Inside what went wrong before Co-op Live's test event - and the frantic race to finish the venue

Co-op Live faces a frantic 48 hours before doors open for the venue's first public event. Peter Kay is due to perform at the 23,500-capacity arena on Tuesday night (April 23).

But two days before its showpiece opening, work is not complete on the Eastlands venue. The council's building control is also yet to sign the building off - although the venue can still open without a completion certificate, with 'mitigations' in place.

It comes as 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 yesterday's test event - less than two hours before it was due to start. Insiders claim 'everything was run down to the wire' ahead of Saturday's test show

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Now, teams on-site are '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. We're working hard to complete Co-op Live and look forward to welcoming fans and artists to the venue soon.”

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 can 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.

Co-op Live declined to comment on the specifics this mitigation could mean. The Manchester Evening News understands emergency services had concerns about the venue opening to 11,000 people yesterday amid the site's power issues.

Fire officers were satisfied the venue could open to 4,000 following yesterday's decision. Guests saw a number of fire marshals patrolling the venue during the event.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) will continue to monitor safety arrangements in the coming days. Coun John Flanagan, a licensing committee member on Manchester council who represents Miles Platting and Newton Heath, was among the attendees. He told the M.E.N.: "It was an event that was meant to test the systems.

"What I saw was a lot of fire marshals clearly identified walking around. I support the fire service and the police if they've got concerns. The safety of the public is paramount. Although this feels negative, this is what this event was for. To test the systems with a small crowd. In that regard, they've done the right thing. I'm sure everyone is working their socks off today trying to resolve this by Tuesday."

Guests who held tickets for the test event told the M.E.N. they became aware they could no longer attend after 4pm yesterday. One commented on our Facebook page: “Had my tickets cancelled - gutted - glad I hadn’t set off.”

Another said: “Absolutely disgusted at the behaviour of Co-op Live. Received four free tickets for the testing event tonight only to be told an hour before it goes live that they have cancelled my tickets. Disgraceful behaviour.”

Guests who saw their tickets cancelled at short notice have been invited to watch The Black Keys perform at Co-op Live next Saturday instead. One guest told the M.E.N.: “Most people cannot change their arrangement like that for next weekend. I don’t want to see someone I have never heard of.”

A Manchester City Council spokesman said: "The council, alongside emergency services partners, have been working closely with Co-op Live ahead of venue testing this weekend. We supported the venue's decision to reduce the capacity for the first event, which allowed them to test their own processes ahead of full capacity events taking place.

"The council and partners will continue the collaborative approach we have with the venue as they gear up for full opening on Tuesday." A spokesman for GMFRS added: "We worked closely with Co-op Live to ensure the venue had appropriate fire safety arrangements in place for the test event.

"We will continue to work with the venue, emergency services partners and Manchester City Council as they prepare for the official opening on Tuesday.”

GMP was unable to provide a statement ahead of the M.E.N.’s deadline.