Keane announce rescheduled date for Co-op Live gig
The £365 million venue has postponed its opening numerous times in the last few weeks due to ‘technical issues’.
English rock band Keane have announced their postponed Co-op Live gig has been rescheduled for October.
The music venue in Manchester has postponed its opening multiple times in recent weeks, with a Keane show billed to take place on May 5 among the casualties.
A post on X said: “We’re pleased to announce that our gig at Manchester Co-op Live will be rescheduled for Saturday 19th October 2024.
“This show is very special to us and we want to make sure we can give you the best possible experience.
“Thank you for bearing with us and for your love and support.”
On May 2 in an social media post, the group said they were “really disappointed” as they revealed their performance had been postponed due to “ongoing technical issues”.
They wrote: “We’re absolutely gutted not to be able to celebrate 20 years of Hopes And Fears with you at the Co-op Live on Sunday.
“This is due to ongoing technical issues at the venue and is entirely beyond our control.”
The statement added: “We are really disappointed that this has happened and are doing all we can to reschedule the show.”
Following the postponement, the £365 million venue provided an update and said it would be taking “a short pause to events at Co-op Live to fully ensure the safety and security of fans and artists visiting the venue”.
The day prior, a gig by American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was cancelled at the last minute due to a “technical issue” during a soundcheck.
It is understood that a nozzle from the ventilation and air conditioning system fell to the ground from the ceiling shortly before the event was due to take place.
In the update, Tim Leiweke, chairman and chief executive of US-based venue operator Oak View Group, apologised for the delays and to “all those that have been affected” and revealed that the the building would be “up and running” from May 14.
British rock band Elbow are the next artists scheduled to perform at the indoor arena and they will be the venue’s opening act if the performance goes ahead as planned.
The issues have led to the venue rescheduling a Black Keys gig and dates for Peter Kay’s stand-up shows.
Olivia Rodrigo’s two gigs were also postponed and will be rescheduled, with new dates yet to be announced.
After A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s concert was postponed, he moved it to the AO Arena as did Take That, who are performing a slew of shows at the venue up until May 12
The issues at the new venue began following a test event in April, which led to Co-op Live announcing it would have to reschedule dates for Peter Kay’s stand-up show.
Kay, who was meant to be the “first artist in the world to perform at Manchester Co-op Live”, according to promotional posters, had his shows moved to April 29 and 30 before they moved again to May 23 and May 24, as the venue was still not ready to open.
The arena’s general manager, Gary Roden, announced his resignation last month following the slew of issues that led to the delays in the venue opening.
A Co-op Group spokesperson previously said: “Co-op is a sponsor and does not own or run the venue, and we have made it clear to Oak View Group, who are responsible for the building, that the impact on ticketholders must be addressed as a priority.
“We are pleased that they will shortly be putting plans in place to do so.”
They added that safety checks would be independently verified so Co-op members and other ticket holders “can be reassured that the venue has the very highest levels of security and safety measures”.
