Co-op Live act moves to rival venue after chaos

The rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie has announced he will perform at a rival venue after his gig at the troubled Co-op Live arena was axed.

Hundreds of fans turned up at Manchester’s new £365m venue on Wednesday evening only to be handed letters stating the show had been canceled due to “technical reasons”.

It was the latest in a series of cancellations as the UK’s largest arena’s opening schedule was hit by various problems.

Posting on X, the American artist, real name Julius Dubose said: “Yesterday’s canceled Manchester show has been rescheduled for this Saturday at AO Arena! We won’t give up that easy lets go!”

The AO Arena also posted to confirm the news: “It’s going to be a brilliant night and we can’t wait to see you all here.”

So far gigs by comedian Peter Kay, rock band the Black Keys and popstar Olivia Rodrigo have been canceled at the Co-op Live Arena, owned by Oak View Group (OVG).

A poster promoting the new gig, posted online by AO Arena, said tickets from the canceled show would remain valid for Saturday.

A spokesperson for the arena said further information would be released by Ticketmaster in due course.

Fans were left disappointed after the chaotic last-minute cancellation on Wednesday, with one telling the BBC it was “very unprofessional”, while another criticized the “bad organization”.

On Wednesday night OVG apologized to fans, explaining the gig had been canceled after a nozzle used in the building’s ventilation system was detached during a sound-check.

Co-op Group, which own the naming rights to the arena, released a statement expressing “shock” at the cancellation and said it would be “seeking a full explanation” from OVG.

That was followed by the announcement that the arena’s chief executive, Gary Roden, was resigning.

OVG chairman Tim Leiweke said: “The safety and security of all visiting and working on Co-op Live is our utmost priority, and we could not and will not run any event until it is absolutely safe to do so.”