Brit Beat: Manchester, So Much to Answer for? New Arena Launch Stymied by Delays

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.

Troubled Co-op Live is set to finally open its doors tonight. After a number of false starts, East Manchester's new £365 million venue, set to become the biggest indoor arena in Britain, will host its first full show with local heroes Elbow the headline act.

Peter Kay told him in response to the Manchester Co-Op’s continued delays which pushed the latter’s opening week gigs back twice.The brand new 23,500-capacity venue – the largest in the UK once it officially opens – has infamously been plagued by teething problems that have caused multiple delays.Comedian Kay was supposed to open the venue with gigs on April 23 and 24, but following a test event featuring Rick Astley on April 22, the gigs were “regretfully” pushed back to April 29 and 30 with the venue citing technical issues.The shows were then postponed a second time, with Kay now scheduled to perform on May 23 and 24. The comedian reacted by telling fans of his disappointed, sharing: “I know I can’t believe it either.”My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready and so, as yet, remains untested for a large-scale audience.

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.

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.

stand-up performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24. Following a test event with Rick Astley, however, the comedian’s gigs were postponed until April 29 and 30 due to a failed power test.A Black Keys gig that was scheduled for April 27 later had to be pushed back to May 15, and the Kay dates were delayed for the second time.Last night (May 1), A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s concert was cancelled at the last minute because of a “venue-related technical issue” before it was confirmed that Olivia Rodrigo’s shows at the Co-Op Live this Friday and Saturday (May 3, 4) had been postponed.

NME, dubbing the situation “just a joke at this point”.Yesterday (May 1) thousands of people made their way, again, to Manchester’s new Co-Op Live, the recently-built “largest in-door arena” in the UK. With a grand opening that’s been marred by pushbacks, reschedules, controversial comments about grassroots venues being “poorly run”, and the executive director resigning: the new gig space has been beleaguered by a series of chaotic issues.Aside from a test event featuring Rick Astley for which some tickets were cancelled, reducing the audience to 11,000, the venue has yet to run a show successfully on the day it was originally scheduled.It was supposed to open with performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24, but the shows were moved to April 29 and 30 due to the venue’s power testing falling “a few days” behind schedule.

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.

As construction work continues around him, Tim Leiweke's optimism is unwavering.

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.

A woman had to be rescued from a car crash in Wythenshawe before before being taken to hospital with a child. Emergency services descended on Hollyhedge Road at around 9.30pm tonight (April 26).

The first stalking prevention order against a child in the UK has been secured by police in Greater Manchester. The teenage girl subjected a family in Heywood, Rochdale, to more than a year of terrifying harassment and threats.

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.

Peter Kay has expressed his “disappointment” at having his shows at the new Co-Op Arena in Manchester postponed for the second time.The 23,500-capacity venue, which is now the largest arena in the UK, was supposed to open with performances from the comedian on April 23 and 24. However, in recent days it has seen multiple gigs cancelled following numerous rows, controversy and teething problems in the build-up to the launch.Kay’s shows – which were set to be the first official gigs held at the venue – were pushed back following a test gig with Rick Astley last weekend, with the organisers citing the arena’s power testing falling “a few days” behind schedule.It was then confirmed earlier this morning (April 26) that an upcoming gig from The Black Keys – set for tomorrow – had been postponed as well, and the rescheduled Kay dates would be moved once again.Kay’s gigs were set to be held on April 29 and 30 following the delay.

Peter Kay and The Black Keys being forced to postpone their shows.The 23,500-capacity venue, which is now the largest arena in the UK, has faced numerous rows, controversy and teething problems in the run-up to its official launch.It was supposed to open with performances from Peter Kay on April 23 and 24, However, following a test gig featuring Rick Astley at the weekend, the shows were moved to April 29 and 30 due to the venue’s power testing falling “a few days” behind schedule.Now, it has been confirmed that the upcoming gig from The Black Keys – set for tomorrow (April 27) – has also been postponed at the last minute, and the rescheduled shows by Peter Kay will be moved once again.“Since making the difficult decision to postpone the live shows at Co-op Live due to take place this week, we have been undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans. To ensure that we can run all shows safely, regretfully we have now had to take the decision to reschedule the planned The Black Keys and Peter Kay shows,” read a new statement from the venue.It added that The Black Keys will now perform on May 15, and Peter Kay will now perform on May 23 and 24.

The man behind Co-op Live has revealed exactly why the opening of Manchester's new arena has been delayed again. In an exclusive interview with the Manchester Evening News, Tim Leiweke explained why the £365m venue has pushed back Peter Kay's two performances for a second time and rescheduled The Black Keys' show tomorrow (April 27).

Peter Kay has said he 'can't believe it' after his shows at Manchester's new Co-op Live arena were cancelled for a second time.The comedian was due to officially open the landmark entertainment venue on Tuesday, April 22. He was also due to perform at the 23,500-capacity music venue in Eastlands on Wednesday. But both shows were cancelled and rescheduled to next week as behind-schedule power tests and safety issues continued.