Co-op Live ticket holders turned away hours before test event

Ticket holders have been turned away from a test event at Manchester's huge new arena just hours before the show was due to start.

Co-op Live was set to welcome 11,000 fans to its first-ever show starring Rick Astley tonight - but bosses have been forced to reduce its capacity at short notice.

Attendees have received emails saying their tickets have been cancelled so spaces at the arena can be tested properly.

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Visitors to the new £365m venue - located next to the Etihad Stadium - were set to be a mixture of paying fans, press, VIPs and staff who helped build the new venue. Some fans were able to get tickets for just £5 for the show.

The KTNA will be first to open the show followed by Manchester's Everything Everything before Rick Astley takes to the stage as a headline act. The test show comes before huge acts including Peter Kay, Barry Manilow, The Killers, Eagles, Liam Gallagher, Olivia Rodrigo and Take That perform in the weeks ahead.

But now some attendees have been told their tickets have been cancelled just an hour before the event. One VIP guest, who had been invited to attend received the email just as they were preparing to leave at 5pm for the arena, said: “How disgusting to be uninvited an hour before the show? I’m bloody fuming.”

Another added: "The free concert tonight for all the staff that built the arena has been cancelled. In other words the so called owners couldn’t care less about the people that built it. As we all started to arrive we got emails telling us it’s cancelled."

Speaking about preparations just a couple of weeks ago, general manager Gary Roden explained that more than 1,500 workers had been on site in the days leading up to the test events.

An email sent to some ticket holders reads: "Thank you volunteering to be part of tonight's test event. We're busy putting the finishing touches on Co-op Live, and we are looking forward to Co-op Live becoming the pre-eminent arena in the UK upon opening.

"As a part of the opening process, we are in the midst of an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures. To enable us to test the spaces effectively, we have made the difficult decision to reduce capacity for today's test event.

"Unfortunately, this means we have had to cancel your ticket to attend tonight's event at Co-op Live, and we apologise for the inconvenience this will undoubtedly cause. As a gesture of our appreciation, we are extending an invite to you and a guest to The Black Keys on Saturday 27 April 2024.

"Thank you from all of us at Co-op Live and we look forward to welcoming you very soon."

A Co-op Live spokesperson: "We’re busy putting the finishing touches on Co-op Live, and we are looking forward to Co-op Live becoming the pre-eminent arena in the UK upon opening.

"As a part of the opening process, we are in the midst of an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures. To enable us to test the spaces effectively, we have made the difficult decision to reduce overall capacity for today’s test event. We apologise to affected guests and look forward to welcoming them to The Black Keys."