The AO Arena welcomed Andy Burnham and Blossoms today to celebrate the completion of its £50m redevelopment.
As the biggest indoor venue in the UK and one of the busiest in the world, the AO Arena is now working to even further elevate the guest experience, from start to finish.
Its huge investment has seen new features added like an increased standing floor capacity in the arena bowl itself, a brand new lower concourse bar area with capacity for 6,000 (plus new bars in the main concourse), and new entrances to make getting in and out of the arena the quickest in Europe.
Then there is the crowning jewel at the AO Arena, its new bar and restaurant The Mezz, set to open in March, which will welcome a new partnership with chefs Simon Rogan MBE and Tom Barnes of soon-to-open Skof.
To mark its monumental redevelopment, the AO Arena invited Stockport legends Blossoms to place their hands in cement on the concourse, leaving their mark permanently on the city’s most iconic venue.
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Blossoms said: “When the AO Arena opened again after Covid, we were the first band to play a gig here. We’re excited to celebrate the official topping out of the redevelopments and look forward to seeing what the future AO Arena has to offer.”
The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was also in attendance to celebrate the landmark moment, speaking of all the shows he’s seen over the years (Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Elbow all highlights, apparently).
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The improvements to the venue aren’t just on a fan level either – work has also included a complete back of house overhaul including an artist green room, dressing rooms and crew facilities.
Andy Burnham and Blossoms attended the AO Arena today to celebrate the completion of its £50m transformation. Credit: SuppliedBlossoms placed their handprints in cement and spoke at the AO Arena today to celebrate the completion of its £50m transformation. Credit: Supplied
AO has also announced it is extending its naming rights partnership of the 21,000 capacity, 30-year-old venue all the way into 2030.
The AO Arena’s £50m transformation includes a new VIP entrance, a members only bar and restaurant, a brand new lower concourse, an improved focus on customer safety measures, and full wall wraps highlighting the venue’s iconic milestones.
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On the concourse, there’ll be a brand new food and drink offering, including handcrafted burgers, salt and pepper chicken and accompanying vegan options including smash meat-free burgers with vegan smoked applewood and vegan loaded fries, as well as vegan bratwurst with sauerkraut in a vegan brioche bun topped with crispy onions and served with vegan chilli cheese sauce.
Over the years, the AO Arena has welcomed the biggest names in music and sport, such as Prince, Elton John, New Order, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Billie Eilish, Oasis, Dua Lipa and The Courteeners, plus of course Peter Kay’s record-breaking 50+ date residency (which is still ongoing, by the way…), and has also played host to The Commonwealth Games, The Davis Cup, boxing bouts with Mike Tyson, Anthony Joshua, Ricky Hatton and much more.
Visited by more than one million people each year, the AO Arena is promising this will be its best year yet, raising tens of thousands of pounds and giving hundreds of hours to local community projects.
And coming up this year alone there’ll be more Peter Kay Live, The 1975, Bill Bailey, Niall Horan, Ne-Yo, and plenty more to be announced.
The UK’s much-loved ‘day rave’ with Vicky and Jon McClure returns to Manchester for New Year’s Eve
Thomas Melia
One of the UK’s most popular new club events and pioneering ‘day rave’ is returning to Manchester this New Year’s, featuring founders Jon and Vicky McClure, as well as some very special guests.
The Line of Duty star and Reverend and the Makers frontman started the parent-friendly event back in January of this year as an alternative day out for those looking to have a party and still manage an early bedtime. Since then it’s gone on to become a real phenomenon and is only getting bigger.
With Vicky swapping UK dramas and crime thrillers for the discotheque and ‘Big Jon’ switching lanes from his usual rock, indie and alternative roots to favour timeless dance tracks to still get people up on their feet, Day Fever has gone down a storm all over the country.
With their first year coming towards a close, they now look set for arguably their biggest day rave to date as Day Fever will be hosting a special New Year’s Eve for their final hurrah of 2024 right here in Manchester city centre – and no, you don’t need to be able to stay up until midnight.
The two McClures – unrelated, by the way, they just share a name and a fantastic taste in music – and the rest of their crew will be partying between 3-8pm for a much more tame and friendlier night (day) out, commanding the decks alongside some other special guests.
Not only does this alternative way to party promise a more responsible curfew, meaning clubbers don’t have to worry about missing the last train home but it’s also geared towards over 30s whilst still being super inclusive.
This day-time clubbing event is designed to reminisce on the old days and all those dance-filled memories of evenings spent out on the tiles, just minus the late-night finish – and hopefully the hangover but that’s down to you really, isn’t it?
In their words: ‘There’s no dress code, no egos—just pure positivity’; there’s nothing we love to hear more than the sweet relief of not having to get dolled up for a big night when we just can’t be bothered.
With New Century Hall hosting the Day Fever once again for their first-ever NYE party here in Manchester, along with two other events being held simultaneously in Edinburgh and Birmingham, you can get all your partying done way with plenty of time to get cosy in bed before the calendar turns over.
Just in time to watch Jools Holland’s famous Annual Hootenanny, as they put it.
Jon McClure and Vicky’s co-star, Martin CompstonVicky McClure leading the dance routines
This is guaranteed to be an evening to remember for everyone in attendance, especially when you’re joined by stars of stage and screen who will be powering you through with some proper dance bangers as they have done all year long.
The New Year’s Eve party isn’t just the last dance of the year either, it’s also effectively the prequel to next year’s raft of shows as Day Fever has already announced more than a dozen big dates in January and February.
This batch of 2025 dates sees the gang taking on lots of other cities, including North West neighbours Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Hull over in Yorkshire, two Newcastle shows and plenty more.
So, if you’re feeling those clubbing blues, that pesky seasonal affective disorder or just still not booked up for NYE 2024, why not make the most of this day-time opportunity?
Tickets for both the New Year’s Eve and the rest of their 2025 events are available on the official Day Fever website HERE.
Oh yeah, and help get Rev to Christmas number one – it’s for a good cause and they deserve it!
Sean Paul and Ashanti are hosting a massive Manchester show in 2025
Danny Jones
The one and only Sean Paul is coming to Manchester next year and we’re about to be smashing that buy ticket button it’ll be left sticking like glue.
A terrible pun, we know, we’re just very excited.
Better yet, he’s bringing a fantastic co-headliner along with him as fellow noughties and R’n’B throwback Ashanti will be sharing the stage too.
Landing at the AO Arena in spring 2025, they’ll be upping the ‘Temperature’ ahead of the summer and just in time for the festival season to start getting underway.
Having both enjoyed the scene for many years back in its 2000s heyday and each still boasting their own long-serving fan bases no matter how long it’s been, we wouldn’t think of this as a Sean Paul headline gig with a support act but two very special guests doing what they do best.
The Jamaican-born rap, reggae and dancehall artist as well as all-round popstar needs no introduction really but we’ll give him one anyway: you have to pronounce his name funny and he’s best known for countless club classics like ‘Got 2 Luv U’, ‘Get Busy’ and ‘Gimme The Light’, just to name a few.
Coming back to Manchester for basically a celebration of what many still revere as one of the golden eras for the genre will no doubt be an unbelievable night and playing the AO Arena after all this time is no mean feat.
General admission goes live from 10am, Friday 20 December but presale will be available for Three mobile users who want exclusive early access from Wednesday onwards from the same time.
The ‘Bring It’ Tour comes our way on 13 April 2025, with other dates including Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and a massive London show with Fat Joe joining too.
You can get ready to grab your tickets for Sean Paul and Ashanti’s AO Arena date HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
24th January 2024 
