2024 is already off to a flyer at Manchester’s AO Arena, with the likes of Arenacross delighting thousands in the opening week of the year, tens of thousands of metalcore fans set to descend on Victoria for the Bring Me The Horizon gig weekend, but we’re only just getting started.
There is some seriously massive stuff happening at the AO Arena in the first half of the year alone and having had the pleasure of going to plenty of amazing shows in 2023, we’re already dying to be back inside the legendary Manc venue.
And when we say there’s some massive stuff, we mean it; some of the biggest names on the planet across all forms of live entertainment are set to fill the 20,000-capacity venue over the next six months.
Best gigs and events happening at the AO Arena (January-June)
1. Peter Kay
Bolton‘s beloved comedian is taking to the stage for the first time in 13 whole years and what better way to make a return than by performing for almost the entire year in 2024?
ADVERTISEMENT
The doors open for the first show on Friday, 26 January and run right up until Saturday, 21 December but, as you might expect, the demand is extremely high and you’ll probably be relying on resale for this one.
Having pushed his tour back from 2022, tickets have been highly anticipated and most shows are currently at limited availability. He also has a monthly residency at the O2 in London, but we all know seeing him on home soil would make it that little bit sweeter.
ADVERTISEMENT
The star of stage and screen is a British icon and he’s finally back doing what he does best. So, if you do get the chance to see Kay in action we can almost guarantee an evening of side-splitting stand-up. You can try your luck HERE.
2. The 1975
The Wilmslow group have arguably established themselves as one of the biggest and most generation-defining bands of the decade so far, and now they’re back for their biggest tour to date yet.
Simply entitled the ‘Still… At Their Very Best’ tour, they certainly are. Due to insane demand, they quickly realised that one show in Manchester was never going to be enough, so now we’ve got two, coming to the AO Arena on 17 and 18 February, having also added additional shows in Glasgow and London.
ADVERTISEMENT
Supporting acts are still yet to be confirmed but watch this space. We all know if there’s one place to see Matty Healy and the boys it’s under the lights at the AO Arena. You can scout for tickets HERE.
Let’s just say we enjoyed ourselves a little too much last time around…
As big a name as ever, Rick Astley will be closing out his ‘Are We There Yet?’ tour right here in Manchester. The 57-year-old rose to prominence in the late 80s with era-defining classics like ‘Together Forever’ and a little-known tune called ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, but remains a cultural icon to this day.
Astley is continuing his 21st-century renaissance, having shone at Glastonbury, R&L 2023, Kendal Calling (we can vouch for two out of three of those) in the summer, not mention becoming best mates with Blossoms over the past couple of years.
His almost sold-out show will be coming to the AO Arena on Saturday, 2 March, supported by the legendary Belinda Carlisle and Leigh-based indie-pop group, The Lottery Winners.
ADVERTISEMENT
Why not grab some tickets below? At the end of the day. he’s never gonna let you down, famously.
Irish sensation Niall Horan is back on tour, a world tour! Before moving on to Europe, Asia and the US, he’s closing out the UK leg with a big performance at the AO on Tuesday, 5 March, but be quick because only the last few tickets are available.
The former 1D superstar has continued where he left off with his solo career, giving us ‘Slow Hands’ and ‘This Town’ and building on his already global fanbase. He’s also going to be one of the first acts to play at the new Co-op Live later in the year.
This time out he’s giving us The Show, his third studio album released in the summer and with it the first chance to hear it live. He will be back in Manchester in August, but if you can’t wait until then you know what to do.
We can’t lie, we love a bit of this Irish lad’s stuff and even if you don’t grab tickets to see him, we will be.
Certified chart-topper Ne-Yo is back in the UK in 2024 with setlists guaranteed to be packed out with iconic hits.
The three-time Grammy award winner will be opening and closing his ‘Champagne and Roses Tour’ in Manchester with the first show on Thursday, 7 March. After bouncing around the country for ten dates he’ll be wrapping things up at the AO Arena again on Tuesday, 19 March.
His melodic debut single, 2005’s So Sick’ hit No.1 on the Billboard Top 100 and went on to become a quadruple platinum record. Since then, Ne-Yo’s been dishing out bangers like a busy butcher, ‘Miss Independent’, ‘She Knows’ and ‘Time of Our Lives’ just to name a few.
If one American superstar wasn’t enough, have another. Alongside Ne-Yo, R&B heavyweight Mario will be joining the tour whose track ‘Let Me Love You’ will have a millennial meltdown in the crowd covered… if Ne-Yo hadn’t sorted that already.
Anyone else becomes slightly obsessed with the World Darts Championships over the New Year, and by slightly we mean massively!
ADVERTISEMENT
Well, the Premier League is coming to town on Thursday, 4 April. The world’s top four, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Stockport’s very own Nathan Aspinall will be joined by four wildcards, including a debut season from the teenage phenomenon, Luke Littler.
Disclaimer: Luke ‘The Nuke’ will no longer be 16 years old at this point.
Over 17 weeks in 17 cities, Dart’s biggest names will be battling it out for the coveted title so make sure you take the chance to see it live in our own backyard. Dig out your daft fancy dress and get your ‘180!’s at the ready! You can book your seat on the boring, boring tables (or elsewhere) HERE.
7. The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals
The biggest musicals, all in one night, all in one place? Yep! Hosted by comedian and musical theatre star Jason Manford, the show serves as a special thank you to National Lottery players who have in the past year helped support over 750 theatre-related projects across the UK.
The lineup includes performances from the cast of Hamilton, Disney’s Aladdin, Les Misérables and Grease. The highly coveted event sold out in a matter of hours on first release and the additional few hundred that were released last week were snapped up in the same style.
