We should have been celebrating what Manchester does best. Instead, there are embarrassing questions

This evening, the halls, corridors and bars at Co-op Live should have been bustling with gig-goers.

Trams should have been packed with Peter Kay fans filing out towards the Etihad campus, as the sounds of laughter echoed off the walls of the state-of-the-art bowl.

Instead, it will lie largely empty, silent apart from the hum of ongoing construction in the background.

READ MORE: Co-Op Live boss says he is 'not embarrassed' by late cancellation of Peter Kay shows

The Bolton comedian’s back-to-back opening shows were billed as a showpiece for the city’s new flagship venue, the largest of its kind in the UK, but due to ongoing power issues at the site yesterday afternoon, both dates were rescheduled to next week.

With hindsight, the writing was on the wall. On Saturday (April 20), rumours began to swirl that capacity for a Rick Astley test gig would have to be drastically reduced. The building had not been signed off by the council and emergency services had concerns.

At the eleventh hour, thousands of concert-goers' tickets were cancelled as the capacity was reduced down from around 11,000 to just 4,000. Reporting from the test event, I spoke to people who had made the journey to the venue only to be turned around as they got off the tram.

Inside, it was far from finished. Many of the areas we thought we would have access to - including the 32 restaurants, bars and VIP areas were either not finished or off bounds. Walking around the venue meant navigating some poorly lit spaces, while wiring and cables, usually hidden from sight, dangled from the ceiling.

Over the last 12 months, the eyes of the country have been on Manchester. We've had the launch of Aviva Studios, the Michelin Guide ceremony being held here, the announcement that English National Opera was relocating to the city - and Chanel’s visit to the Northern Quarter. Co-op Live should have been the cherry on top.

So the stalled opening of this landmark space is embarrassing. And not because teething problems for a project of this scale aren't to be unexpected.

It isn’t unusual for projects of this scale and scope not to run to schedule. First announced in 2020, plans were unveiled amidst the pandemic - a challenge in itself, given that in 2022, it was reported that nearly 9 in 10 large construction projects were behind following due to Covid-19.

Opening a venue with a capacity of 32,500, with tens of food and drink operators and an ambitious goal to be one of the world’s most sustainable buildings, it is almost expected that it might be close to the wire.

The problem is in the lack of communication. That's where the embarrassment lies. How did it get to the point where gigs as eagerly anticipated as Peter Kay's have had to be put back at the eleventh hour? Why did it take the council and emergency services to point out issues that you might think would be obvious at an earlier stage?

This is a city that hosts thousands of people for world-class events week in week out - whether it's Premier League and Champions League football, festivals, test cricket, marathons or concerts big and small. This is what we do best.

And, costing over £365m, the collaboration between American-owned Oak View Group (OVG) and Manchester City Football Club, Co-op Live is one of the largest developments in the city in decades. Things should have been handled better than this.

Some of those involved in the construction and working at the site have claimed that it was behind from the outset, that construction has moved slowly - and that it still won’t be fully ready for months.

But for those who were due to attend events over the weekend and tonight’s now-postponed show, the last-minute scramble came as a shock. Prior to this, very little had to be said about any delays - at least publicly - and many arrived at the venue on Saturday with little inkling of what was about to unfold.

That said, in Manchester we have painful knowledge of how important it is that people can have confidence that they are safe and secure when they go to a gig. It's better that every last detail is meticulously poured over, all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed, than to be in a venue where safety and security aren't spot on. In this way, I'm glad Co-op Live is taking its time to get it right, as I'm sure many others are.

But the last-minute nature of updates, which has ‘ruined’ birthdays, seen hundreds of pounds on trains and hotels wasted and left fans ‘gutted’, could have been avoided. Equally, for the builders and staff who have been working night and day, it's galling to see it fall just short.

Constant updates on the progress of a building project are not in most people's interests, but expectations around the test events and opening night could have been better managed. Finding out just minutes before or on arrival to a venue, shouldn’t become a habit for this venue.

Nonetheless, there is still a lot of excitement around Co-op Live. In just a few weeks, Take That will kick off a six-night residency at the venue, while Eagles will perform their only UK gigs in the bowl, and in June, Liam Gallagher will celebrate 30 years of Definitely Maybe. Then there’s the MTV Music Awards in November.

It has the makings of a great arena and there are thousands of people working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure it can open this Saturday for The Black Keys - albeit at a reduced capacity.

Standing in the bowl on Saturday night, though only a test event, I felt genuinely excited about its prospects. As a city we're prepared to wait for a landmark venue like this, with all the cultural and economic benefits it promises. We just don't want to be turned away at the last minute again.