Co-Op Live air vent accident was almost “catastrophic”, says boss – who blames lack of workers for opening problems

nme.com:

set to open three weeks ago with a performance from comedian Peter Kay, however this gig, along with a show by The Black Keys, was pushed back at the last minute due to the building not being ready.The delays continued from there, as organisers announced on May 1 that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie‘s show was cancelled following a “venue-related technical issue”.

Shortly afterwards, they also axed Olivia Rodrigo’s gigs – which left her “so disappointed” – as well as shows by Keane and Take That, with the latter relocating their dates to the rival AO Arena.Unsurprisingly, the slew of issues facing the arena led to music lovers coming forward to express their frustration at the postponements, and branded the venue as “Manchester’s own Fyre Festival”.The issue at hand was revealed to be due to part of the ventilation system falling from the ceiling during Boogie’s soundcheck, and the bosses of the venue being forced to keep the venue closed until it was safe.“If that was 15 minutes later, something catastrophic could have happened,” Tim Leiweke, chief executive of the arena’s operator Oak View Group, told BBC News.He also went on to explain that one of 95 pre-manufactured filters had fallen and landed in the standing area just before doors were set to open, and there had been “no way” to have known that it wasn’t installed correctly beforehand.Speaking with Financial Times, he went on to blame a shortage of labour workers at the venue for the series of delays, adding that organisers of Co-Op Live “couldn’t find people to work” to get the site ready in time.He echoed the sentiment to BBC too, explaining that the issue with the air vent was because those hired to install it “didn’t put the bolts in”.