If you’ve been on social media this week, you’ll have probably noticed that Manchester’s brand new Co-Op Live Arena has got off to a rather bumpy start.
The 23,500 capacity venue – which is set to be the largest arena in the UK when it finally begins welcoming guests – has pushed back its opening for a third time after failing to get things finished for the big debut.
The arena was first due to open its doors on 23 April with a performance from comedian Peter Kay, but was postponed with just 24 hours notice following technical delays and safety concerns.
Another gig from American rock duo The Black Keys (27 April) was also pushed back to later in the month, while US rapper and singer A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s show on Wednesday (1 May) was cancelled just one hour before he was due to take to the stage due to a “technical issue”.
As a result, Olivia Rodrigo, who was set to bring her Guts tour to the brand new arena on Friday and Saturday (3 and 4 May) has also had to postpone her shows.
While the news of numerous cancelled gigs has certainly come as a disappointment to many music fans, it’s also sparked plenty of meme-filled reactions online too…
The brand new venue has been marred by teething problems in the past few weeks weeks which have prevented its official opening.
“It is critical to ensure we have a consistent total power supply to our fully electric sustainable venue, the completion of which is a few days behind,” a venue spokesperson said (via BBC) after the initial postponement.
Since then, further controversies have plagued the long-awaited opening night, including the resignation of arena boss Gary Roden after he received backlash for saying smaller venues were “poorly run”.
A venue spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News that the latest postponements were due to something falling from a gantry inside the arena during soundcheck, which was thought to be from an air conditioning unit.
One person working at the venue also told the newspaper that he witnessed what looked like a “steel bar fall from the ceiling into the bowl”.
The venue said on X that they “deeply apologise for the significant inconvenience this will cause for many” after announcing the postponement of Olivia’s much-anticipated shows.
Peter Kay was due to christen the venue with two performances on 23 and 24 April (which have now been moved to 23 and 24 May) while The Black Keys were scheduled to play the arena on 27 April (now rescheduled to 15 May).
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Olivia Rodrigo meanwhile, have not yet announced their rescheduled gig dates.