Nicki Minaj’s show at Co-op Live in Manchester postponed after star’s arrest in Holland | Ents & Arts News

Nicki Minaj’s concert tonight at Manchester’s Co-op Live, attended by thousands of fans, was postponed at the last minute after she was arrested hours earlier in the Netherlands.

The 41-year-old American singer and rapper was detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on suspicion of possessing light drugs.

And fans had been allowed into the indoor venue in Manchester for the evening, despite the star’s detention.

A post on the arena’s X account shortly after 5.15pm said: “Please note that general admission and premium doors for tonight’s Nicki Minaj show will now open at 7pm.”

Minaj was later released from custody at 9pm (UK time) on Saturday but will have to pay an undisclosed fine for “illegal export of soft drugs from the Netherlands to another country”, Dutch police told Sky News .

Despite her release, she was unable to make it to Manchester and the gig will be moved to a later date, with a statement from promoters Live Nation saying: “Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled show, which will be announced shortly possible”.

It added: “Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every avenue possible to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made that impossible. We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience caused by this.”

In a series of social media posts on X and Instagram, Minaj Earlier, police said they found drugs in her luggage after the items were checked by customs.

She wrote on X that “they said they found weed.” She also claimed they “took my luggage without consent” and “are trying to keep me away from MANCHESTER”.

The messages included one in which she wrote: “This is Amsterdam, by the way, where weed is legal.”

The star, whose hit songs include Starships, Super Bass and Anaconda, also filmed what appeared to be an airport official asking him to check his bags.

Minaj later wrote, “It’s a 45 minute to an hour flight. So she’s probably trying to stay about 4 hours.”

And she added: “Now they said I have to leave in 5 minutes to make a statement about my security at the police station.”

He hasn’t posted on X since.

Asked about Minaj, Robert van Kapel, a spokesman for the Netherlands’ Marechaussee military police, previously told US Sky News partner NBC News: “We can confirm that we have arrested a 41-year-old American woman at Schiphol Airport for possession of soft drugs”.

Connor Wynne, who is a fan of the singer, was in the front row in Manchester and had hoped to see her perform tonight.

He told Sky News: “So the organizers … haven’t told us anything at the moment like what’s going on with it. But we are waiting to find out if it will come. We’re hopeful because we’ve all been let into the arena and it’s filling up nicely and we have a good space. So let’s pray and hope it comes.

As part of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour, Minaj is set to perform in Birmingham on Sunday, followed by a concert at London’s O2 arena next Tuesday.

She is then due to play in Glasgow on Wednesday, followed by a gig on Thursday, again at Manchester’s Co-op Live.

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The beleaguered £365m arena – Britain’s largest indoor entertainment venue – opened earlier this month after being plagued by a series of problems.

There were weeks of setbacks, cancellations and postponements before the live music finally began there on May 14, when Manchester rock band Elbow took to the stage.

The problems included part of the building’s ventilation and air conditioning system falling to the ground from the ceiling during a sound test in early May.

The 23,500-capacity venue was originally due to open in full with two Peter Kay stand-up shows on April 23 and 24, but those dates were pushed back when problems arose at a test event hosted by Ricky Astley.

The arena then scheduled American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie to open the arena on May 1, but it was canceled just over an hour before the show and after the doors opened to the fans – because the ventilation system came off.

The ventilation problem meant that scheduled performances by US pop star Olivia Rodrigo and British band Keane were postponed, while a number of shows by Take That were moved to Manchester’s AO Arena.