Extra security at arena for concert
THE Ricoh Arena in Coventry will be reviewing its security measures ahead of the Robbie Williams concert taking place there next month.
It is one of a host of Midland concert venues moving to reassure concert goers about their safety following last week’s terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena.
Robbie Williams will perform at the Ricoh Arena on Tuesday June 13 as part of his Heavy Entertainment Show Tour, a visit which was hailed as a major coup for the venue.
Andy Gibb, managing director of the Ricoh Arena, said: “Firstly, our thoughts and condolences go out to all those caught up in the atrocity, and to our colleagues at the Manchester Arena.
“The Ricoh Arena hosts a wide variety of large events and, like all venues, the safety and wellbeing of our customers is our number one priority.
“We have a meeting of our security group today and will be reviewing all the measures we have in place ahead of the Robbie Williams concert next month and other events at the venue.”
The NEC Group - which owns the Genting Arena in Solihull and the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham - also issued a statement today following the terror attack which killed 22 people and wounded dozens more.
Ariana Grande performed at the Genting Arena last Thursday and there are a number of high profile shows coming this weekend including Slam Dunk Festival at the NEC and Kiss at the Barclaycard Arena on Sunday.
Ariana Grande has since cancelled her world tour following the attack in Manchester.
NEC Group chief executive Paul Thandi said: “Our thoughts are with those who were affected by the terrible incident at the Manchester Arena last night. We’re shocked and saddened by what has happened.
“Public safety at our events is our priority and we have a number of security measures in place which we continue to review.
“We don’t discuss specific security details as doing so is potentially detrimental to these measures, however, we do use a number of different security techniques.
“Our teams – who liaise with the police, exhibition and conference organisers and concert promoters on an on-going basis – are vigilant at all times and review security measures as necessary. We encourage those attending our events to also remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to our security staff or police.”
Shows at the Genting Arena coming up include four nights of Take That as well as Elton John.