Fury over Co-op Live arena fiasco: Thousands of young revellers are stranded and millions lost in revenue as stars including Peter Kay and Olivia Rodrigo are forced to apologise to fans...days after boss of Manchester's new £350m arena quit

Olivia Rodrigo says she is 'sooooo disappointed' and 'so bummed' to postpone the Manchester shows of her UK tour as the fiasco of the city's troubled Co-op Live Arena continued, prompting fury from fans.

The 21-year-old Good 4 U singer was due to perform at the new venue on Friday and Saturday before management at the beleaguered concert hall pulled the plug because of last-minute 'venue-related technical issues'.

Triple Grammy winner Olivia says her team is 'doing our best to reschedule the show', part of the Guts World Tour. It comes after A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie's show was cancelled yesterday as fans queued to get in.

The American rapper, full name Artist Julius Dubose, said it was 'crazy' that his Co-op show was cancelled with no notice whatsoever - prompting fury from fans, some of whom had spent hundreds of pounds on travel and accommodation.

Co-op Live says it had to cancel the show after a piece of ventilation equipment 'separated from the ductwork' in what it blamed on a 'factory defect' related to the piece of kit. It says it is working as fast it can can to open safely.

But the cancellations aren't even the first to hit the troubled venue, which has been beset with delays and last-minute issues for weeks - prompting its boss to stand down after he slated grassroots venues for being 'poorly run'. 

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In a statement on Instagram, Olivia Rodrigo said: 'Hello! I've been having such a great time in Europe so far and I'm sooooo disappointed that we're unable to perform in Manchester due to on-going venue-related technical issues.

'We're doing our best to schedule the show. You can hold onto your tickets for further info or request a refund at your point of purchase. More info will be sent directly to ticket holders.

'I'm so bummed and I really hope to see you all soon.'

Hysterical fans have taken to social media to lash out at bosses for failing to get the arena ready for the third time after previously postponing other opening shows.

Olivia fan Lee Middleton, who had tickets for Saturday's show, told MailOnline: 'I cannot believe millions of pounds have been spent on this venue and a bit of an air conditioning unit falls off.'

'I was so looking forward to it. I never go out at night and this was a big thing for me to do,' said TikToker Chelsea Salt in a video she posted after the Olivia news broke.

'We spent so much time planning, talking about it, booking hotels, booking surprises, I booked my make-up online to get done, I bought matching bracelets, spent time talking about outfits.

'I'm just absolutely gutted. It's just such a shame and they've let so many people down.'

A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, meanwhile, said in remarks reported by Good Morning Britain he had never heard of a show being cancelled on the day it was due to go ahead.

The platinum-selling rapper's Manchester show had already been postponed twice and fans were lining up outside to get in when arena bosses issued a message telling them the show was off and to leave the area.

'I just grabbed a glass of wine and started drinking like, damn,' the star said of learning the show had been canned at the last minute.

'(I've heard of) cancelling a show a week or two weeks, a month ahead of time, but never the day of.

'This is crazy. (I've got) a lot of fans in my DMs (direct messages) going off.'

He said in a statement on social media that 'something happened with the venue while I was at soundcheck today that caused cancellation of the show'.

Dubose added: 'I'm heated about the situation too, but safety first Manchester, i got you, just stay tuned for further info.'

Hundreds of fans looked to be in disbelief as they made a quick exit after being told the gig would not be going ahead. 

'It's just a bit of a joke,' one fan told BBC Breakfast. Another said: 'We have our GCSEs next week - this was our last chance at freedom. We're really annoyed.'

Another TikToker, posting a video before Olivia Rodrigo's gig was cancelled, said of the Boogie show: 'The fact Co-op Live have cancelled their first concert AN HOUR before it begins is just showing their poor management and lack of time awareness.

'I fully understand the venue isn't ready but they should've been more prepared and left a reasonable amount of time to make sure all concerts will go ahead as planned.'

Presciently, they added: 'I have very little hope left to finally see Olivia this Friday.'

Oak View Group, which operates Co-op Live, told MailOnline a component of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system came loose on Wednesday.

Nobody was injured but arena bosses say they want to make sure the rest of the equipment is free of what they labelled a 'factory defect' before further shows can go ahead.

Keane is due to perform at the Co-op Live on Sunday, while Take That, Elbow, The Black Keys, Eric Clapton, Barry Manilow, Peter Kay and Nicki Minaj all have shows later in May. The performances are still listed as going ahead on the arena website.

But fans, many of whom have shelled out on travel and accommodation to travel to Manchester from elsewhere in the UK, are anxious about whether they will be wasting hundreds of pounds to turn up to shows that ultimately do not go ahead.

Music fan Lesley Hart told MailOnline: 'My partner and I are travelling down from Glasgow to see Keane on Sunday. 

'We have accommodation, travel and restaurants booked. The lack of information from the Co-op Group is appalling. 

'The cost involved is hundreds of pounds and what happens if they cancel at the last minute? 

'I am more than sure there are thousands of people sitting waiting just like we are. Not enough is being done.'

