From near-disaster to a 'life-affirming' moment: This is the story of Co-Op Live so far

Yahoo

14-05-2025

On this day exactly 12 months ago, the crowd at Co-op Live was turned into the most beautiful choir.
The song of choice? One Day Like This, by the Bury band Elbow. The group were the first to play the UK's largest indoor arena as it finally opened its doors following a string of delays and setbacks.
It was life-affirming stuff. A spine-tingling moment that saw frontman Guy Garvey cover his microphone and direct the 23,000-strong crowd in a rendition of the song as they delivered an electrifying harmony.
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A beautiful moment that I feel lucky to have captured on my phone that night. Until Elbow had walked out on stage though, I, like many others, wondered if the UK's largest live entertainment venue would ever open its doors.
Mired in technical issues which resulted in delay after delay, cancelled and rescheduled shows, and many fans out of pocket for their travel and accommodation, it was not the strongest of starts.
Located at Etihad Campus, the 23,500-capacity venue came to fruition out of a partnership between American commercial real estate company Oak View Group (OVG), beloved popstar Harry Styles, City Football Group and Co-op.
Three years were spent building the indoor venue next to the Manchester City ground, but it took four attempts to open it.
Peter Kay was due to launch the venue but a test event headlined by Rick Astley days before highlighted just how far they were from being able to welcome fans - and even the Bolton comedian started to have a sense of humour failure.
As it turned out, a snag list longer than your arm and ticketing issues would turn out to be just the start of a three-week saga.
Other acts including The Black Keys and Olivia Rodrigo had to push back their gigs and Take That even moved some of theirs to the AO Arena in the interim as OVG battled with delays to the build and ensuring the stringent safety requirements for the venue were met.
Hopes were raised when queues started to form outside for American rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie in early May, but then part of the ventilation system crashed to the floor, and fans were turned away at the eleventh hour.
You can imagine the relief when Elbow took the stage a couple of weeks later, as days on end of chaos and despair were turned into jubilation and euphoria, as the state-of-the-art building finally got its long overdue moment in the spotlight.
Since then, Co-op Live has played host to 105 live shows, playing to some 1.5m people in the process with artists like Liam Gallagher, the Eagles, Paul McCartney, Sabrina Carpenter and Burna Boy all playing sold out gigs.
Economically, its impact has been huge - a major vote of confidence for the region's economy and Manchester's entertainment industry.
The independent economic analysis says the arena has delivered a £785.5M boost to the UK economy, with a total turnover of £1.3 billion since first breaking ground next to the Etihad Stadium in Manchester in 2021.
In its first year of operations alone, the new report says Co-op Live has achieved £852.2M in turnover and £455.5M in "Gross Value Added" (GVA) - a measure that reflects the additional value added to the economy, including hospitality and tourism spend at Manchester' hotels, bars, restaurants and transport network too.
A year ago, the perimeter of the venue was a sea of high-vis jackets, building equipment and stewards racing hurriedly around the exits.
Today, it's a much different picture as one of the greatest performers of all times prepares for the first of three sellout shows at the venue.
Fans from all across the world are queued up outside in anticipation of the Bruce Springsteen's first gig, while around 1,000 staff are working to make sure it is one of the best experiences of the year for them.
And, rather than talking about what could go wrong, we're talking about major milestones for the venue. For example, tonight will be the first time the arena is used with a 360-degree stage since opening.
Now that it has had time to breathe, time for music fans to experience it, and opportunities to make the necessary tweaks, it's far easier to see what it represents.
It is a reflection of Manchester's ambition. The city is now home to the UK's two biggest arenas in terms of capacity and that fact shouldn't be overlooked.
It means more scope for booking the biggest musicians, hosting international award ceremonies and sports events, and putting Manchester on the map as one of - if not the best - cities for live entertainment.
It means UK-exclusive gigs and events will be held right here in Manchester, bringing more visitors, more investment and more money to the region.
We're not shy about shouting about what we do well here, but venues like Co-op Live, the AO Arena and Aviva Studios, despite their critics, are important for boosting our cultural currency, and showcasing both local and international talent.
We demonstrated with the Chanel fashion show at the back end of 2023 that we have not only possess the ambition but also the means to host events that would typically be held in the capital. Now, we're building momentum with these flagship buildings and event programming at the heart of it.
The live experience within Co-op Live is impressive. Having reported from the venue several times over the last 12 months, I can say that with each visit it does in fact get better.
Stewards are approachable and helpful, there's very little confusion about which gate to head to anymore, and the bars and food outlets - albeit very pricey as you might expect - run seamlessly.
Then there's the gigs. The space feels both vast and intimate, which I'm sure for both performers and guests is the best of both worlds. For me, it feels truly electric when you're in there.
But having grown up saving up pocket money and wage slips going to gigs in Manchester and further afield, I just really hope it can be accessible.
Though not set by the venue, gig ticket prices have frankly become outrageous in recent years.
I remember going to see Katy Perry at the AO Arena around 15 years ago for around £25, now we're looking at fans shelling out hundreds of pounds for these experiences, which I believe for younger people is just not feasible.
The artists may well set the prices, but I would like to see venues such as Co-op continue to be part of the wider conversation about how this is tackled going forward. What's the point in these blockbuster shows if the real fans can't event attend?
We also shouldn't look past the issues some fans have about availability around parking, and time spent exiting the venue. I usually opt to walk back to Manchester Piccadilly rather than wait in the long queues for the tram. But at least there is a signposted and safe walking route back to the station.
All that being said, I think we're moving in the right direction. I love seeing fans heading into the venue and experiencing it for the first time and I hope tonight, when Bruce Springsteen walks out onto stage with the E Street band, that just like a year ago, we're delivered the spine-tingling moment as the room swells with the sound of 23,5000 singing in harmony along with The Boss himself.