Manchester’s Co-Op Live expects Elbow opening gig to go ahead after series of delays

Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena said Elbow’s upcoming show will now serve as the venue’s long-delayed opening night.

Guy Garvey and co. are scheduled to play on May 14 as part of their current UK tour on May 14, which will be the UK’s largest indoor venue with a capacity of 23,500.

The arena has had a disastrous few weeks after a series of events prevented it from opening its doors on time.

But the venue has now confirmed Manchester Evening News that, “At this time, we do not expect any additional impact on our opening season.”

The same report suggests that Co-Op Live is still working on rescheduling Olivia Rodrigo’s postponed shows, with an announcement expected in due course.

The BBC Also note that the arena has completed an inspection which found that the mistake that forced the delay of A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on May 1st has been “isolated” and that the venue is now “satisfied” that the opening can take place on May 14th.

The inspection was reportedly carried out by the same subcontractor, SES, which was also responsible for installing the arena’s air handling units. A piece of the ventilation system that fell from the ceiling caused the A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie concert to be canceled at the last minute.

“In consultation with Manchester City Council, responsible authorities and wider stakeholders, we are satisfied with the process and outcome of the investigation which identifies the HVAC nozzle as an isolated production default,” Co-Op Live said in a statement.

“This is a standard review process at any venue when such an incident occurs. We now look forward to welcoming fans to Elbow’s opening show on May 14, 2024.”

Co-Op Live was due to debut with comedian Peter Kay on April 23 and 24. However, following a test event with Rick Astley on 22 April, his concerts were postponed until the end of April, with the venue citing technical issues.

Later, a concert by The Black Keys that was scheduled for April 27 had to be moved to May 15, and the Peter Kay shows were moved for a second time. These are now expected to take place on May 23 and 24. After the second postponement, Kay shared a statement with fans, explaining that he was “disappointed” by the news.

Organizers initially assured ticket holders that all other shows scheduled for the new venue would go ahead as planned. However, they announced on Wednesday (May 1), just 10 minutes after doors opened, that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s show had been canceled due to a “technical issue with the venue”. Soon after, they also canceled upcoming concerts by Olivia Rodrigo – who left her “so disappointed” – as well as shows by Keane and Take That, with the latter moving their dates to the rival AO Arena.

Elbow are currently in the middle of a run of headline UK dates, with the band set to play in Birmingham on Friday (May 10), with shows in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham to come in the coming week. Find all the dates here and pick up any remaining tickets here.

On March 22, the band released their tenth studio album “Audio Vertigo”. In a four star review, NME wrote: “This is a record to be enjoyed in its fullest form, with all its hearty meat, mirrorball flashes and grizzly spikes. “Audio Vertigo” is their best record in years and one to blow the cobwebs off some sleepy arenas this summer.”

Talking to NME Last October, Garvey described it as a “big fat register” that has “definitely some dirt under its fingernails”.

“He’s into some pretty cool stuff,” the frontman explained. “There are some healthy songs in there, but overall there’s everything from maniacal revulsion from the point of view of a leader who’s lost his mind, to truly harrowing portraits of toxic relationships failing — all set for a look really thick, guitar, drums and groove stuff.”

He continued: “As always, it’s produced by Craig Potter – who’s getting more and more into his hip-hop – and Al our drummer wrote more on this record. We all share a love of bands like The Meters, so it’s kind of garage in a way with Vox organs and a lot of American country sounds.