Nicki Minaj’s concert at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, attended by thousands of fans, has been postponed at the last minute after she was arrested hours earlier in the Netherlands.

The American singer and rapper, 41, was held at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possession of soft drugs.

And fans had been let into the Manchester indoor venue on Saturday evening despite the star’s detention.

A post on the arena’s X account said shortly after 5.15pm: “Please note that general admission and premium doors for tonight’s Nicki Minaj show will now open at 19:00.”

What’s going on at Manchester’s Co-op Live?

Minaj was later released from custody just before 9pm but she will have to pay an undisclosed fine for “illegally exporting soft drugs from the Netherlands to another country”, Dutch police told Sky News.

Despite her release, she was not able to make it to Manchester and the gig will be moved to a later date with a statement from promoters Live Nation saying: “Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance which will be announced ASAP.”

It added: “Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible. We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”

In a series of social media posts on X and Instagram, Minaj earlier claimed police said they found drugs in her luggage after items were checked by customs.

She wrote on X that “they said they found weed”. She also claimed “they took my luggage without consent” and “they’re trying to keep me from MANCHESTER”.

The messages also included one where she wrote: “This is Amsterdam btw, where weed is legal.”

The star, whose hit songs include Starships, Super Bass and Anaconda, also filmed what appeared to be an airport official asking her to have her luggage checked.

Minaj later wrote: “It’s a 45 minute to an hour flight. So they’re probably trying to stall for about 4 hours.”

And she added: “Now they said I have to go 5 mins away to make a statement about my security to the police precinct.”

Asked about Minaj, Robert van Kapel, a spokesman for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee military police, earlier told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News: “We can confirm that we have arrested a 41-year-old American woman at Schiphol Airport because of possession of soft drugs.”

Fans of the singer expressed their dismay at the decision to postpone the concert.

“Die-hard Nicki fan” Charu, who had travelled from Liverpool for the show, said the evening was “so ridiculously disappointing”.

“My sister and I had been looking forward to this for months. I’m in the middle of taking my medical school exams and I had been working around this day and was so looking forward to it,” they said.

“People around us said they’d travelled from Ireland and Scotland, paid for hotels for the night in Manchester, which is not cheap.

“So the fact that tickets will be refunded or still valid for another concert doesn’t really put into perspective the time and money that we have all spent on this night.”

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They added: “Her team surely would have known that the concert tonight was not going to be possible but to wait until 9.30pm to let us know feels disrespectful of our time and efforts.”

Charu said that concert-goers were “sobbing” after the announcement, and they will not be getting their hopes up about attending the rescheduled concert.

“Whenever she may postpone it to, it isn’t guaranteed that people can take time off work, be able to afford trains, flights, hotels to be able to make it to the show. It’s just very disappointing and upsetting.”

As part of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour, Minaj is due to perform in Birmingham on Sunday, followed by a concert at London’s O2 arena next Tuesday.

Then on Wednesday, she is due to play in Glasgow followed by a gig on Thursday, again at the Co-op Live in Manchester.

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The beleaguered £365m arena – the UK’s largest indoor entertainment venue – opened earlier this month after it was plagued by a series of problems.

There had been weeks of setbacks, cancellations and postponements, before live music finally got under way there on 14 May when Manchester rock band Elbow took to the stage.

The problems included part of the building’s ventilation and air conditioning system falling to the ground from the ceiling during a soundcheck in early May.

The 23,500-capacity venue was initially due to fully open with two Peter Kay stand-up shows on 23 and 24 April, but these dates were pushed back when problems emerged at a test event headlined by Ricky Astley.

The arena then planned for US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie to open the arena on 1 May, but it was called off just over an hour before his performance and after doors had opened to fans – because the ventilation system became detached.

The ventilation issue meant scheduled performances by US pop star Olivia Rodrigo and British band Keane were postponed, while a series of shows by Take That were moved to the AO Arena in Manchester.

NEW YORK — The trumpets sounded just after 4 p.m. Saturday at Citi Field as Edwin Diaz emerged from the bullpen. Fans cheered and danced to the walk-out song popularized during the closer’s dominant 2022 season. They cheered again when he was introduced as the New York Mets‘ pitcher in the ninth inning with a one-run lead over the San Francisco Giants.

Diaz, after a weeklong role demotion, was closing a game again in Queens like old times. But these aren’t like old times for Diaz.

