Co-op Live show axes continue as Take That announce move to rival venue
The ongoing palaver that is the Co-op Live's struggles to open have seen yet another headline act announce that things are changing.
This time, an act has declared that the show will go on, but at a rival venue in Manchester.
Take That have announced that they're moving their show from Co-op Live to the AO Arena following the chaos of the venue's opening.
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The band said: "Given the ongoing technical issues around the opening of the Co-Op Live Arena we have taken the difficult decision to move our May shows to the AO Arena where we have enjoyed many great nights over the years.
"This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we wanted to give our fans as much notice as possible.
"We’re mindful many of you will already have travel and accommodation plans in place, so we have chosen this option to minimise inconvenience to as many people as possible.
"Our dates in June in Manchester remain unaffected."
LADbible has contacted Co-op Live for comment.
They're the second act to announce they're going to the AO Arena instead of Co-op Live.
Here are the other shows that have been affected or cancelled by the venue, so far, for one reason or another:
Rick Astley - Test event (21 April)
The 80s' pop star was called in to perform a test event for a crowd of 11,000 that consisted of arena workers, VIPs and press.
But about than an hour before the event, as many as 4,000 tickets were cancelled, with invitees left furious.
The Co-op Live Arena stated that they 'made the difficult decision to reduce overall capacity for today’s test event' to test the new spaces 'effectively'.
Peter Kay - Opening event (23-24 April)
The comedian was set to be the venue's first official act, as he announced it earlier this year along with his comeback tour dates.
However, following a delay in construction, he was forced to postpone his shows to 29-30 April - and after more delays, he has been made to move his dates again, to 23-24 May.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he stated: "I know I can’t believe it either."
The Black Keys (27 April)
The rock duo were also hit with the construction delay, and have been made to push their show back to 15 May.
The Black Keys said: “At Co-op Live’s request, we have agreed to reschedule to 15 May.
"We look forward to hitting the stage when everything is up and running.”
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie (1 May)
During his soundcheck, the air conditioning unit in question fell from the gantry, which has caused further delays to upcoming shows.
He has decided to move his show to the AO Arena on 4 May.
Olivia Rodrigo (3-4 May)
The artist said she was 'disappointed' in a post on her Instagram story, but stated that she was working with her team to find new dates for her GUTS shows.
There has not been an update on new dates, since the postponement announcement on 1 May.
LADbible has contacted Co-op Live for comment.
Joe Harker