Co-op Live bosses urged to 'postpone concerts' by Manchester Arena attack survivors group

A support network run by survivors of the Manchester Arena attack have urged Co-op Live bosses to postpone concerts until the building is fully ready.

The £365m music venue, located next to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, had been due to officially open at the end of April but has faced a number of work-related delays which have led to a number of big gigs being rescheduled.

On Wednesday night (May 1), Co-op Live was due to reopen with a show from A Boogie Wit da Hoodie. However, the show was postponed just as queues were outside the venue waiting to get inside. The venue said a 'piece of air conditioning unit' fell from the ceiling during a soundcheck.

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As a result, the shows from Olivia Rodrigo scheduled for this Friday and Saturday were also postponed with no new date announced yet. Shows from Keane, on Sunday, and Take That, who will play four shows next week are currently still set to take place.

In a statement following the last-minute postponement of the show from A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, the Manchester Arena Support Network, a group run by those impacted by the May 2017 bombing at Manchester Arena, urged bosses at Co-op Live to now postpone its further shows until work had been complete to ensure the venue was safe.

Posting on social media, the support group wrote: “Look at the demographics of your audience this weekend. People are getting anxious as if they weren’t anxious enough already especially with the location. Postpone the concerts until you are ready.”

The account also re-shared posts of a similar nature from others - who highlighted that the 2017 incident took place in May. One of the shared posts said: “The co-op live arena needs to make a proper statement. they can’t have people feeling as if all this mess means the venue is unsafe. especially in Manchester. especially in May.”

So far, the venue has been forced to reschedule six shows, including the two homecoming gigs from Peter Kay which have now been postponed twice. They are currently set to take place on May 23 and 24.

Co-op Live said in a statement: "We are working with artist management and promoters to limit the impact on the opening season schedule." They added that further updates would be made regarding rescheduled shows.