‘We’d love to host Brit Awards for years’, says Co-op Live boss
The arena in Manchester hosted the Brits as part of a two-year contract and will also host the 50th anniversary edition next year.
The boss of the Co-op Live has said the venue would love to host the Brits “for years to come” a week after the major awards ceremony was held at the Manchester venue.
It comes after a significant week for the 23,500-capacity venue, which also hosted a Harry Styles album launch show on Friday.
Greg Dunstan, managing director of Co-op Live, said Styles’s show was a “massive coup for us” and said “demonstrates that we are now at the forefront of the industry”.
The former One Direction member played the venue on Friday to mark the launch of his latest album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.
The gig, priced at £20 a ticket, was filmed by Netflix and released on the streaming platform on Sunday.
It came days after Styles opened the Brit Awards at the venue.
Co-op Live hosted the event as part of a two-year contract which will also see it stage the 50th anniversary show next year.
“It was one of the biggest events we’ve worked on and it was an amazing experience,” Mr Dunstan said.
“We would love to stage the Brits for years to come and think we really demonstrated what we can deliver.
“But for now we are focusing on hosting again in 2027 and it will be another opportunity to deliver a fantastic show.”
He said the Brit Awards and the Styles show highlighted the demand for major concerts and events outside London.
The boss said: “Since 2024 we have staged a number of exclusive events and one-off shows, and will continue doing so.
“It shows the North doesn’t have miss out on that. We were the only indoor venue Bruce Springsteen played in the UK, similar with Morrissey’s latest shows.”
The shows came almost two years after the opening of the venue, which was marred by early technical issues.
In April 2024, capacity was reduced for its first test event with Rick Astley, while Peter Kay had to postpone his first dates at the venue.
Further concerts, such as Olivia Rodrigo, were also pushed back due to issues, which included a component of its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system separating and falling.
Mr Dunstan said: “I joined about five months after opening.
“I realised quite quickly that we had an amazing venue and having gone on that journey, the team had showed an unreal resilience.
“Having gone through that, they showed a commitment that has allowed us to go from strength to strength.”
