A petition has been launched online to save the O2 Academy Brixton, following speculation that the venue may close for good.
Currently, the historic venue remains closed following an incident that occurred at an Asake gig last year. Taking place on December 15, 2022, a crush was caused by people outside the venue, who forced their way into the show — leading to overcrowding and the gig being cancelled halfway through.
Two attendees, Rebecca Ikumelo, aged 33 and Gaby Hutchinson, 23 died in the following days. Additionally, a third ticket holder, aged 21, remains in hospital in a critical condition.
The event led to the Brixton Academy having its licence temporarily suspended and, most recently, a debate on whether it should be made to close for good. This started after the Metropolitan Police confirmed they had “lost confidence” and were pushing Lambeth council to revoke the licence fully.
Following the speculation, a petition has been launched online, calling for music lovers to insist that the venue remains open.
Emerging just two days ago (April 26), the petition has already gathered over 9,900 signatures. The platform hosting the petition, Change.Org, states that when it reaches 10,000 signatures, it is more likely to be recognised by a “decision maker”.
“Brixton Academy is an iconic London music venue and should this cease to be so, another part of the musical landscape and history is lost forever,” writes the petition’s founder in the description. “I personally have been to hundreds of gigs in my lifetime, many of them here and I have never once felt like safety was an issue! The loss of this venue would also have a devastating effect on the local economy!”
They also go on to claim that the tragedy caused back in December was caused by visitors trying to enter the show “without tickets” and members of staff who were not properly prepared to supervise the event. Elsewhere, they also suggest that the venue shouldn’t be made to close, but instead should be pressured to “bring in new security procedures including crowd control” to ensure a similar experience can never arise again.
Initially, O2 Academy Brixton’s licence was temporarily suspended until January 16, with Lambeth Council saying that it would discuss the venue’s fate again at that date.
Before the meeting could take place, however, a spokesperson for the venue’s operator AMG said that it would stay closed voluntarily until April while investigations continue. This was later followed by the announcement that the suspension would last for three months.
Since then, a host of artists have been forced to relocate their upcoming shows, which were originally scheduled to take place in Brixton.
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