Raging Edinburgh woman loses £2,500 after Nicki Minag gig cancelled last minute

A fan of Nicki Minaj said she has lost thousands of pounds after a gig in Manchester was cancelled at short notice.

Eileen Allardyce, 32, a hotel manager from Edinburgh said she had been waiting outside the Co-Live Arena from 4pm on Saturday (May 25) to see Nicki Minaj but was gutted after it was suddenly cancelled.

The US rapper had been detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam but the hotel manager said the way the postponement was handled was 'absolutely ridiculous'. Fans were let into the venue at around 7pm on Saturday for her show, before promoter Live Nation announced at around 9.40pm that it was being postponed.

READ NEXT- East Lothian couple claim dream home turned to 'nightmare' at hands of neighbours

READ NEXT- Meet the Edinburgh student on hunger strike for seven days 'to be heard'

Eileen spent around £2,500 on tickets, travel and hotel costs and says she will not be able to make a rescheduled date.

Eileen told the PA news agency that since Co-op Live announced a delay in April to its opening event, where comedian Peter Kay was due to perform, she has been “on eggshells” along with her friends who also had tickets for Minaj.

Eileen said: "Obviously, it’s not Co-op’s fault what happened in Amsterdam, and it’s not Nicki’s fault either, like, obviously, no blame for her at all.

“But as I say, I just feel like the way they (the venue) handled it was just absolutely ridiculous. They have no clue, like absolutely no clue. I don’t think they were prepared for anything, to be honest.”

Eileen also claimed that there were “no toilets” at the Co-Op Live arena on Saturday while she queued outside the venue from 4pm.

Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.

She added that several security guards told her that Nicki Minaj was in the building, despite still being detained in Amsterdam.

She added: “I’m very disappointed, more so (towards) the venue because, obviously, everyone was unravelling on social media, everyone knew what the situation was and the venue completely let us down."

Dutch police said a woman aged 41 was arrested on Saturday after allegedly trying to take what it described as “soft drugs” from Schiphol Airport to another country.

An update from the force at around 9pm said it had released the “suspect and she can now move on” after paying a fine.

Minaj wrote on X that she had arrived at her hotel in Manchester early on Sunday after spending “five-six hours” in a cell and a delay to her flight from Amsterdam.

She said the venue was “willing to go past 11pm” and she pointed the finger at unidentified figures who had “succeeded at their plan to not let me get on that stage tonight”.

A statement from Live Nation said on Saturday: “Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible.

“We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”

Minaj praised the fans in Manchester, calling them a 'class act'. She wrote on X: “Manchester I appreciate you. Class act. Give me until (tomorrow) for the update on our new date (please).

“It will be sometime in June or July like I mentioned last night.”

Trinidad-born Minaj, who grew up in the US and is known for the songs Starships, Super Bass and Anaconda, livestreamed being arrested and claimed that drugs were found in her luggage which did not belong to her.

This is the latest postponed gig at Co-op Live, which has been plagued by issues since trying to open in April, and having to reschedule its first official gig several times.

US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie moved his performance to the AO Arena over the delays, and Co-op Live began live music shows on May 14 when British rock band Elbow took to the stage.

Co-op Live, Minaj and Live Nation have all been contacted for additional comment.