Actor dresses up as the faulty air conditioning unit which delayed the opening of Co-op Live for Halloween party

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

It was a certainly a nightmare for bosses at Co-op Live. And to celebrate Halloween an actor has dressed up as the air conditioning unit that delayed the opening of the £365m arena when it fell from the ceiling.

Dan Ellis came up with his costume idea in May when the troubled new venue had to cancel a series of opening performances after part of its ventilation and air conditioning system fell to the ground during a soundcheck. "It became a running joke in Manchester,” the 34-year-old said. "The Co-op live arena had so many issues leading up to opening – when the whole thing happened, I just turned to my partner and I knew then that it was going to have to be my Halloween costume." READ MORE: Oasis announce FULL line-up for UK and Ireland tour dates in 2025 with big opening act confirmed The actor and director spent a week creating his unique costume using a cardboard box, paper plates, posters, fabric and a hot glue gun.

Sporting a grey box and a hat adorned with the words 'Co-op Live', pictures of Dan's outfit have received more than 18,000 likes on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I've grown up doing pantomimes, I do them every year so I'm quite accustomed to looking stupid in front of other people," he said. "We were at a friend's flat party on Saturday night – I did have to message them beforehand just before the night to check how high their ceiling was because with the headpiece I was probably about seven-and-a-half feet tall." Mr Ellis said he is known for his creative Halloween costumes and hoped his tribute to the east Manchester arena would give people 'a little giggle'. "Everything is a bit naff at the moment, it's coming into winter and everyone is a bit gloomy and down in the dumps and the weather is