Nicki Minaj fans in Manchester left disappointed after her arrest in Amsterdam
Thousands of Nicki Minaj fans gathered at Co-op Live, Manchester for a live performance, were severely disappointed as the gig was called off. The singer was arrested in Amsterdam on preceding Saturday afternoon on charges of alleged possession of ‘soft drugs,’ after a search operation conducted on her luggage prior to her flight departure to Manchester. The National Police Corps confirmed that a 41-year-old woman was indeed arrested on her attempt to transport soft drugs from Schiphol Airport to another country.
“Now they said they found weed & that another group of ppl have to come here to weigh the pre-rolls,” Minaj wrote on X around 10:30 a.m. ET.
“Keep in mind they took my bags without consent. My security has already advised them those pre-rolls belong to him. Oh yea & the pilot wants me to take my ig post down,” she added.
Though Dutch media reported that she was released, it was not timely for tonight’s performance. Doors opened at the venue a couple of hours ago, just after 7 pm, but it wasn’t until around 9.30 pm that fans received the unfortunate news of the cancellation.
Minaj, who live-streamed her arrest on social media, was fined and eventually allowed to go free by police shortly before 9pm – hours after her show was supposed to start.
The atmosphere inside Co-op Live, the UK’s largest indoor arena with a capacity of 23,500, was electric as fans eagerly awaited the star’s arrival, despite receiving no updates on her whereabouts.
When the long-awaited announcement was finally made, fans erupted in boos and shouts of disbelief, with organizers expressing deep disappointment over the inconvenience caused to the devoted audience.
In response to the news, fans were seen exiting the arena, heading away from the Etihad Campus. During this, many fans checked their phones for updates, while others could be heard shouting above the tannoy after two long hours of anticipation.
Amid the fans’ outcry, a tannoy announcement came through apologizing for the inconvenience, assuring them that their purchased tickets would remain valid for the rescheduled performance.
According to the announcement, despite Nicki’s relentless efforts to explore every possible solution to make the show happen, today’s events made it impossible. The performance is expected to be rescheduled and a new date will be announced imminently. Dutch police released more details about Nicki’s arrest. However, the ordeal led to her gig at Co-op Live in Manchester being forcibly cancelled. The entire incident, from Nicki’s arrest to the cancellation of the concert, surfaced on social media platforms and evening news in Manchester.
Frankie Harper, 20, from Andover, Hampshire, said: ‘(I’m) distraught to say the least. It definitely hurts more that it was on my birthday. Not sure what happens with the £100s that you spend on a train and hotel.’
Nord Herida, 23, who lives in Barnsley and travelled an hour to attend the concert, said he had felt before the postponement that his time was ‘being wasted’ inside the arena.
He added that his friend had travelled four hours from Ipswich to get to the gig and that they had been waiting since 1pm at the arena.
‘(I’m) pissed not (going to) lie, they have taken this long to tell us,’ Mr Herida said.
‘Like I work, I can’t just take a day off.’
Super fan Connor Wynne told Sky that he had been queueing since before 8am this morning to get a front row position for the show.
He said he and his friends were holding out hope of seeing the star after they ‘heard a helicopter go over’.
But soon after, fans’ hopes of seeing their favourite singer were dashed when organisers announced the show was being postponed.
