Community
Print
Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena said that it reduced food-related emissions by 47 percent during Billie Eilish’s July headline shows by offering a fully plant-based menu.
The Grammy award-winning artist performed for four nights at the venue as part of her 2025 Hit Me Hard And Soft tour. In addition to halving its food emissions, the Co-op Live Arena said that swapping resource-intensive animal products for a plant-based menu during Eilish’s shows also conserved 3.5 million litres of water.
Read more: Is Billie Eilish Vegan? Everything She’s Said About The Movement
Food options during the concerts included plant-based burgers, hot dogs, saucy chips, and the “Billie Burrito,” which featured chipotle-spiced vegan mince, coriander-and-lime rice, charred peppers, onions, potato, refried beans, and salsa in a tortilla.
James Hart, the executive chef director at Co-op Live, noted that offering plant-based options doesn’t damage sales or the fan experience, and described concert-goers as “all fully engaged” with the offer. He also predicted more plant-based food and possibly entirely plant-based concessions at Co-op Live in the future.
“We are proud to deliver impact within the walls of our arena and outside of them,” said Sara Tomkins, the sustainability and community director at Co-op Live, as reported by The Ticketing Business. “While we attract world-leading talent and global fans, we believe that we must always give back locally and protect the planet. The Billie Eilish shows demonstrated the impact of local-grown produce and plant-based options resulting in a planet positive outcome.”
Read more: Vast Majority Of Gen Z Cares About Animals And Nature, New Study Shows
Billie Eilish’s plant-based menu
As part of the same tour, the London 02 Arena also adopted a fully plant-based menu at Eilish’s request for the duration of her six-night run at the venue. Each show began with a short film about veganism and the various other sustainability efforts of the tour, narrated by Eilish, as well as a dedicated educational “Eco Village.”
Meanwhile, Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena itself previously served an entirely plant-based menu for Massive Attack’s headlining show in June. The arena features permanent solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, intelligent energy controls, reusable cups, and a zero waste-to-landfill policy, and said at the time that the plant-based menu reflected a “shared mission” of sustainable live entertainment.
Read more: Jenna Ortega Fostered Chinchillas And Adopted A Dog While Filming Wednesday
