Niall Horan is the latest headliner to be announced as part of the Co-op Live’s massive opening season next year.
As Manchester‘s newest – and soon-to-be the UK’s largest – live entertainment arena nears closer and closer than ever to officially opening its doors and welcoming visitors, with a huge launch season that’s already jam-packed full of events, Co-op Live has today confirmed the next two music acts set to grace its stage.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Global music superstar @NiallOfficial joins us as part of his "The Show – Live On Tour" run. https://t.co/zB2nxXa4Nz@coopuk Members to get first in line access to tickets.
The former member of boyband One Direction, turned chart-topping solo singer, is already playing the city’s current biggest stage, the AO Arena, on 5 March 2024 – but tickets for that absolutely flew off the shelves, and the show is now sold out.
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Luckily, the Irishman’s planned to pay our city another visit.
Following on from the release of his third studio album, The Show, back in June, Niall is heading out on a global tour in 2024 to celebrate, and he’s set to stop off at the Co-op Live on 27 August.
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The Show – Live On Tour 2024 is the 29-year-old’s biggest tour of his solo career, and his first headline run since 2018’s Flicker World Tour.
Horan is set to performing songs from all three of his solo albums.
Throughout 2024, he’ll play more than 30 shows in arenas right across mainland Europe, and North America in both the US and Canada.
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Niall Horan has been announced as the latest Co-op Live headliner / Credit: Niall Horan (via Instagram)
“My favourite thing in the world is being on tour,” Niall said ahead of 2024’s tour.
“Performing my songs for my fans and sharing those incredible moments together are the reason why I write music in the first place, and this is going to be my best tour yet so I cannot wait to see all you “lovers” on the road in 2024.
“There’s nothing better than watching the crowd sing back to you with all that emotion on their faces and knowing that they’re attaching the song to something meaningful in their own lives.
“To me, that’s always the greatest thing that can ever come from songwriting.”
Once again, as part of the highly-anticipated £365 million venue’s “pioneering” partnership, Co-op members will get the chance to gain early access to tickets through a designated presale on Wednesday 6 September at 10am, all before the general sale takes place.
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General sale tickets are available through Co-op Live from Friday 8 September at 10am, and you can grab them here.
World premiere of A Knight’s Tale The Musical to open in Manchester next year
Emily Sergeant
A brand-new stage adaptation of a beloved early 00s film is set to have its world premiere right here in Manchester.
That’s right – A Knight’s Tale has been turned into a comedy musical.
A Knight’s Tale may be one of Chaucer’s most well-known Canterbury Tales, but for most of us, we tend to be more familiar with Brian Helgeland’s iconic 2001 medieval action comedy film of the same name instead, which of course starred the late great Heath Ledger, alongside Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell, Mark Addy, and more.
And its the latter that has now been reimagined for modern day and turned into a brand-new comedy stage musical that will charge into Manchester early next year.
From the production team behind recent stage smash-hits including Disney’s Newsies, and 2:22 A Ghost Story, the brand-new A Knight’s Tale The Musical has been adapted for the stage by Irish comedy writer and actor Brona C Titley, directed by the award-winning Rachel Kavanaugh, and choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Matt Cole.
MANCHESTER: get ready for a Knight you won’t forget 💘
The brand-new comedy musical A KNIGHT’S TALE (based on the iconic 2001 film) is charging into @PalaceAndOpera for its WORLD PREMIERE from April 2025.
— A Knight’s Tale Musical (@ukknightstale) July 23, 2024
It’s gearing up to be a “rip-roaring tale of chivalry, jousting, heroes, and villains”.
Not only that, but just like the popular film, audiences in Manchester are being told to expect a “truly rockin’ soundtrack” that’s packed with chart-topping hits.
Unfamiliar with the premise of the cult-classic film? Ledger plays William Thatcher – a 14th century peasant squire who breaks all the rules when he passes himself off as a nobleman and takes the jousting world by storm. The only thing that stands between Will and his dream of becoming the World Champion of the most extreme of sports, however, is the bad boy of the sport Count Adhemar.
The two rivals then go lance to lance at the world finals, and it’s a pretty epic finale to say the least.
The world premiere of A Knight’s Tale The Musical is to open in Manchester next year / Credit: Columbia Pictures | Wikimedia Commons
Just like the film, A Knight’s Tale The Musical apparently “has it all”, so you’re invited to join Will Thatcher and his band of merry misfits for “a Knight like no other” when the show takes to the legendary Manchester Opera House stage next April.
“Over 20 years ago, I had the time of my life surrounded by a supreme cast and crew making a film we all fell in love with while we were joyfully making it,” commented Brian Helgeland ahead of the musical’s Manchester debut.
“Sitting at a recent read through of the stage version, I could feel that same joy and love emerging, and I am grateful for the new life they are creating and very eager to see it in all its fully staged glory.”
A Knight’s Tale The Musical will take to the Manchester Opera House stage on 11 April 2025, and run right through until 10 May 2025, and tickets go on general sale next Thursday 1 August at 10am – with members’ pre-sales running prior.
Stanleys announce landmark hometown gig at an iconic Wigan venue
Danny Jones
Wigan band Stanleys have just announced a landmark headline show back in their hometown at the legendary Monaco later this year.
One of the borough’s most iconic and longest-standing venues located over in the town of Hindley, The Monaco has hosted many a noteworthy name down the years, from Dusty Springfield and Lonnie Donegan back in the day, to The Lancashire Hotpots and local lads The Lathums more recently.
With live comedy, theatre, music and lots of other live entertainment (not least their regular Bongo’s Bingo events these days) contributing to the venue’s rich heritage, it’s arguably one of the most unsung venues in Greater Manchester.
Having been returned back to its original moniker in 2019 after being known as The Rose Club for a time, the rising indie stars are the latest act trying to put it back on the back by confirming one of their most momentous gigs to date.
Fresh off opening up for fellow Wigan native and Britpop veteran Richard Ashcroft during his highly-anticipated double bill of shows at Robin Park Arena this month, the fast-growing four-piece are now set to have their own homecoming moment at the much-loved art deco building.
Having already been on the road with the likes of The Libertines, Inspiral Carpets, The Lathums; Jamie Webster, The View and more, they’re coming back home a much bigger name than they left it.
From George Formby Senior and Junior to The Verve, Starsailor and The Lathums before them, they’re hoping to be the next gem to come out of Wigan, which Ashcroft himself recently said has long been overlooked.
With tunes like this coming out of the nearby town, we’d wager that’s finally starting to change:
Wigan outfit Stanleys released their latest EP, The Gallery, back in June.
The lads rock up to The Monaco on Friday, 29 November, with support acts still yet to be revealed.
We’ll make no secret of being big fans of the Stanleys and the material they’ve put out so far, having recently named them on our list of new Manchester bands we’ve been listening to just last month, so we’ll be first in line for this special hometown gig.
Tickets for the Stanleys’ headline show at The Monaco go on sale at 9am on Wednesday, 24 July – you can grab yours HERE.