Take That and Keane have become the latest artists to cancel shows at the new Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester.
The beleaguered venue was supposed to open its doors last month with a pair of shows by comedian Peter Kay, but they were postponed twice, and subsequent gigs by Rick Astley and The Black Keys were scrapped along with A Boogie Wit da Hoodie show on Wednesday (01.05.24) which was called off at the last minute after an air conditioning unit fell from the ceiling.
It led to Olivia Rodrigo’s shows at the venue on Friday and Saturday (03-04.05.24) being axed and now concerts by Keane on Sunday (05.05.24) and Take That have also been called off.
A statement from Keane posted on X – formerly known as Twitter – explained: “We’re absolutely gutted not to be able to celebrate 20 Years of ‘Hopes and Fears’ with you at the Co-Op Live on Sunday. This is due to ongoing technical issues at the venue and is entirely beyond our control.
“We’ve tried extremely hard to find a solution as we know so many of you have made travel plans, but it’s not just been possible. We are really disappointed that this has happened and are doing all we can to re-schedule the show.”
Take That were supposed to play five shows at the venue in May but they have now swapped them all to the city’s AO Arena instead. The dates remain the same apart from the gig on Wednesday May has been changed to Thursday May 9.
The band said in a statement: “Given the ongoing technical issues around the opening of Co-Op Live we have made the difficult decision to move our May shows to the AO Arena where we have enjoyed many great nights over the years.
“This is not a decision we’ve taken lightly, but we wanted to give our fans as much notice as possible. We’re mindful many of you will already have travel and accommodation plans in place, so we have chosen this option to minimise inconvenience to as many people as possible.
“Our dates in June in Manchester remain unaffected.”
Jen Mitchell, General Manager at AO Arena said: “It wouldn’t be a Take That tour without a stop-off in Manchester, so it’s great to welcome the band and their fans back to AO Arena for five nights, in the heart of this wonderful city.”
The latest cancellations come as supermarket brand Co-Op distanced itself from the chaos. They said in a statement: “As naming rights sponsor for Co-Op Live we are disappointed with these further schedule changes. We fully appreciate and understand the impact and upset the delays have caused to ticket holders and our Co-Op members.
“Co-Op is a sponsor and does not own or run the venue, and we have made it clear to Oak View Group, who are responsible for the building, that the impact on ticketholders must be addressed as a priority. We are pleased that they will shortly be putting plans in place to do so.
“We also understand that the necessary safety checks following yesterday’s incident [the air conditioning unit incident] are being completed and independently verified so that Co-Op members and other ticket holders can be reassured that the venue has the very highest levels of security and safety measures.”
Meanwhile Liam Gallagher is among the acts to have a gig scheduled at the venue, and he’s declared he will perform at a branch of Co-Op’s rival supermarket Lidl if the show is unable to go ahead.
Lidl have since confirmed they will apply for a late-night licence to keep a store open into the evening if Liam decides to go ahead with his idea.