Take That moves shows from Manchester’s Co-op Live venue over ‘ongoing technical issues’
Take That say they are moving their shows in May from the new Co-op Live venue to a different Manchester arena.
The pop group wrote on X: “Given the ongoing technical issues around the opening of Co-op Live we have taken the difficult decision to move our May shows to the AO Arena.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we wanted to give our fans as much notice as possible.”
All of their May shows have been transferred and are on the same dates as before except for 8 May which has been moved to 9 May.
Two planned shows at the 23,500-capacity Co-op Live in June were unaffected, the band said.
On Thursday, British rock group Keane, who were due to play there on Sunday, said they were “absolutely gutted” to cancel the gig because of “ongoing technical issues beyond our control. We are doing all we can to reschedule the show.”
The Co-op Live arena in Manchester. Pic: PA
The £365m music venue, which has postponed its opening numerous times, said it will be taking “a short pause to events” before welcoming members of the public to the arena from 14 May.
In a statement, Co-op Live put the latest delay down to an issue with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
The pause would, it said, “fully ensure the safety and security of fans and artists” and allow for an “independent inspection of all elements of the arena ceiling”.
“At this time, we do not expect further impact on our opening season. We are aware our actions have frustrated and angered ticket holders.”
It comes after the UK’s biggest indoor arena was hit by problems before it had even opened – with scheduled gigs, including performances this Friday and Saturday by US singer Olivia Rodrigo – cancelled at short notice.
The three-time Grammy-winner said in an Instagram story she was upset at the cancellations, adding: “We’re doing our best to reschedule the show.”
US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was scheduled to perform there on Wednesday, before cancelling with fans already starting to gather outside, leaving many furious.
He said on X on Thursday his show had also been moved to the AO Arena on Saturday. He said: “We won’t give up that easy let’s go!”
It is understood a nozzle from the ventilation and air conditioning system fell to the ground from the ceiling shortly before he was due on stage.
No one was injured but the venue management decided to cancel the Bronx rapper’s show.
The main contractor for the arena, the construction firm BAM said: “Unfortunately, in the run-up to last night’s concert, an issue arose that meant the difficult decision was made to cancel the event.
“We apologise for the inconvenience that this has caused for many. Our team continues to work diligently on completing works to the arena.”
Tim Leiweke, chairman and chief executive of US-based venue operator, Oak View Group (OVG), said: “We could not and will not run any event until it is absolutely safe to do so. I deeply apologise for the impact that this has had on ticket holders and fans.”
The Co-op Group, which has reportedly paid up to £100m in a 15-year deal to have its name on the ill-fated arena, said it will seek a “full explanation” from OVG.
On Friday, Peter Kay, who was scheduled to be the first performer at the venue, said he had been forced to postpone his two shows for a second time.
Peter Kay. File pic: PA
The comedian was originally due to perform on 23 and 24 April, but the gigs, which were first pushed back to 29 and 30 April – have since been delayed until 23 and 24 May.
The first gigs had to be postponed with less than 48 hours’ notice following a test event.
The Eagles, Janet Jackson and Eric Clapton are due to play the arena, but so far only a test event by Rick Astley has gone ahead.
The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.
The US president told reporters in Canada: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”
Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, describing it as a “really important agreement”.
“So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength,” the prime minister added.
Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.
However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.
Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”
He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.
“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”
Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.
As the pair exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, Mr Trump held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.
Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Sir Keir quickly stooped to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”
Sir Keir Starmer picks up paper from the UK-US trade deal after Donald Trump dropped it at the G7 summit. Pic: Reuters
The US president also appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.
Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.
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In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.
Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.
Whitehall officials tried to convince Michael Gove to go to court to cover up the grooming scandal in 2011, Sky News can reveal.
Dominic Cummings, who was working for Lord Gove at the time, has told Sky News that officials in the Department for Education (DfE) wanted to help efforts by Rotherham Council to stop a national newspaper from exposing the scandal.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Cummings said that officials wanted a “total cover-up”.
Politics latest: Grooming gangs findings unveiled
The revelation shines a light on the institutional reluctance of some key officials in central government to publicly highlight the grooming gang scandal.
In 2011, Rotherham Council approached the Department for Education asking for help following inquiries by The Times. The paper’s then chief reporter, the late Andrew Norfolk, was asking about sexual abuse and trafficking of children in Rotherham.
The council went to Lord Gove’s Department for Education for help. Officials considered the request and then recommended to Lord Gove’s office that the minister back a judicial review which might, if successful, stop The Times publishing the story.
Lord Gove rejected the request on the advice of Mr Cummings. Sources have independently confirmed Mr Cummings’ account.
Education Secretary Michael Gove in 2011. Pic: PA
Mr Cummings told Sky News: “Officials came to me in the Department of Education and said: ‘There’s this Times journalist who wants to write the story about these gangs. The local authority wants to judicially review it and stop The Times publishing the story’.
“So I went to Michael Gove and said: ‘This council is trying to actually stop this and they’re going to use judicial review. You should tell the council that far from siding with the council to stop The Times you will write to the judge and hand over a whole bunch of documents and actually blow up the council’s JR (judicial review).’
“Some officials wanted a total cover-up and were on the side of the council…
“They wanted to help the local council do the cover-up and stop The Times’ reporting, but other officials, including in the DfE private office, said this is completely outrageous and we should blow it up. Gove did, the judicial review got blown up, Norfolk stories ran.”
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Grooming gangs victim speaks out
The judicial review wanted by officials would have asked a judge to decide about the lawfulness of The Times’ publication plans and the consequences that would flow from this information entering the public domain.
A second source told Sky News that the advice from officials was to side with Rotherham Council and its attempts to stop publication of details it did not want in the public domain.
One of the motivations cited for stopping publication would be to prevent the identities of abused children entering the public domain.
There was also a fear that publication could set back the existing attempts to halt the scandal, although incidents of abuse continued for many years after these cases.
Sources suggested that there is also a natural risk aversion amongst officials to publicity of this sort.
Read more on grooming gangs:
What we do and don’t know from the data
A timeline of the scandal
Mr Cummings, who ran the Vote Leave Brexit campaign and was Boris Johnson’s right-hand man in Downing Street, has long pushed for a national inquiry into grooming gangs to expose failures at the heart of government.
He said the inquiry, announced today, “will be a total s**tshow for Whitehall because it will reveal how much Whitehall worked to try and cover up the whole thing.”
He also described Mr Johnson, with whom he has a long-standing animus, as a “moron’ for saying that money spent on inquiries into historic child sexual abuse had been “spaffed up the wall”.
Asked by Sky News political correspondent Liz Bates why he had not pushed for a public inquiry himself when he worked in Number 10 in 2019-20, Mr Cummings said Brexit and then COVID had taken precedence.
“There are a million things that I wanted to do but in 2019 we were dealing with the constitutional crisis,” he said.
The Department for Education and Rotherham Council have been approached for comment.
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