Peter Kay's huge Co-op Live arena opening gig is CANCELLED with just 24 hours to go
The show is set to be rescheduled for next week
Peter Kay’s huge gig at Manchester’s brand new Co-op Live arena has been cancelled. The comedian's second show at the venue on Wednesday evening (April 24) has also been cancelled.
The highly-anticipated show was due to go ahead tomorrow (Tuesday, April 23) at the 23,500-capacity venue. It would have been the showpiece opening for the city's flagship new venue, the largest in the UK.
But today (Monday), just the day before, it has been announced that both shows have been cancelled with work not yet complete on the Eastlands venue. The council's building control is also yet to sign the building off.
READ NEXT: Inside what went wrong before Co-op Live's test event - and the frantic race to finish the venue
This afternoon, Co-op Live has confirmed that both shows will be rescheduled. The two Peter Kay dates will take place next Monday (29 April) and Tuesday (30 April).
A spokesperson for Co-op Live said: "Following our first test event on Saturday, regretfully we have made the difficult decision to reschedule our two opening performances by Peter Kay. These dates will move from 23 April and 24 Wednesday to Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 April.
"It is critical to ensure we have a consistent total power supply to our fully electric sustainable venue, the completion of which is a few days behind. Rescheduling gives us the extra time we need to continue testing thoroughly. This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size.
"Peter Kay has very graciously agreed to perform his record-breaking comedy at Co-op Live on 29 (rescheduled from 23) and 30 (rescheduled from 24) April 2024. All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend. We are very sorry for the inconvenience that this change will undoubtedly cause for some.
"We are thrilled to welcome Peter Kay as our grand opening act just a few days later than planned."
Peter Kay said: “I’m truly gutted as I know how disappointing this will be for everyone with tickets, but obviously it’s a brand-new venue and it’s important that everything is finished and safe for full capacity audiences.”
“Fortunately, we’ve been able to reschedule the shows to next week, (I’ll have to miss my Bums & Tums class) but hopefully I’ll see you then."
Co-op Live added: "We can’t wait to welcome fans to Co-op Live for our official grand opening events with Peter Kay, and to showcase Co-op Live at its very best. We will still be hosting The Black Keys on 27 April in the lower bowl with 10K fans as planned, and will continue to test the resilience of the venue and its operations."
This comes after 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 Saturday night's test event - less than two hours before it was due to start. Insiders claimed 'everything was run down to the wire' ahead of the test show starring Rick Astley.
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 could 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.
Previously, bosses at Co-op Live said teams were on-site '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.”
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