The star was scheduled to perform at the new arena. (Getty)
Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Manchester tour dates have been postponed after issues at the new Co-op Live Arena in a move which fans have called “a joke”.
The “good 4 u” hitmaker kicked off her UK and European leg of her tour after performing at Dublin’s 3Arena on 30 April, playing tracks from her latest album Guts, as well as her debut album, Sour.
Rodrigo was originally scheduled to perform on 3 and 4 May at the new Manchester-based venue, but Co-op Live said the shows would be postponed due to ongoing technical issues.
Venue organisers took to X (formerly Twitter) on 1 May – two days prior to the first show’s intended date – where they wrote: “Due to an on-going venue-related technical issue, the scheduled performances of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3rd and 4th May are being postponed.
“Ticket holders can either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund at point of purchase.”
On the same day, the venue cancelled its opening night with rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie while fans were already queuing outside. “We kindly ask fans to leave the area. Tickets holders will receive further information in due course,” it said on X at the time.
On the social media platform, the arena noted the “significant inconvenience” of postponing Rodrigo’s shows, but fans were disappointed with the lack of notice. One fan “flew from Chile to be here” for the show, and explained on TikTok that they now “probably won’t be able to go” when the show gets rescheduled.
“This is a joke,” another person said in response to the arena’s X announcement. “My daughter has paid for travel and [a] hotel to get there and [it’s] cancelled. You said it was going ahead last week. This place needs shutting down.”
“Compensation claim!”, said another. “Hotel, trains a waste of 2 days off work. Absolute joke. You could have warned people earlier since you knew at 3.30pm when a light fitting fell off the ceiling (one of your lovely staff advised me of this). Co-op dead rather than co-op live!”
The Oak View Group, which is responsible for the venue building, explained that part of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system had separated from the ductwork, but no one had been hurt.
“We appreciate the inconvenience this will cause for many, and are deeply sorry for all those impacted,” it said in a statement.