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Olivia Rodrigo FINALLY announces dates for two Manchester gigs after Co-op Live cancellations

Good 4 U, Olivia.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 9th October 2024

At long last, Olivia Rodrigo has announced dates for her rescheduled shows here in Manchester.

The star had been meant to play at the massive new Co-op Live arena last May, but her shows were postponed after the venue was hit with high-profile opening delays.

The Good 4 U singer was one of several artists whose shows were postponed earlier this year, with Peter Kay, The Black Keys, Keane, Take That and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie all rearranged or moved to different venues.

While most other Co-op Live gigs were quite quickly rescheduled, fans have been waiting for months for new Olivia Rodrigo dates in Manchester.

And now she has finally managed to get booked back in on her GUTS World Tour, with a pair of new dates announced.

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Olivia will be performing on 30 June 2025, and 1 July 2025.

Those shows are rescheduled dates for her original gigs on 3 and 4 May this year.

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At the time of her show being called off, Olivia wrote: “Hello! I’ve been having such a great time in Europe so far and I’m sooooo disappointed that we’re unable to perform in Manchester due to on-going venue-related technical issues.

“We’re doing our best to reschedule the show. you can hold onto your tickets for further info or request a refund at your point of purchase.

“More info will be sent directly to ticket holders. im so bummed and I really hope to see you all soon.”

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The comment section on Co-op Live’s Instagram has been flooded with people demanding new dates for months, so maybe now we can all move on with our lives.

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Featured image: Nick Walker

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Government to introduce price cap on ticket touts and launch consultation on dynamic pricing

Danny Jones Danny Jones UK government to introduce re-sale ticket price cap and dynamic pricing consultation against touts

The UK government are finally set to install a price cap on re-sale tickets for touts and open an official consultation on the growing trend of dynamic pricing.

If you’ve bought a ticket to a live music show over the past year or so, you’ll have noticed that ticket prices in general are on the up – particularly if purchased from a reseller, in which case you might have paid through the nose for the privilege.

Not only does ticket touting remain a prevailing problem in the industry, with tonnes of tickets for big shows, especially, being snapped up in bulk or by bots and listed for re-sale before you’ve even added them to your basket, but the advent of this new dynamic pricing lark has made things even harder.

You only have to look at the controversy and chaos surrounding Oasis’ reunion tour, which ultimately saw some fans paying significant amounts more for practically the same ticket just a few days later in what many dubbed as ‘fraud’ and even ’emotional blackmail’.

Justin Timberlake at Co-op Live Manchester was one of countless gigs where ticket prices fluctuated. (Credit: The Manc Group)

Tackling resellers head-on

Knowing full well that people will go to extreme lengths to try and see the musicians and artists they love so dearly – in some cases being backed into a corner as the final figure displayed on the screen when they checkout suddenly jumps up – the modern ticketing industry is severely broken.

In fact, in the case of Oasis, more than 50,000 tickets were actually cancelled and re-listed for sale given the inordinate and completely extortionate levels of ticket touting.

With all that in mind, the government are now looking to enact more stringent measures on resellers, by announcing a new price cap on tickets put back up for sale which is set to be introduced (hopefully) in the very near future.

Targeting sites infamous for inflating re-sale costs such as Viagogo, StubHub and others, the bill published on Friday, 10 January proposes a price cap of face value plus 10-30% but no more, with an obvious aim to keep that number as low as possible.

According to the current figures, touts reportedly cost music fans alone more than £145 million in extra re-sale fees when purchasing tickets every year – a frankly ridiculous sum. There will always be tickets ending up on re-sale sites, that’s unavoidable, but a price cap could seriously improve the situation.

Oasis break silence on dynamic ticket pricing controversy for reunion tour
The Manc music legends themselves claim they had little control over the situation.

Down with dynamic pricing

Labour, who were voted into power back in July, are also set to try and combat dynamic prices, which essentially sees gigs and events set people back more or less depending on how the popular ticket sales have been up to that point, market trends and general demand. An initial review was called for last year.

Put simply, the more people want to attend a gig, platforms like Ticketmaster feel they are able to jack up their margins even after the initial price point has been established. The European Commission has been investigating these methods since September 2024.

Although it is still unclear as to the exact time scale of when these changes will come in, Labour MP Chris Bryant told NME that although they are still in the early stages, it is “now just a matter of how the government takes action.” And that’s where you come in.

The consultation is also crucially public, with the calling for people to submit their evidence on current pricing practices and continue engaging in the discussion throughout the progress. New Year’s Resolution: let’s curb ticket touts as much as we possibly can.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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The AO Arena is giving away FREE tickets for a year to celebrate 30 years in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Spice Girls performing at the AO Arena Manchester

The AO Arena has announced it’s giving away free tickets for a year to celebrate its 30th anniversary in Manchester.

The iconic music venue has welcomed the biggest names in the world in its three decades, with millions of us making memories for life inside its huge space.

And now you could win VIP tickets for an entire year, simply for sharing those memories with the AO Arena.

Fans who submit their old photos, videos and tickets will be in with a chance to win tickets to all the shows coming up in 2025 – which already includes massive gigs like Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry and Busted vs McFly.

AO Arena wants to dig deep into ‘first gig’ nostalgia territory, using fan-submitted snaps to build a collection of Manchester memories.

Were you in the same room as Taylor Swift, did you party like it was 1999 (because it was) with Spice Girls, did you cry over the sight of Gary Barlow or cry laughing with Peter Kay?

Britney Spears at the AO Arena
Beyonce at the AO Arena
Britney Spears and Beyonce are among the names who have performed at AO Arena in its 30 year history. Credit: Supplied

Whatever your AO Arena memories are, you can share them before the end of the month to be entered into the competition to win VIP tickets for the year.

One overall winner picked at random will get the ultimate VIP experience, including access to a premium suite and The Beautiful North, as well as access to The Mezz with panoramic views of the main stage.

The 30th birthday campaign has been inspired by Adele’s monumental When We Were Young performance at Glastonbury, and all these memories will be projected around the arena before every performance.

You can submit your footage and enter the competition via the AO Arena website HERE.  

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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