ADVERTISEMENT
Coming to the AO Arena on Monday, 22 January, it’s only around the corner, so if you we’re fortunate enough to get your hands on some tickets start looking forward to some of the UK’s best stage talent.
It goes without saying that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the gigs, live entertainment and all the other events happening at the AO Arena in 2024.
It’s going to be a great year, we can just feel it.
Keep an eye on our Instagram and dedicated The Manc Audio page to make sure you don’t miss one bit of it — and see you out there!
Featured Images — Supplied/The Manc Group/Marc Benner
Audio
Kylie Minogue in Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for ‘Tension’ tour
Thomas Melia
The unofficial Queen of Australia and Britain’s adopted pop princess, Kylie Minogue, is bringing her dance tracks to Manchester, taking up residence in AO Arena for two nights of pop perfection.
Whether you first got to know Kylie from her stint on Neighbours, her delicious range of branded wines or her marvellous discography, it’s safe to say this star has built quite a legacy.
She loves coming across the pond to the UK and Manchester, specifically, playing the legendary AO Arena over 30 times, and we’re grateful for every single one, especially these two upcoming shows.
Kylie has played at AO Arena, Manchester over 30 times and we’re certainly not complaining.
Now Kylie is returning with her long-awaited ‘Tension Tour’ which features the huge phenomenon that is ‘Padam Padam’ as well as her newest single ‘Lights Camera Action’.
Kylie Minogue UK tour dates
Fri 16 May – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Sat 17 May – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
Mon 19 May – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Tue 20 May – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Thu 22 May – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
Fri 23 May – Sheffield, UK – Utilita Arena
Mon 26 May – London, UK – The O2 Arena
Are there tickets left for Kylie at AO Arena?
If you’re ready to get into the ‘Real Groove’ with this Aussie act, there are two Manchester dates you can get tickets for, and if we didn’t know any better, we’d say she did this ‘Especially for You’.
Fancy spending a night like this with Minogue and her crew on Monday, 19 May? You’ll be able to find tickets HERE.
Better still, if you fancy seeing her back to back or can’t make the first date for whatever reason, she’ll be playing again just 24 hours later.
Kylie Minogue ‘Tension’ tour setlist
According to her most recent gig recorded on the ever-trusty Setlist.fm, anyway…
Lights Camera Action
In Your Eyes
Get Outta My Way
What Do I Have to Do?
Come Into My World
Good As Gone
Spinning Around
Taboo
On a Night Like This
last night i dreamt i fell in love
Better the Devil You Know
Shocked
Things We Do for Love
Dancing
The Loco-Motion
Hold On to Now
Cupid Boy
Kiss Bang Bang
Chocolate
2 Hearts
The One
Where the Wild Roses Grow
Say Something
Supernova / Real Groove / Magic / Where Does the DJ Go?
Confide in Me
Slow
Timebomb
Edge of Saturday Night
Tension
Can’t Get You Out of My Head
All the Lovers
Padam Padam
Love at First Sight
What are the stage times for Kylie in Manchester?
Kylie is heading to AO Arena, Manchester for two nights of the ‘Tension Tour’.
If you’re head is ‘Spinning Around’ trying to work out your plans ahead of the big night, fear not as doors open from 6pm with the show commencing at 7:30pm.
Support comes in the form of Jodie Harsh, a London-based drag queen and music producer, who’ll be tailoring a DJ set especially for both nights of the ‘Tension Tour’.
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm, meaning you can watch this pop princess in action and don’t have to wait ‘A Second to Midnight’ to hear all her timeless hits. Last pun, we promise…
How to get to AO Arena
Tram
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces, including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Social media unite in search for ‘crazed’ fan who stole drum from AO Arena gig last night
Thomas Melia
This past weekend, people online began pulling together to try and find a fan after they stole a drum from a major music artist’s concert at the AO Arena on Sunday night.
When you say the words, “I’ll never forget that gig”, it usually means you had a really great night and, for this fan in particular, we think it’s fair to say that they be forgetting this night anytime soon – you know, many because they took a piece of the set home with them.
That’s right, following Twenty One Pilots’ massive Manc gig at AO Arena as part of their ongoing world tour, some fans were practically frothing at the mouth as the alternative duo did what they do best.
In fact, one individual clearly loved the concert so much that they just had to claim a keepsake, to such an extent that they want as far as steal band member Josh Dun’s drum directly from the stage.
As far as merch and memorabilia go, that might just be the biggest souvenir we’ve ever seen someone swipe from a rock show.
In terms of the night itself, the highly anticipated return to Manchester was a huge success, with the band playing out to flurries of red, orange, yellow and black, thanks to fans sporting the same colours as Twenty One Pilots‘ latest album cover, Clancy.
In the video, the drum – which features the band’s logo on a red-splattered drumhead in the Clancy aesthetic – can be seen being carried out of the venue by a fan from the general standing floor area.
As a result, not only did people on social media quickly begin sleuthing and trying to find the drum thief, but they’re also questioning why fans near the culprit weren’t doing more to get it back to the band.
One user wrote, “Ok but like I would have stopped her?” while another commented, “So I was scared to even take too much confetti with me and she casually STOLE THE DRUM??”
The fan who originally uploaded the video online aid in a subsequent post, “Guys, please, don’t put us to blame for not stopping her, we did all we could but literally no one around us cared about it.” They went on to add: “You’re not putting the blame of her stealing the drum on us, I’m sorry but I’m not having it.”
As you can see, the instrument was eventually located, with Twenty One Pilots’ videographer Sax uploaded a picture to his Instagram profile along with the caption, “We have the drum”, thanking fans for all their efforts in helping track down its whereabouts.
Harry Quick -
10th January 2024 
