How Co-op Live was days from opening, then it all went wrong

"FOUR days until show time," the dot matrix sign outside Co-op Live read, on a photo shared online.

-  STEPHEN TOPPING

The caption asked: "Are you as excited as we are?"

In the background of the photo, a worker in hi-vis was busy at work. It was a photo which summed up the scramble for the new Eastlands arena - publicly preparing for a glitzy new era to begin, away from the dash behind the scenes to get things ready.

Twenty-four hours later, the arena's grand opening was beginning to unravel. By 2.30pm on Saturday, a contact warned the M.E.N. to 'stand by for some emergency comms from Co-op Live' about a 'drastic reduction in numbers' for the test event that day.

It was the moment the wheels began to come off. Sources began to tell the M.E.N. of widespread concerns that the venue would not be ready for its public opening with Peter Kay tonight.

The building had not been signed off by the council and the emergency services had concerns.

Yesterday's M.E.N. reported that Co-op Live faced a frantic 48 hours to prepare for the Bolton comic's show.

By 11am, the first reports came in that the performance was about to be postponed. Confirmation followed, with power supply issues blamed for the decision. Then came a wave of disappointment from Peter Kay fans who had already spent considerable sums of money and made their arrangements for tomorrow night.

A Co-op Live spokesperson said: "As we said in our statement earlier, the ambition and scale of this venue is enormous, including across our innovative technical infrastructure. It is critical to ensure we have a consistent total power supply to our fully electric sustainable venue, the completion of which is a few days behind.

"Rescheduling gives us the extra time we need to continue testing thoroughly. Today's decision was deeply regrettable, but is just one change to a busy upcoming opening season which includes Olivia Rodrigo, The Eagles, Liam Gallagher and Peter Kay as our grand opening act.