist will opt to play potentially 10 shows at the O2 rather than looking at a stadium or a festival headline slot”

For the Queen of Pop, The O2 commissioned the Royal Family’s flagmakers to create a bespoke Madonna-themed flag that flies from the venue’s roof to signify that she’s in residence.

For Drake’s 2019 residency, The O2’s sign was altered to an ‘O3’ in honour of the rapper’s single God’s Plan, in which he raps: “And you know me/Turn The O2 into The O3.”

The O2 also paid homage to BLACKPINK during their two headline shows in 2022 by lighting the tent pink, and to comedian Mo Gilligan during his 2021 homecoming show at the ‘MO2′.

“It’s about working with [artists’ team] to make sure it’s an authentic activation and ultimately if you do it right it’s a win for the artist and the venue because it’s an extra spotlight and a win for the fan because it’s a better experience,” says Balfour. “We are obviously so much more than just a rented space… we want to create a sort of festival destination for a fan base for a period of time.”

Bownes adds: “We don’t want artists to ever feel like they’re just another artist coming through the venue. We want to show the artists and the fans that we’re grateful and excited to have them at the venue.”

Musical artists aside, the venue’s longest run in 2023 belongs to comedian Peter Kay. The British stand-up act is the first-ever artist to hold a monthly residency at The O2, performing a show at the venue every month between November 2022 until April 2025.

“We don’t want artists to ever feel like they’re just another artist coming through the venue”

“The demand for Peter Kay was utterly off the scale,” says Bownes. “We were genuinely really lucky to get him to agree to become the first artist to play a monthly residency at the O2… we’ve been trying to find an artist who could do that for years.”

Kay’s 29-show run secures him second place in The O2’s all-time longest residencies (of which there are 92), coming second only to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) which turned the London venue into a training facility for 44 days.

It has also earned him a place in the 21 Club, a hall of fame launched after Prince’s iconic 21-night run in 2007 to honour the artists who have performed 21 or more shows at The O2.

Prince, Take That, Drake, One Direction, Micky Flanagan, Michael McIntyre, Young Voices and Michael Bublé are among the members, all of whom have been presented with a symbolic ‘key to the venue’.

While 2023 is by far The O2’s busiest-ever year for residencies, 2024 looks to rival that with five already announced. Take That (6), Olivia Rodrigo (4), Liam Gallagher (4), The 1975 (4) and Michael McIntyre (4) will all grace the hallowed stage for multiple-night visits, with more to be announced according to Bownes.

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‘Internet-breaking’ Peter Kay Live tour cancelled

British comedian Peter Kay has cancelled his upcoming Peter Kay Live UK arena tour, his first in eight years, citing “unforeseen family circumstances”.

The highly anticipated tour, promoted by SJM Concerts, was reported to have ‘broken the internet’ when tickets went on sale on 19 November due to phenomenal demand.

In statement released today, Kay says: “Due to unforeseen family circumstances I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects. This unfortunately includes my upcoming stand-up tour, Dance for Life shows and any outstanding live work commitments.

“My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I’m sure you’ll understand my family must always come first.

“Due to unforeseen family circumstances I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects”

“I’ve always endeavoured to protect my family’s privacy from the media. I hope that the media and the public will continue to respect our privacy at this time. Once again I’m very sorry.”

SJM says all ticket holders will be refunded at the original point of purchase.

Kay’s 2010–11 tour of the UK and Republic of Ireland, The Tour That Doesn’t Tour Tour…Now On Tour, sold more than one million tickets, making its way into the Guinness Book of Records for the most successful stand-up comedy tour of all time.

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“A phenomenal success”: We are Manchester unites a city

Music returned to Manchester Arena for the first time since May on Saturday, as a capacity crowd turned out for We are Manchester, a benefit concert that marked the reopening of the venue and raised funds for a memorial to the victims of 22 May’s bombing.

James Allen, general manager of the 21,000-cap. venue, says the show was a “phenomenal success and this was down to the commitment of everyone involved, from the amazing artists to the dedicated arena teams, production and emergency services.

“However, it was the people who attended on the night representing Manchester who embraced the spirit of the event, and showed the strength that Manchester has – and that the arena is truly a part of the Manchester community.”

As with Eagles of Death Metal’s return to Paris, the concert – organised by the arena’s operator, SMG Europe – opened not with a minute’s silence, but a ‘minute of noise’, conducted by poet Longfella:

https://twitter.com/HeartNWNews/status/906580980995158016

Other performances included the Courteeners, Blossoms, Rick Astley, Bugzy Malone, Pixie Lott, comedian Peter Kay and headliner Noel Gallagher, who shed a tear before performing Oasis’s ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ – a song which has become symbolic of the city’s resilience, and was performed by Coldplay and Ariana Grande at June’s One Love Manchester concert.

The arena has been closed since 22 May, when a Muslim suicide bomber, Salman Ramadan Abedi, detonated an improvised device outside its foyer after a show by Grande, killing 22.

Security for the reopening was provided by Showsec, with Kay – a former arena steward – wearing a yellow Showsec jacket on stage. The company describes the event as marking both a “new era for the rejuvenated Manchester Arena” and a chance for its stewards to “settle in and feel comfortable working at the venue once again”.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, appeared before the show and read out the names of all those who lost their lives in the attack. “Thank you for being who you are,” he told concertgoers. “We are Manchester, a city united. Nothing will ever change us. Nothing will ever divide us.”

“We have had to come back to show defiance, to show we are not scared and we don’t want Manchester to be scared”

Those injured in the attack, along with families who lost loved ones, were among those in attendance at the show.

Charlotte Campbell, whose 15-year-old daughter, Olivia, was killed in the attack, told the Press Association: “It feels surreal at the minute. We have had to come back to show defiance, to show we are not scared and we don’t want Manchester to be scared.

“Music was Olivia’s life. If she had been still here today she would have been walking through those doors with us, showing her defiance, that they may have got her but she’s not beaten. She’s here with us. It’s a massive mix of emotions, there will be tears, there will be laughter, but the main thing is we are here. We have proved no one is going to beat us.”

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