Take That planning 'special things' for Co-op Live gigs, says arena boss

Manchester's Co-op Live Arena has finally opened after a number of false starts, and music fans can start to look forward to some of the big gigs taking place there in the weeks ahead.

Take That fans in particular will be eagerly anticipating the return of the Manchester manband to the city. They will round out their This Life tour with two huge homecoming shows in June from Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald.

The band were forced to switch their May gigs, planned in at the Co-op Live, to the AO Arena last week. This was after Co-op Live's May 1 opening show with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was pulled at the very last minute after part of an air filter fell from the ceiling.

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Co-op Live's boss, Tim Leiweke, has now sought to reassure fans that the venue is the "most checked in the history of the construction industry" having been triple checked since the incident which has been confirmed as an isolated manufacturing fault.

He said there's much for fans to now look forward to at the venue, not least the return of Take That on June 11 and 12. And he has teased there may be something special about those sold out gigs too.

Mr Leiweke told the MEN: "With Take That - we get their two last dates of the tour and I think they have some special things coming on those dates."

When pressed further on what those special things could be, he said: "That’s what I’m told, but I can’t talk about it."

Mr Leiweke added that he was "very appreciative" of the AO Arena for taking on the May gigs of the band's This Life tour.

He said: "I’m very appreciative of the AO helping us out on those five dates, that was important, I didn’t want to cancel those