His recent disastrous stretch as closer continued Saturday with another blown save, this time on LaMonte Wade Jr.’s one-out RBI single that ultimately pushed the game to extra innings. The Giants then erupted for five runs in the 10th inning for their second straight comeback victory to open the series, this one a 7-2 decision.

Diaz has now squandered a lead in four straight ninth-inning appearances. He hasn’t successfully saved a game since May 6. He has four blown saves in nine chances this season.

“He’s our closer,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after his team fell to 21-30 with the loss. “In order for us to win games and get to where we want to get to, he’s got to pitch. And I felt like that was the right spot.”

The Mets have lost five straight games and 12 of their past 15. They’re 6-16 in May, and falling out of the postseason picture fast. Different departments have faltered over the stretch, but their $102-million closer’s struggles have been the most prominent.

“Yeah, I think so,” Diaz, 30, said when asked if he felt he was still the team’s closer. “I think I got to do my job better, obviously, but I feel like I’m the guy in the ninth inning like they always say. I feel like that. And I’m ready. When they give me the ball in the ninth, I will do my job.”

Saturday’s outing was Diaz’s first appearance in a ninth inning since he gave up four runs and recorded one out against the Miami Marlins last Saturday. After the game, Diaz, who had blown saves in his previous two outings, admitted his confidence was “low” and broke down in tears.

The stretch spurred the Mets to not have Diaz pitch in their three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians during the week. Instead, he threw bullpen sessions as the Mets got swept. He focused on commanding his glove-side fastball and slider, and pitching with conviction again.

Diaz returned to the mound Friday at Citi Field, tossed a scoreless seventh inning against the Giants in a lower-leverage situation designed to rebuild his confidence. Díaz emerged hopeful that he was back on track. Less than 24 hours later, he was on the mound again.

Wilmer Flores ambushed Díaz with a single through the right side on his first pitch. Moments later, pinch-runner Ryan McKenna stole second base. Then, with one out, Wade delivered the tying single to right field.

“The game is not lost in the last ninth inning,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “It seems like every day we’re losing games in one inning, but we have to look at the whole entire game. It’s just a little bit unfair that it falls on him, the closer.”

The results were different from Friday, but Diaz insisted he felt and executed better.

“I’m fine. I’m good. I think I threw really good pitches,” Diaz said. “That’s what I want to do. The results didn’t go my way, but how I performed on the mound, how I looked, how I felt, was way better than last week.”

Diaz was dominant in 2022, his best season as a major leaguer. He posted a 1.31 ERA, 2.97 ERA, 0.90 FIP, and 0.839 WHIP in 61 appearances. He was an All-Star. He finished ninth in the Cy Young race and 16th in MVP voting. Then he suffered a season-ending patellar tendon tear in his right knee celebrating a win for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023. The freak injury marked the beginning of a disappointing 2023 season for the Mets.

The 2024 campaign is following a similar path but, this time, with Diaz healthy.

“He’s got to continue to pitch,” Mendoza said. “My job is to continue to find lanes for him and we’ve got to fight through it. You can’t hide him. He’s got to go, he’s got to pitch. He’s too good of a pitcher and we’re pretty confident that he’ll turn it around.”

TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is pleased with his comeback progression from a right elbow injury after throwing two, 15-pitch innings in a simulated game on Saturday.

Cole faced minor league hitters on Derek Jeter Field in front of his family and a large gathering of rookie-level players at the Yankees’ player development complex in Tampa, Florida.

“We hit all our goals,” Cole said. “We did exactly what we wanted to do today. Threw a lot of strikes, so pretty good.”

Cole threw to hitters for the first time since spring training before Tuesday night’s game with Seattle at Yankee Stadium. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner is looking to face hitters again in about five days.

“Get after the recovery and try to get back on the bump middle next week,” Cole said.

Cole, 33, made one spring training start, on March 1, and the Yankees announced 10 days later the right-hander’s elbow was ailing. He was diagnosed with nerve inflammation and edema and told to rest.

He didn’t throw off a mound again until May 5, the first of five bullpen sessions leading up to his initial session against hitters.

Cole likely would need four or five minor league starts before rejoining the Yankees, a timeline that makes a late June return possible. The right-hander said he didn’t know yet when he would start a minor league assignment.

JT Brubaker threw a pair of simulated innings in his rehab program following Tommy John surgery in April 2023. The Yankees acquired the right-hander from Pittsburgh in March. Brubaker was the Pirates’ Opening Day starter in 2022.