There’s a busy month of live music, comedy and entertainment ahead at the AO Arena Manchester.
The city’s leading venue will be welcoming some big names this May, with a packed schedule of events.
Expect pop perfection from Little Mix, who will perform three shows at the AO Arena this month, as well as comedy appearances from the likes of Alan Partridge and Chris Rock.
Music royalty like Blondie, Pet Shop Boys and Alice Cooper will take to the stage over the next month too.
The AO Arena has a range of hospitality packages on hand if you want to watch the show in style, from booking the best seats in the house to having a champagne reception and a waiter service.
Full details on Prime View and Prime Suites are below.
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Here’s what’s coming up at the AO Arena Manchester in May, and all you need to know about booking your hospitality packages.
Blondie – Sunday 1 May
Fronted by the iconic Debbie Harry, Blondie will be joined on this rescheduled tour date by Manchester legend Johnny Marr.
Tool – Monday 2 May
This strictly no-phones-allowed gig from art metallers Tool will be part of their arena tour of the UK, which is also taking them to London and Birmingham.
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Little Mix – Friday 6 and Saturday 7 May
Pop sensations Little Mix – aka Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirwell and Leigh-Anne Pinnock – will be doing three gigs in two days at the AO Arena on their Confetti tour, with a matinee performance on Saturday afternoon.
Gregory Porter – Sunday 8 May
Grammy Award-winning jazz soul singing sensation Gregory Porter will be in Manchester in just a few weeks, performing hits from his six studio albums.
Alan Partridge – Friday 13 and Saturday 14 May
Stratagem, a brand new live show from Alan Partridge (aka Steve Coogan) will touch down for two nights that promises to ‘inform, educate and entertain in approximately equal measure’.
Chris Rock – Sunday 15 May
Fresh from his hosting gig at the Oscars, comedic heavyweight and multi-award-winner Chris Rock is bringing his Ego Death World Tour to Manchester.
Bryan Adams – Tuesday 17 May
One of the world’s most iconic rock musicians is heading to the AO Arena – Bryan Adams’ So Happy It Hurts tour is in support of his 15th studio album – that’s quite the discography.
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Whitesnake – Wednesday 18 May
Hard rock stalwarts Whitesnake will be stopping off in Manchester on their eagerly-awaited Farewell tour, alongside Foreigner and Europe.
RuPaul’s Drag Race – Thursday 19 May
RuPaul’s massive Werq the World tour is sashaying its way to the AO Arena – the all-new production will see Michelle Visage, Asia O’Hara, Plastique Tiara and more travel back in time through several iconic eras.
Pet Shop Boys – Friday 20 May
Electronic pioneers Pet Shop Boys are back together in front of crowds on the Greatest Hits tour, working through a back catalogue that includes massive hits like West End Girls, Always On My Mind, and Go West.
The Script – Saturday 21 May
With five number one albums, six billion streams and two million ticket sales, The Script will be joined by Ella Henderson on their Greatest Hits Tour.
Alice Cooper and The Cult – Friday 27 May
Larger-than-life rock legend Alice Cooper and The Cult will come together for a very special co-headline show at the end of May.
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Years & Years – Saturday 28 May
Olly Alexander, recent star of hit series It’s A Sin and collaborator with Kylie Minogue, will be back at Years & Years in May with The Night Call tour.
AO Arena Hospitality package information
Prime View packages, designed for couples and smaller groups of friends and family, include fast-track pre-show entry to the Lounge, with a glass of champagne on arrival.
You also get a seat in the lower tier of the main auditorium (Block 103 or 114) to see the action on stage up close.
There are Prime View tickets available for all of the below shows.
There’s still some Prime Suites availability too, for Blondie, Tool and RuPaul’s Drag Race. The Prime Suites package is a full experience for up to 16 guests that includes a private suite, dedicated fast track entry, a buffet, champagne reception, private bar and waiter service, en suite toilets and cloakroom facilities.
To book either Prime View packages or Prime Suites at the AO Arena, you can email [email protected] or call 0161 9501069.
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Government to introduce price cap on ticket touts and launch consultation on dynamic pricing
Danny Jones
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.
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.
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.
The AO Arena is giving away FREE tickets for a year to celebrate 30 years in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
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 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.
Daisy Jackson -
29th April 2022 
