MANCHESTER, UK (CelebrityAccess) — In the latest in a string of setbacks for Manchester’s newest arena, American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was forced to postpone a show at Co-Op Live due to what was described as a “venue-related technical issue.”
According to the Manchester Evening News, fans were already in the arena for the concert on Wednesday night but were asked to leave following an incident during soundcheck when an object, possibly an air conditioning component, fell from a gantry into the arena.
“Due to a venue-related technical issue, tonight’s A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie show will no longer go ahead. We kindly ask fans to leave the area. Ticket holders will receive further information in due course. We deeply apologize for the significant inconvenience this will cause for many,” the venue shared on social media after the incident.
Following the abrupt postponement, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie announced that his performance at the arena has been shifted to take place on Saturday at nearby AO Arena
“Yesterday’s canceled Manchester show has been Rescheduled for this Saturday at AO Arena! We won’t give up that easy let’s go!” he shared via social media.
In addition, the venue announced on Wednesday that Olivia Rodrigo’s two upcoming shows at the arena have been postponed as well. The shows, part of Rodrigo’s ‘Guts’ world tour, were slated for May 3 & 4.
The postponed shows continue a challenging streak for Co-Op Live, which officially opened its doors last month after a lengthy £365m build-out.
A soft opening featuring a performance by Rick Astley faced reduced capacity due to what was described as electrical issues. Grand opening performances by comedian Peter Kay, which were originally set for for April 23 and 24, were rescheduled to April 29 and 30 due to delays in power testing.
A subsequent concert by The Black Keys, originally set for April 27, was postponed to May 15, while the Peter Kay shows again rescheduled, this time to May 23 and 24.
Tim Leiweke, the CEO of venue operator Oak View Group, told the Guardian that the venue’s team was still working through a checklist of more than 600 issues to resolve.
“Finding skilled labor is a lot harder to do right now in the UK than it was before Brexit,” Leiweke told the newspaper.
