Peter Kay has been forced to cancel yet another show at Manchester’s new £350m Co-op Live Arena amid the ongoing chaos.
The venue had been due to open on April 23 and is expected to compete with the 02 Arena for the some of the world’s biggest sporting and music events.
Delays have seen Gary Roden, general manager of the venue quit after a slew of issues led to a delay in opening.
Announcing the news in an update on Friday, comedian Peter explained his show’s would be rescheduled for a second time after the original dates, April 23 and 24, were pushed back to April 29 and 30. They will now go ahead in May.
He confirmed: ‘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.’
Peter Kay has been forced to cancel yet another show at Manchester’s new £350m arena amid the ongoing chaos
Announcing the news in an update on Friday, the comedian confirmed: My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready’
Peter continued: ‘Consequently, they are having to reschedule my two shows yet again (I know I can’t believe it either).
‘It’s very disappointing but your safety is very important, and I won’t compromise that.’
The dates have been delayed until May 23 and 24, with refunds being offered if the new dates aren’t suitable.
Gary Roden, general manager of the £365m Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, resigned on Thursday.
Headaches for the arena, which is next door to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, became patently clear after capacity for a test event last Saturday was reduced with just hours’ notice due to power issues.
Photos of the venue from Tuesday also showed some construction work still taking place. The main car park for the arena also appeared to be a storage area for building materials.
Mr Roden was accused of being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘disingenuous’ after claiming that grassroots music venues were often ‘poorly run’.
A statement from the arena said it did not ‘share the sentiment’ expressed by its now-former general manager and that ‘Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond’.
Delays have seen Gary Roden, general manager of the venue quit after a slew of issues led to a delay in opening
Peter explained his show’s would be rescheduled for a second time after the original dates, April 23 and 24, were pushed back to April 29 and 30. They will now go ahead in May
The statement also thanked Mr Roden for his ‘help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future’.
Rebecca Kane Burton, an ex-boss of London’s O2 Arena, will step in as interim general manager.
The Music Venue Trust hit out at Mr Roden in a statement of its own, telling NME that grassroots music venues were not ‘poorly run’, and it was ‘disrespectful and disingenuous to suggest otherwise’.
They said: ‘Obviously, the irony of making ill-judged, unnecessary and misleading comments about grassroots music venues on the day that the launch of their new arena has unfortunately fallen into such difficulties is not lost on anyone in the music industry, on artists, or on audiences.’
On Tuesday, Peter’s huge gig at Manchester’s brand new Co-op Live arena was cancelled, just hours before the comedian was due to take to the stage at the 23,500-capacity venue.
The comedian’s second show at the venue set for Wednesday evening was also cancelled.
The highly-anticipated show would have been the grand opening for the city’s flagship new venue, the largest in the UK.
But just a day before the show was due to take place, it was announced that both shows had been cancelled, as work is still to be completed on the venue, which is yet to be signed off by the council’s building control.
Co-op Live confirmed that both shows would be rescheduled, and will instead would take place on the 29th and 30th April.
A spokesperson for Co-op Live said: ‘Following our first test event on Saturday, regretfully we have made the difficult decision to reschedule our two opening performances by Peter Kay.
‘These dates will move from 23 April and 24 Wednesday to Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 April.
‘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. Rescheduling gives us the extra time we need to continue testing thoroughly.
‘This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size.
‘Peter Kay has very graciously agreed to perform his record-breaking comedy at Co-op Live on 29 (rescheduled from 23) and 30 (rescheduled from 24) April 2024.
‘All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend.
‘We are very sorry for the inconvenience that this change will undoubtedly cause for some. We are thrilled to welcome Peter Kay as our grand opening act just a few days later than planned.’
Meanwhile Peter said: ‘I’m truly gutted as I know how disappointing this will be for everyone with tickets, but obviously it’s a brand-new venue and it’s important that everything is finished and safe for full capacity audiences.’
The shows were set to be the grand opening act for the Co-Op Live Arena, but there is still work to be completed on the venue
‘Fortunately, we’ve been able to reschedule the shows to next week, (I’ll have to miss my Bums & Tums class) but hopefully I’ll see you then.’
Co-op Live added: ‘We can’t wait to welcome fans to Co-op Live for our official grand opening events with Peter Kay, and to showcase Co-op Live at its very best.
‘We will still be hosting The Black Keys on 27 April in the lower bowl with 10K fans as planned, and will continue to test the resilience of the venue and its operations.’
This comes after problems with power at the site, which are believed to have affected the fire safety and emergency services communication systems, led to bosses slashing attendance from around 11,000 to 4,000 at Saturday night’s test event – less than two hours before it was due to start.
Insiders claimed ‘everything was run down to the wire’ ahead of the test show starring Rick Astley.
Manchester City Council’s building control department cannot issue a completion certificate while work is still ongoing at the site, which is understood to include corridors and wiring.
The venue could still operate without this certificate after presenting council bosses with a mitigation strategy to manage potential risks, although details of this plan have not been made public.
Previously, bosses at Co-op Live said teams were on-site ‘throwing everything at it’ to prepare for the venue’s grand opening.
A Co-op Live spokesman said: ‘Opening a venue of this size requires working very closely with multiple stakeholders and responsible authorities to deliver against a rigorous set of guidelines and protocols.
‘Leading into our test event, some systems had limited electrical power which we were only able to mitigate by reducing capacity.
This meant we made the difficult decision to reduce the capacity of our test event and deeply regret the impact this had on our invited guests.
‘We do recognise that many people were inconvenienced yesterday evening at very short notice and apologise to all affected.
The comic has been on a mammoth comeback tour which kicked off in 2022, and includes a monthly residency at London’s O2 Arena (pictured in 2006)
The Co-op Live arena could rival The 02 Arena for the world’s biggest boxing and UFC events (Photo: Artist impressions when the plans for the venue were unveiled)
‘We’re working hard to complete Co-op Live and look forward to welcoming fans and artists to the venue soon.’
According to the venue’s website, Peter’s 2010 tour still officially ranks with the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest selling comedy tour of all time.
Peter shocked fans after appearing in a rare photograph as he performed his stand-up show in May last year.
And the comic said: ‘See how much weight Peter Kay has lost.’
Before announcing the new tour, Peter had disappeared from public life, before releasing a statement in December 2017 to say he was returning to the limelight.
In November 2022, Peter then delighted the nation by announcing he would be returning to touring for the first time in 12 years, including a monthly residency at London’s O2 Arena.
Taking to the stage for his first night in Manchester, Peter was moved to tears as he received a standing ovation from the audience that lasted several minutes.
Struggling to compose himself following the reaction, Peter told the crowd: ‘Oh Jesus look at me, I mean what’s that all about… how am I supposed to do bloody comedy now?’
‘Lovely Manchester you made me cry… where did it come from, all that emotion?’
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