US singer Olivia Rodrigo expressed her dismay as she found herself ensnared in the ongoing crisis at Manchester’s beleaguered Co-op Live arena.
Originally scheduled to kick off her UK tour with two highly anticipated performances at the newly minted venue, Rodrigo faced disappointment when her shows were abruptly canceled.
This decision followed the postponement of the arena’s opening for the third time, triggered by technical glitches that thwarted rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s scheduled performance.
In an emotional message to her fans, Rodrigo shared her profound disappointment at the cancellation of her eagerly awaited concerts.
Not only were Rodrigo’s admirers left disheartened, but many also found themselves financially impacted. Scott Tostevin from Guernsey recounted how he and his friends had invested significant sums in flights and accommodations for the now-canceled event.
The postponement of shows by such a prominent artist further tarnishes the reputation of the Manchester arena, already marred by a series of delays.
The £365m venue, boasting a capacity of 23,500, had initially slated comedian Peter Kay to inaugurate its opening, but his shows too faced multiple postponements.
The decision to cancel Rodrigo’s shows was made in the aftermath of A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s concert cancellation, leaving fans stranded outside the venue and sparking frustration among ticket-holders.
The arena’s management attributed the cancellation to a mishap during a soundcheck, wherein a component of the HVAC system malfunctioned, necessitating comprehensive testing to avert further incidents.
While acknowledging the inconvenience caused to attendees, the venue’s operators, Oak View Group, cited a factory defect with a component as the root cause of the issue.
Despite efforts to inform attendees promptly, many fans like Katie Barnsley found themselves in transit to the venue when news of the cancellation broke, compounding their disappointment and financial losses.
Outside the arena, disappointed fans expressed their frustration over the lack of organization and communication surrounding the event’s cancellation, highlighting the impact on their time and resources.
“They came out with these sheets of paper saying ‘we’re sorry about this’, but we’d found out already from people shouting, people running around shouting that it’s cancelled before they [the staff] even came out themselves.”
Teoni Kirkham, 21, said: “We literally hopped out of our Uber and just saw everybody turning around and walking the opposite way. We found out literally when we got here.
“It’s just messy, really. It seems like there’s no organisation. With Ticketmaster on my phone, I thought, surely if it’s been cancelled I would have got notification. They’ve not done a good job I don’t think.”
