At long last, Manchester’s huge new arena, the Co-op Live, is up and running.
The venue has been under construction near the Etihad Stadium for several years, and now the gargantuan space has hosted its first event.
Although the Co-op Live doesn’t officially launch until Tuesday, a test event last night saw Everything Everything and Rick Astley performing to a smaller crowd.
The £365m music venue is the largest indoor venue in the UK, with an overall capacity of 23,500 fans.
Not only has Harry Styles invested in the arena, he’s also consulted on several elements of the build.
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It’s hoped that it will provide the best possible gig-going experience both for artists and fans.
And Harry popped up to say hello at the test event… via screen.
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Other famous faces offering video endorsements included Phil Foden and David Beckham.
At last night’s test event, the first fans through the door were treated to a vast space bathed in blue (that might have something to do with its links to the City Football Group…) and got to see inside the huge arena space itself, which has the largest floor space of any indoor arena.
The Co-op Live isn’t actually quite finished yet – still to come will be 32 bars, restaurants and lounges around and inside the site.
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And last night’s event didn’t go without its hiccups, with many fans finding that their tickets for Rick Astley had been cancelled with just hours to go.
Co-op Live’s launch eventInside Co-op Live in ManchesterInvestor Harry Styles joined the Co-op Live launch by videoInside Co-op Live
Co-op Live said in a statement yesterday: “We’re busy putting the finishing touches on Co-op Live, and we are looking forward to Co-op Live becoming the pre-eminent arena in the UK upon opening.
“As a part of the opening process, we are in the midst of an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures. To enable us to test the spaces effectively, we have made the difficult decision to reduce overall capacity for today’s test event.
“We apologise to affected guests and look forward to welcoming them to The Black Keys.”
After the official launch on Tuesday 23 April, acts lined up in the coming weeks will include Take That, Olivia Rodrigo, The Black Keys and Nicki Minaj.
You can see a full tour of inside the new Co-op Live arena below:
Olly Murs cancels Manchester gig after walking off stage six songs into huge arena show
Daisy Jackson
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Olly Murs has now officially cancelled his show in Manchester tonight, a day after walking off stage just six songs into a huge arena gig.
The Heart Skips a Beat star had been performing in Glasgow last night when he abruptly stopped the show, apologised to fans, and left the stage.
The gig was cancelled around 30 minutes into his show, which is part of a huge UK arena tour that was meant to be heading to Manchester tonight.
A tearful Olly said that he was seeing a doctor last night and would update fans of the rest of his shows ‘as soon as I know anything’.
It’s now been confirmed that his gig at the AO Arena will not be going ahead.
Olly Murs said in a statement: “30 minutes into my set in Glasgow I lost my voice & unfortunately had to leave the stage midway through the show. This has never happened before and not something I take lightly.
“I’m sorry to all the fans who came out to the show last night and am forever grateful for your support.
“To everyone in Manchester and Birmingham I’m deeply sorry, but am unfortunately going to have to cancel my shows this weekend. I have contracted a respiratory infection and have been instructed to go on a strict 48 hour voice rest by the doctor to ensure no further damage to my vocal cords.
“I have been enjoying this tour so much, and am so sorry to let down my fans – but have to put my health first. I’m hoping to be fighting fit in a few days to finish this amazing 15 year celebratory tour with a bang.”
In a video he shared to Instagram last night, Olly Murs said: “Firstly I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I had to walk off after six songs and cancel the show. I’ve never done this in 15 years.
“Most of the time as singers you can kind of get through it if your voice isn’t 100% – I walked out tonight thinking my voice was great, I maybe felt a little bit run down but I didn’t think I couldn’t do the show. I wouldn’t have come out there otherwise.
“So to walk off after six songs, as I said, I’m so sorry. As you can probably hear from my voice, I just sounded rubbish and it’s unfair for you guys that spent all that money to come and see me. You deserve the best show and me being at my best, and I’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart.
“Hopefully I can recover from this.
“I’m actually going to see a doctor tonight which is great, so I’ll give you guys an update as soon as I know anything. Obviously I wanna try my absolute best to make these shows possible at the weekend.
“So yeah, so sorry for everyone tonight, apologies from the bottom of my heart. Gutted.”
Major star pulls out of Parklife festival due to ‘scheduling conflict’
Daisy Jackson
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One of the biggest attractions of this year’s Parklife festival line-up has pulled out just weeks before the event.
Rising star and TikTok sensation Lola Young will no longer be performing at the huge Manchester festival.
She’s the voice behind ‘Messy’, that song you can’t get out of your head (or off your For You Page), and has already earned herself two BRIT Award nominations.
Lola Young was one of the biggest names announced on this year’s Parklife line-up, which has headline slots from Charli XCX, 50 Cent, Jorja Smith and Peggy Gou.
She was set to perform on the Saturday of the festival, taking place on 14 and 15 June.
But Parklife has now confirmed that Lola Young has dropped out of the lineup owing to a ‘scheduling conflict’.
In a post on Instagram they wrote: “Due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict Lola Young will not be performing at Parklife 2025.
“We would like to apologise for any disappointment.
“Full set times will be published at 5pm Tuesday 20th May on the PL25 App where we will also be announcing some surprise additions to the weekend in the run up to the festival.”
Parklife will be taking place next month in Manchester – you can keep up with the latest HERE and grab final tickets HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
21st April 2024 
