Brixton Academy to remain closed until January after Asake concert tragedy

Venue had been temporarily closed after the death of two people during an incident at the Nigerian singer’s 15 December concert

O2 Academy Brixton will remain closed until January following the death of two young people at an Asake concert.

Lambeth City Council have ordered that the venue stays shut until the new year, when a decision will be made regarding reopening.

The venue had already been temporarily closed following the tragic death of two people at Nigerian singer Asake’s concert on Thursday 15 December.

It was originally reported that the concert was stopped early after a surge of people without tickets had tried to enter the venue.

However, new reports have emerged that suggest the fatal incidents happened when a clash of people leaving and entering had occurred.

“Given the severity of events of the 15th December 2022, the risks to public safety as a consequence of serious disorder arising from a lack of crowd control at the front doors of the venue remain high if the venue was able to operate as before,” said chair of the council’s licensing committee, Fred Cowell, reports MyLondon.

A decision regarding whether the venue will be allowed to reopen will be made on 16 January at the next licensing meeting.

Stephen Walsh, of Academy Music Group Limited, who holds the licence for the Brixton venue, was also present at the meeting.

“There is a real danger at this really early stage of the investigation that there may be a perception of pre-judgement before any of the issues have been properly set out, “ Walsh said (via MyLondon).

“Of course, serious incidents must be taken seriously and of course, they must be marked. The licence holder of the O2 Academy Brixton has taken the responsible view to close its premises pending the hearing of the full review,” he added.

The two people fatally injured were 23-year-old Gaby Hutchinson, who was working as a security member at the venue, and 33-year-old Rebecca Ikumelo.

A 21-year-old woman remains in critical condition in hospital.

Police officers outside Brixton O2 Academy where they are investigating the circumstances which led to four people sustaining critical injuries in an apparent crush as a large crowd tried to force their way into the south London concert venue. Police were called to the venue at around 9.35pm on Thursday following reports that a large number of people were attempting to force entry during a performance by Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter Asake. Picture date: Friday December 16, 2022. (PA Wire)

Asake posted on his social media to say how “devastated” and “overwhelmed with grief” he was after the news of the death at his concert.

“I am overwhelmed with grief and could never have imagined anything like this happening,” wrote Asake.

“My team and I are still awaiting the full debrief back from the venue management and the police to determine what exactly led to all the disruption caused and ultimately to Rebecca’s passing.

“If you have any relevant information relating to this please do reach out to the Metropolitan Police,” he added.