Olivia Rodrigo postpones her gigs after safety issues at the Co-Op Live Arena (Picture: NDZ/Star Max/GC Images)
Chaos has descended on Co-Op’s brand new venue Co-Op Live in Manchester as gigs were cancelled, including a show from US pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
The Guts World Tour was due to reach the £365 million venue on May 3 but has now been postponed after a fault was found at the arena.
Olivia, who made a cameo at Coachella last month, is not the only one cancelling as the Oak View Group confirmed there was a venue-related technical issue.
This was supposed to be the jewel in the Co-Op’s crown as the biggest indoor arena in the UK – with Harry Styles investing – but its opening has been plagued by cancellations.
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was the first to announce the show had been cancelled just hours before Julius Dubose was meant to take the stage.
Furious and confused fans queued outside waiting to see if the event would go ahead until Co-Op Live made an official announcement on X.
The Manchester arena has been plagued by issues (Picture: Ioannis Alexopoulos/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Gigs were cancelled hours before their intended start date (Picture: Men Media)
It wrote: ‘Due to a venue-related technical issue, tonight’s A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie show will no longer go ahead. We kindly ask fans to leave the area. Tickets holders will receive further information in due course.’
The carnage has been absolutely rinsed online with fans comparing it to the infamous Fyre Fest which took place in 2017 – sort of.
On top of Olivia and Boogie, Peter Kay’s inaugural show was postponed twice and music icons The Black Keys also scrapped their turn at the venue.
Rick Astley’s turn at the venue saw 4,000 tickets cancelled an hour before his show, which was touted as a ‘test’ gig for Co-Op Live.
‘Going very Fyre Festival all this,’ joked X user the_paris_angel while Andy Grimshaw tweeted: ‘Jurassic Park had a smoother opening…’
Olivia decided to postpone her gigs after safety concerns (Picture: Men Media)
The venue only opened on April 20, 2024 (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Co-op Live)
Rebecca Dunbar added: ‘Oh my… We need a Fyre Festival type documentary about the Co-Op Live opening and we need it now!’
‘The year is 2040 and Co-Op Live are still having technical issues,’ wrote Iz as Rach said: ‘Got to be the worst venue and organisation I’ve ever seen.’
In a statement to Metro.co.uk, a spokesperson for Co-Op Live said: ‘We understand the need to reassure fans over future shows. We are working with artist management and promoters to limit the impact on the opening season schedule.
‘Where necessary, we will identify alternate dates and will continually reassess to provide fans with sufficient notice regarding imminent shows. Should shows be cancelled or rescheduled, fans will be contacted by their point of purchase and offered a full refund where preferred.’
They explained that during soundcheck, ‘a component of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, used to direct air, separated from the ductwork.
‘There was nobody injured. Although we believe this to be an isolated incident caused by a factory defect, we were not able to verify that all similar nozzles were free of such defects.
‘In conjunction with wider stakeholders, Oak View Group has made the necessary call to ensure the full safety of all visitors to the venue, and to postpone the performance.
‘In response, the installer, contractor and third-party inspector will now test each nozzle to confirm they are free of defect.’
Fans have pointed out that this is a fancy way of saying part of the AC plummeted from the ceiling during soundcheck.
Fans of A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie were left disappointed after queuing for hours (Picture: Men Media)
Co-Op Live has apologised for the inconvenience (Picture: Men Media)
Artists like Take That, Stevie Nicks, Nicki Minaj, Jonas Brothers, and The Kings of Leon are all due to take the stage later this year.
For Olivia’s fans there is relief the gig has been cancelled well in advance so they are not left stranded in the city, having paid for travel or parking, as some Boogie fans were.
The Brutal hitmaker shared an update on Instagram, writing: ‘I’ve been having such a great time in Europe so far and I’m sooooo disappointed that we’re unable to perform in Manchester due to on-going venue-related technical issues.
‘We’re doing our best to reschedule the show.’
Her Guts tour reached Dublin last night and will resume at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on May 7 and May 8 before heading to Birmingham and London.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.