- Author, Rachael Lazaro & Angela Ferguson
- role, BBC News, Manchester
- 3 May 2024, 08:54 BST
Updated 15 minutes ago
Barry Manilow has said he has reserved a “back up plan” for his upcoming concert at the Co-op Live arena amid ongoing “technical issues”.
The singer said his team had reserved the same date as he was scheduled to play at Manchester’s new £365m venue, 19 May, at nearby rival venue, the AO Arena.
Take That and rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie earlier announced a switch to the AO for their concerts which were cancelled.
Oak View Group, which owns the Co-op Live arena, has blamed defects with parts of its ventilation system for recent cancellations.
‘We don’t know’
The venue said the delays were to allow for “an independent inspection of all elements of the arena ceiling”.
Barry Manilow said in his statement to “dear friends”, he shared fans’ concerns about the ongoing status of Co-op Live arena.
“Contrary to some opinions, however, we don’t have any double secret inside information on the condition of the building,” he said.
The singer assured fans if the concert were to be moved to AO there would be “plenty of room for everybody” because “we limited capacity to 12,500 guests”.
“Right now, that’s a big IF. And we don’t know,” he added.
On Thursday, Take That announced a switch to AO, saying on X: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we wanted to give our fans as much notice as possible.”
And the band Keane, who were scheduled to play on Sunday, also fell foul of the crisis, with the British group, headed by frontman Tom Chaplin, saying they were “absolutely gutted” by the cancellation.
The cancellation was the latest in a series of problems, starting when Co-op Live announced it would not be ready to host comedian Peter Kay’s gigs last week, which were due to officially open the new arena.
The Co-operative Group, which is the naming rights sponsor for the venue, said it was “disappointed” by further schedule changes and wanted people to receive proper redress, such as compensation for hotels.
“Co-op is a sponsor and does not own or run the venue, and we have made it clear to Oak View Group, who are responsible for the building, that the impact on ticketholders must be addressed as a priority,” a spokesperson said .
