Massive Attack Manchester show June 5: plant-based menu & eco event
Massive Attack
Trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack will headline Manchester’s Co-op Live arena on June 5, 2025, delivering what will be the UK’s first fully plant-based major concert event. The show is the only UK arena date on the band’s current tour, which also includes performances in London’s Victoria Park, Paris, and Mallorca.
The Bristol-based band, long associated with environmental advocacy, has coordinated with Co-op Live to implement a wide-ranging sustainability initiative for the event. The venue, already operating on 100% electric power and boasting solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, and a zero-waste-to-landfill policy, will now also serve a completely plant-based food menu. Options will include burgers, bao buns, masala fries, and vegan pizza.
According to Co-op Live’s sustainability and community director Sara Tomkins, the collaboration shows the venue’s commitment to supporting artists’ values. “Hosting Massive Attack with a completely plant-based food menu for the first time demonstrates how we can collaborate with artists to go further – creatively and sustainably,” she stated. “It’s a powerful example of the venue’s flexibility and our dedication to encouraging fans to consider sustainable choices.” Mind you, there is no news if the plant-based hamburgers are ultra-processed are not.
Robert “3D” Del Naja of Massive Attack emphasized that the concert will feature a production model focused on minimal emissions. “The Co-op Live gig allows another iteration of the show to materialise and for us to underpin that production with the lowest emissions measures possible,” he said. “We’re pleased that this event will be the first ever 100% plant-based major show in Manchester with an extensive, curated menu, and that the arena is powered by renewables.”
The band also encourages gig-goers to take the train when attending the Manchester performance. “We’ll also be taking the train on part of this tour leg, and if fans can do the same, we’re then acting in unity to create smarter, cleaner events without avoidable pollution, which has to be the future,” Del Naja added.
Tickets are available via the Co-op Live website.
About Massive Attack
Massive Attack was formed in 1988 in Bristol, United Kingdom, by Robert Del Naja (3D), Grant Marshall (Daddy G), and Andrew Vowles (Mushroom). The group emerged from the Wild Bunch sound system and helped pioneer the trip-hop genre, blending electronic music with hip-hop, dub, and soul influences.
Their 1991 debut album “Blue Lines” introduced their atmospheric sound to critical and commercial success, followed by influential releases including “Protection” (1994), “Mezzanine” (1998), and “100th Window” (2003). Del Naja has remained the band’s visual and political voice, integrating artwork, activism, and stage design into live shows.
Massive Attack’s early work circulated among underground audiences before signing to Virgin Records in the early 1990s. The band has remained consistent in its release schedule with a discography that includes EPs, soundtracks, and collaborations with artists such as Elizabeth Fraser, Tricky, and Hope Sandoval.
The current lineup centers around Del Naja and Marshall, with Vowles departing in 1999.
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