First look inside £365m Co-op Live - Europe's biggest indoor arena

It’s been quite the year for Manchester. In the last 12 months, the city has welcomed the arrival of Aviva Studios, played host to the Michelin Guide and seen its most historic streets transformed in the name of fashion as Parisian fashion house Chanel came to town.

Today, it takes another step forward as Co-op Live, a multi million pound entertainment venue officially opens its doors. A cavernous black box sitting next to Manchester City’s football ground, it is not only the city’s biggest arena, but Europe’s too.

With a capacity of 23,500 it is positioning itself as one of the UK’s most significant gig venues, looking to attract both homegrown and international talent. Tonight, a test event with Rick Astley takes place as thousands of fans take their first steps in the venue.

READ MORE: Co-op Live is finally about to open... but what does it mean for its neighbours?

Its first official gig will be delivered by Bolton-born comedian Peter Kay on Tuesday evening (April 23), while its first musical performance will be served by The Black Keys next Saturday. Co-op Lives opening season will see performances from the likes of Liam Gallagher, Olivia Rodrigo, Eric Clapton and Eagles, while come November, the MTV Europe Awards, which celebrates the globe’s biggest musicians, will be held in the new arena.

The large-scale arena has been built by BAM Construct UK and is a joint venture between Oak View Group (OVG), co-founded by music mogul Irving Azoff, and City Football Group. As well as backing and investment from pop superstar Harry Styles, concert promoters Simon Moran and Denis Desmond were also linked last year, as were SJM holdings.

To bring it all together required thousands of workers in the run up to the test events,