Peter Kay has had to cancel some of his shows at the Manchester Co-op Live due to the building being behind schedule
Peter Kay has taken a brutal swipe at Co-op Live after a slew of gig cancellations.
The comedian has had to cancel some of his shows due to the opening of the venue being behind schedule. The 50-year-old has now taken a swipe at venue bosses as he announced the dates when his shows would be rescheduled to.
He has released a new poster where the previous dates were crossed out and the new dates were on display. But in his true comedic style, he also added an asterisk to the bottom right hand corner and wrote: “If they actually open the place.”
Peter was forced to cancel his gigs last week because of the delayed opening of Manchester’s new £350m arena. It was first due to open on April 23 and is said to be competing with the 02 Arena for some of the world’s biggest sporting and music events. Friday saw Peter take to his social media to explain that he wouldn’t yet be able to perform.
He said: “My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready and so, as yet, remains untested for a large-scale audience. Consequently, they are having to reschedule my two shows yet again (I know I can’t believe it either). It’s very disappointing but your safety is very important, and I won’t compromise that.”
He then gave some suggested reschedule dates but said if they aren’t suitable then refunds for tickets will be issued. The dates have been delayed until May 23 and 24.
The comedian’s show would have been the grand opening for the city’s new venue which is the largest in the UK. Originally the two shows were postponed to just a few days later but this was swiftly changed when it was realised the venue would still not be ready to open its doors.
Issues with opening the venue were revealed last Saturday when a capacity test was reduced with just a few hours notice due to power issues. Photos from Tuesday also showed that construction work was still taking place on the building.
Gary Roden, who was the general manager of the venue, quit his job before the venue was even able to open. Mr Roden stepped down after he was accused of being “disrespectful” and “disingenuous” after claiming that grassroots music venues were often “poorly run”.
A statement released by the arena said it did not “share the sentiment” expressed by its now-former general manager and that “Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond”. The statement thanked Mr Roden for his “help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future”.
Mirror Online has reached out to Co-op Live for comment.
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