Liz Huby, from Leeds, had tickets for US rock duo The Black Keys, who were due to perform on April 27 before the venue opening was postponed. She has since had the tickets refunded because she cannot make the rescheduled date of May 15.

'The refund was processed quickly but it doesn’t really take away the disappointment of not getting to see a band I was really looking forward to see,' she said.

'My daughter was supposed to see Olivia Rodrigo tomorrow evening so obviously isn’t going to that either. 

'She was fully expecting it to be cancelled but what was upsetting for her is that they were still promising earlier in the week that the concerts would go ahead. Empty promises and empty apologies.'

Alison Brosnan-Smith and her friends are travelling from Chester and the north of wales for a Take That show on May 7, having booked an apartment in Manchester.

If the show is cancelled at the last minute, she said, they would lose the money spent on accommodation.

'We have tweeted Take That to ask them to make a sensible decision and not leave it until the last minute,' Ms Brosnan-Smith said.

'I know that they won’t want to disappoint their loyal fans so we are hoping they make a decision ASAP.

'I suppose we are nervous about going due to the fact that they (arena bosses) have not completed a full run-through and obviously safety is paramount. 

'Hopefully things will be sorted now, but what a shambles. It’s totally taken the shine off it now.'

A spokesperson for Co-op Live said of other shows still scheduled to go ahead: 'We understand the need to reassure fans over future shows. We are working with artist management and promoters to limit the impact on the opening season schedule. 

'Where necessary, we will identify alternate dates, and will continually reassess to provide fans with sufficient notice regarding imminent shows. 

'Should shows be cancelled or rescheduled, fans will be contacted by their point of purchase and offered a full refund where preferred.'

Tim Leiweke, chairman and chief executive of the Oak View Group, said: 'The safety and security of all visiting and working on Co-op Live is our utmost priority, and we could not and will not run any event until it is absolutely safe to do so.

'Today was a very unexpected situation but without a doubt the right decision. I deeply apologise for the impact that this has had on ticket holders and fans.'

The Co-op Group, which has naming rights for the venue but is not involved in its operation, said in a statement MailOnline it was 'shocked' by the late cancellation. 

A spokesperson said: 'We are relieved that no-one has been injured, but we share the disappointment and frustration of ticket holders, many of whom are Co-op members, with the continuing delay to the opening of Co-op Live and the disruption that this is causing to everyone who has been looking forward to attending events.

'We will be seeking a full explanation from Oak View Group (OVG), who are responsible for the building, to the obvious questions arising from this, together with a clear plan from the Co-op Live venue management team at OVG for opening the venue and postponed and future events.

'Safety is of course the number one priority and it is critical that Co-op members and other ticket holders can enjoy events in a venue with the very highest levels of security and safety measures in place. 

'We are very grateful for Manchester City Council’s and the emergency services' continued engagement with OVG to ensure that Co-op Live opens as soon as possible.'

The venue had reassured fans that performances from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and US singer Olivia Rodrigo would be going ahead this week.

Co-op Live Arena had been due to open on April 23 and is expected to compete with the O2 Arena for the some of the world's biggest sporting and music events. 

The ongoing issues have seen Gary Roden, general manager of the venue, quit after a slew of problems led to a delay in opening. 

Roden had previously slated smaller grassroots music venues as being 'poorly run', in remarks reported by the BBC.

Rebecca Kane Burton, an ex-boss of London's O2 Arena, has stepped in as interim general manager. 

Headaches for the arena, which is next door to Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, became patently clear after capacity for a test event two weeks ago was reduced with just hours' notice due to power issues. 

Comedian Peter Kay's huge gig at Manchester's brand new Co-op Live arena was cancelled, just hours before he was due to take to the stage at the 23,500-capacity venue.

The comedian's second show at the venue set for Wednesday evening was also cancelled.

The highly-anticipated show would have been the grand opening for the city's flagship new venue, the largest in the UK.

But just a day before the show was due to take place, it was announced that both shows had been cancelled, as work is still to be completed on the venue, which was yet to be signed off by the council's building control.

Co-op Live confirmed that both shows would be rescheduled, and instead would take place on the 29th and 30th April. They have since been postponed again.

Mr Kay said in a statement he was 'gutted' the shows were cancelled. 

'I'm truly gutted as I know how disappointing this will be for everyone with tickets, but obviously it's a brand-new venue and it's important that everything is finished and safe for full capacity audiences,' he said. 

It comes after problems with power at the site, which are believed to have affected the fire safety and emergency services communication systems, led to bosses slashing attendance from around 11,000 to 4,000 at a test event - less than two hours before it was due to start.

Insiders claimed 'everything was run down to the wire' ahead of the test show starring Rick Astley.

Manchester City Council's building control department cannot issue a completion certificate while work is still ongoing at the site, which is understood last week to include corridors and wiring.

The venue could still operate without this certificate after presenting council bosses with a mitigation strategy to manage potential risks, although details of this plan have not been made public.

Previously, bosses at Co-op Live said teams were on-site 'throwing everything at it' to prepare for the venue's grand opening.