Birmingham arena evacuation after bomb hoax charge in Peter Kay show scare

Omar Majed, 19, of Washwood Heath, Birmingham, has been charged with false communications relating to a bomb hoax after a Friday night scare forced the evacuation of Utilita Arena Birmingham during Peter Kay’s show.

West Midlands Police said the alarm began after a report of a “potential suspicious bag.” The arena was cleared as officers and security teams searched the venue, but no items of a suspicious nature were found. Police said Majed remained in custody and is due to appear before magistrates in Birmingham on Monday, May 4.

The disruption landed in the middle of Peter Kay’s “Better Late Than Never” tour, with reports that the comedian had been performing for around 45 minutes before he was hurried off stage. The evacuation rippled far beyond the arena doors, causing traffic disruption around Birmingham city centre and forcing fans, police and venue staff into a rapid response to what turned out to be a false alarm.

West Midlands Police thanked concert-goers for their co-operation and said public safety was its priority. That message captured the broader cost of hoax threats at major live events: one false report can pull officers away from other duties, trigger full venue searches, unsettle thousands of audience members and snarl roads around a packed entertainment district.

The show’s next date at Utilita Arena Birmingham was reported to be going ahead as planned on Saturday night, with the venue issuing security advice to fans. West Midlands mayor Richard Parker praised the swift reaction from security teams, reflecting the pressure on large arenas to treat every warning as credible, even when searches end with nothing found.

For venues, the episode is another reminder that the modern live-event economy now runs alongside a costly security burden. A single hoax can interrupt a performance, mobilize police and private security, and force organisers to balance audience confidence with worst-case planning. In Birmingham, that balance was tested in a matter of minutes, and the response showed how quickly a night of entertainment can become a public safety operation.