Huge two-day music festival coming to Ricoh Arena in May

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Some of the biggest names in pop will be performing at a major open-air music festival at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, it has been announced today.



Tens of thousands of fans are expected to pack into the stadium on Friday, May 27, for the first MTV Crashes live music event of the year.

Organisers say the televised Bank Holiday weekend event will feature a “selection of stand-out performances” and tickets will cost just £10. A two-day ticket will also go on sale.

Although the Coventry line-up has yet to be released, performers at last year’s MTV Crashes Plymouth included Tinie Tempah, Little Mix, Kodaline and Foxes.

Plymouth council said that event, which was seen in 40 countries, boosted the seaside city’s local economy by £3.5million.

Other previous Crashes destinations include Londonderry, Cork, Glasgow, Belfast and Manchester with the likes of Alicia Keys, Kaiser Chiefs and Olly Murs appearing.

The Coventry event is part of a three-year agreement between MTV UK and the Ricoh Arena, with the support of Coventry City Council.

The announcement comes just weeks after Ricoh bosses told music fans “this is just the start” after unveiling Rihanna as the first artist to be booked to perform at the stadium bowl since 2013.

The international superstar will kick-off the UK leg of her ‘Anti’ world tour in Coventry on Tuesday, June 14.

Jill Offman, MD, MTV UK, said: “Live music in the UK is on a high right now and as the number one music television network we’re fervent about giving audiences up close and personal access to it, with immersive on-the-ground brand experiences that translate into great on-air content.

“Our Crashes events are always a highlight of the year and consistently generate high levels of digital and social engagement so we can’t wait to get to work on this one and give the people of Coventry a weekend to remember.”

Andy Gibb, managing director of the Ricoh Arena, said: “We are hugely excited to welcome MTV to the Ricoh Arena in May for what will be sure to be a fantastic arena festival.

“This is great news for Coventry and for music fans across the Midlands, and stadium concerts form the core element of our music and entertainment strategy.”

And Coun Ann Lucas, leader of Coventry City Council, said: “The news that MTV want to bring their global event to Coventry is a real tribute to the team at the Ricoh Arena and the council support that will help make this one of the best music events of the year.

“We’ve got a great track record here of delivering high quality events and this is going to be a great weekend for MTV, the Ricoh Arena and Coventry.”

The Ricoh has previously hosted numerous world-class artists and bands, including Coldplay, Take That, Bon Jovi, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Springsteen, Pink, Florence and the Machine and Kings of Leon.

The Crashes event will be broadcast across MTV’s flagship UK music TV channels, MTV MUSIC and MTV LIVE HD, and subsequently across its portfolio of music channels, and will be followed by a Club MTV event on Saturday, May 28.

Thousands of heavily subsidized tickets for both nights will be released for sale on February 2 here and a registration of interest for tickets is available via the website today.

A dedicated MTV Crashes Coventry microsite will also be housed here.

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Rihanna postpones Anti tour - with Coventry gig put back 11 days

Pop superstar Rihanna has postponed her Anti world tour after her Grammys no-show.

However, Coventry fans shouldn’t fear as her show at the Ricoh Arena will still take place, although it has been moved from June 14 to June 25.

Nine shows from the American leg of the Anti tour are being rescheduled after the popstar was struck down with bronchitis. She has also cancelled her dates in Sunderland and Cardiff.

She was forced to pull out of her Grammys’ performance this week after doctors warned her performing could permanently damage her vocal chords.

Conflicting stories arose from the Grammys camp saying that Rihanna actually refused to perform after becoming unhappy with the way her rehearsal went.

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Adele desperate to see Rihanna at the Ricoh Arena



Superstar singer Adele has revealed she could be on her way to Coventry to watch one of her own favourite singers.

The Make You Feel My Love and Someone Like You star is desperate to see Rihanna in action and could be among the thousands of fans at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday June 25.

Adele revealed over the weekend that she will be headlining at this year’s Glastonbury Festival during one of her gigs at the O2 in London.

And it was the following night while on stage that Adele told fans she had been forced to rule out a night out at Rihanna’s Wembley gig in June - for some very interesting reasons - and could be heading to Coventry instead.

“I love her,” said Adele, 27. “I’m thinking of going to Coventry to watch Rihanna because she’s playing Wembley the day before I play Glastonbury, and if I go to that, I’ll have no voice,

“I know it. All that weed in the air – I’ll get stoned.

“But I love her, honestly, all of that new album I love. I gotta try and go see her.”

However, it appears it would be even more of a logistical nightmare should Adele come to Coventry as Rihanna’s Ricoh concert is the exact SAME NIGHT she is due to headline at Glastonbury.

So that could see Adele change her mind and catch RiRi, 28, in either Glasgow or Manchester the following week.

As for her Glastonbury headline slot, Adele has been vocal about her nerves about playing the 175,000 size crowds, admitting: “The crowds are too big – I don’t know if I could do it.”

However, she is doing all she can to combat her nerves ahead of June 25 - including putting herself on a strict diet to avoid damaging her voice.