Co-op Live stress ‘will be long forgotten’ once it opens, says promoter

EVERYONE affected by the Manchester Co-op Live delays is “frustrated and disappointed” but the weeks of stress will be “long forgotten” once the venue opens, a concert promoter has said.

The new £365m venue has postponed its opening numerous times in the last few weeks owing to “technical issues”, causing a string of concerts to be rescheduled or moved to Manchester’s AO Arena.

American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie played to a packed crowd at AO Arena on Saturday night after his show was cancelled at the last minute on Wednesday, while shows by US singer Olivia Rodrigo and British rockers Keane planned for this weekend at Co-op Live were postponed.

Stuart Galbraith, vice chair of the Concert Promoters Association, told the PA news agency: “I think everyone is frustrated and disappointed, but I don’t think anybody is saying that it’s necessarily anybody’s ‘fault’.

“And to be quite frank, after what the live industry and society went through generally during Covid, we can cope with anything.

“On March 16, 2020, our entire industry, not just one venue, our entire industry was closed down with 24 hours’ notice for two years, so everybody is very used to rescheduling concerts.”

He said venues, promoters and ticket agents were now “very experienced” at moving shows, with his company rescheduling 350 concerts during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fans due to attend the affected Co-op Live events, which also included shows by comedian Peter Kay, the Black Keys and Take That, have expressed their frustration at the last-minute changes, as many had already paid for accommodation and made arrangements.

Mr Galbraith said the “inconvenience and stress” on customers had been “awful”, but also noted that the building’s operating team would have felt a great deal of pressure.

“I’m sure that nobody would have wanted the events to be postponed in a way they have been postponed”, he added.

But he said that he felt that in a few months’ time “these few weeks of stress will be long forgotten once they’ve got up and running”.

Asked how he could be sure opinions would change, Mr Galbraith said this was not the first time he had dealt with venues being delayed in opening.

“Wembley Stadium was a year late opening. I think everyone would agree it’s probably one of our best stadiums in the country”, he said.