Manchester’s Co-op Live arena cancels opening concert a third time

Manchester’s new Co-Op Live venue has postponed its opening concert for a third time over safety concerns, in a sign of further turmoil at the biggest arena in the UK.

The US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was scheduled to perform on Wednesday evening as the first official event — following cancellations of several shows — at the £350mn arena backed by Denver-based Oak View Group.

However, less than two hours before the performance, the venue posted on the social media platform X that the show would not go ahead “due to a venue-related technical issue,” and asked concertgoers to leave.

OVG said a component of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system had separated from ductwork during a soundcheck. It said that it was “not able to verify that all similar nozzles were free of such defects”, although it believed the issue was isolated and caused by a factory defect.

Following the cancellation, the arena also confirmed that US singer-songwriter OIivia Rodrigo’s shows on May 3 and 4 were also not going ahead.

The last-minute cancellation is the latest setback for the 23,500-capacity arena, which had been scheduled to open last Tuesday with a two-date appearance from comedian Peter Kay.

Local regulators then raised concerns about delays to the build, particularly in relation to the arena’s electrical systems, which resulted in Kay’s shows being pushed back. Ticket holders were initially told the performances would take place within a few days, but they were postponed a second time for nearly a month.

Two test events were also either scaled back hours before starting, or postponed.

Co-op Live’s general manager Gary Roden announced his resignation last week, after remarking that some grassroots music venues were “poorly run”.

“The safety and security of all visiting and working on Co-op Live is our utmost priority, and we could not and will not run any event until it is absolutely safe to do so,” said Tim Leiweke, chief executive of OVG, in a statement on Wednesday night.

“Today was a very unexpected situation but without a doubt the right decision,” he added, as he apologised to ticket holders.