A music lover spent £79 on drinks and hours standing in the Co-op Live arena waiting for Nicki Minaj only for the gig to be cancelled after the singer was arrested.
The rapper, 41, was arrested on suspicion of possessing soft drugs in the Netherlands on Saturday, just hours before she was supposed to be on stage at Manchester’s Co-Op Live arena.
She was held at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport before continuing her tour in Birmingham on Sunday.
Lottie Gibbons, a fan of the star, said the evening turned out to be ‘shambolic’ after she bought several rounds of drinks while waiting inside the arena, only to be told hours later that the show had been postponed.
Her friends had flown from the Isle of Man and booked a two-night stay in Manchester’s city centre, while Ms Gibbons made the journey from Liverpool to join them.
The first warning sign appeared when Minaj tweeted a video showing her being detained at the airport following a luggage search.
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Lottie Gibbons (pictured) said the evening turned out to be ‘shambolic’ after she bought several rounds of drinks while waiting inside the arena, only to be told hours later that the Nicki Minaj concert was cancelled
Nicki Minaj, 41, (pictured) was arrested on suspicion of possessing soft drugs in the Netherlands on Saturday
Fans leaving the Manchester Co-op Live venue after the Nicki Minaj show was postponed
A text message alert informed fans that doors would open just 30 minutes later than scheduled, with Ms Gibbons and her friends heading over to the arena at around 7pm.
‘This marked the beginning of a downward spiral, where the recently opened Co-op Live Arena, plagued by delays and teething problems, revealed its lack of experience,’ she wrote for the Liverpool Echo.
Once inside the arena, Ms Gibbons claimed her and her friends bought three rounds of drinks with ‘wildly varying costs’ – with two gin and tonics and one vodka and coke costing £38 – while the next round of two drinks costed £21.
The fans then spent more than two hours looking at an empty stage without any updates from the arena, according to Ms Gibbons.
‘Finally, at 9.35 pm, the first and only announcement over the tannoy confirmed the concert’s postponement, prompting boos and a mass exodus of 20,000 disappointed fans,’ she wrote.
Minaj was held at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport before continuing her tour in Birmingham on Sunday
Ms Gibbons added: ‘The whole night felt like a cash grab. While I understand the need to get people inside for safety reasons, it was clear from Nicki’s arrest that the concert was unlikely to happen.’
A statement from Co-op Live on Saturday said: ‘Nicki Minaj’s scheduled performance at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday, May 25 has been postponed. Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance which will be announced ASAP.
‘Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible. We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused. More information will be available at your point of purchase.’
