Peter Kay was back on stage on Saturday night one day after one of his shows was halted over a bomb hoax.
The comedian returned to the 15,000 capacity Utilita Arena in Birmingham as West Midlands Police confirmed on Saturday evening that a teenager had been charged over the incident the night before.
Omar Majed, 19, of Washwood Heath, Birmingham, has been charged with false communications relating to a bomb hoax and is due to appear before magistrates on May 4, the force said.
Kay’s show had been halted after a “potential suspicious bag” was found, and the venue was searched, although police later said that “no items of a suspicious nature were found” after the Utilita Arena was evacuated.
Police say they have arrested a 19-year-old man Credit: PA/Handout
“We’re grateful to everyone for their co-operation and understanding. As always our priority is the safety of the public,” West Midlands Police added.
In a statement on Saturday morning, the Utilita Area said that Peter Kay’s performance on Saturday night would “go ahead as planned”.
“Our security measures include several overt and covert security measures, so whilst you may not see all operational security activity, you should be assured that it is ongoing.”
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Witnesses said two members of staff came onto the stage about 45 minutes into the performance, whispered into Kay’s ear, and then escorted him away.
Steve Aspinall, who was at the gig with his wife, said the audience was told to look for security guards and listen out for any announcements.
“To be honest, I thought it was part of the show at first,” he told the Press Association.
“It was a strange atmosphere, eerie, just confused really (about) what was happening. But it was alright and everyone was calm and left quite quickly with no panic.”
On Thursday, the UK’s terror threat level was raised to “severe” meaning a terror attack is “highly likely”.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre announced the decision on Thursday, a day after two Jewish men were stabbed in north London and in the wake of several attacks in Jewish neighbourhoods in recent weeks.
The body, which is based in MI5 but makes independent assessments, previously set the threat level at “substantial”, meaning an attack was “likely”.
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