The hearing occurred amidst an ongoing period of uncertainty for the Brixton Academy following the devastating crowd crush at an Asake show last December that ultimately claimed the lives of two people and left another in critical condition. The event forced the Academy to shut its doors and led to the venue having its live music license revoked. This in turn led to a backlash amongst fans of the beloved venue, leading to a petition to reopen its doors amassing quite the success.

The first day of the hearing led to the venue refusing the accusation of racial profiling, with AMG’s legal representative Mr Philip Kolvin QC quoted as saying, “My client is probably the leading host of music of Black origin in this country. That’s a position that it values and would like to continue to be. Of the 13 different risks assessed by the Academy, none of them are racial“.

Lambeth Council barrister Horatio Waller QC agreed with Kolvin on the second day of the hearing, saying, “This new process should not lead to a tunnel vision situation where risk is associated with genre or race“.

Waller also confirmed yesterday that the venue could be re-opened if certain conditions were met. He claimed that AMG have performed a “complete overhaul” of their security procedures and attitude towards risk assessments since December and that these were “independently audited” by consultants and commended as “comprehensive and robust“.

Waller also states that “the council supports, in principle, the re-opening of the venue based upon new conditions“, with these conditions including a “new, revised system for ingress entry into the venue” and the “introduction of new barriers positioned on the highway”.

Mr Kolvin QC discussed in his closing argument the installation of strengthened doors at the venue. He stated, “At the time of this incident, the doors were unable to withstand a mass and violent attack. In other words, the premises were not a fortress, they were a concert hall. Even if you consider the doors should have been more robust at an earlier stage, that is a matter of blame which is for other processes to investigate. It does not require these premises to shut down any more than any other public or private premises that are compulsorily closed following accidents, even terrible accidents. The doors have now been strengthened so as to be resilient against pressure, even if it did occur”.

Following the conclusion of the public hearing, Lambeth Council have advised that a decision on the future of the venue will be made “within five working days”, according to NME.

During a three-show run at 02 Brixton Academy last December, two people, gig-attendee Rebecca Ikumelo, 33 and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, lost their lives as a result of a crowd crush outside of the venue as a result of many fans trying to get into the show without a ticket.

Just before Asake hit the 02 Arena stage last Sunday a tribute towards the two who lost their life was carried out as their picture was shown across the stage’s big screen. This was accompanied by a spoken word poem alongside backing performers dressed in all-white surrounded in full view by flowers.

The poet went on to say: “I know some feel loss and some regret. We need to hold this moment. I need to hold this moment. They need to hold this moment.”

Throughout the poem, the big screen cycled through photos of the two victims as well as news footage from the scene and pictures of the tributes that were left outside the venue.

This was all then rounded out with a message that read “Rest well” immediately prior to the start of the concert.

The tribute was commended and praised across social media from those who attended the show and those that chose to watch the live stream.

I love Asake’s tribute to the Brixton Victims

— AJ (@liliestbaby) August 20, 2023

Respect to Asake and his team for the tribute to the victims at o2 Brixton

— ApEx (@apex_ams) August 21, 2023

However, the tribute was met with criticism from the sister of victim, Rebecca Ikumelo, as she stated on social media: “My sister lost her life at your show and you haven’t spoken to a single member of my family since. But you can hold another concert in London less than nine months later and play her videos as a ‘tribute’?”

What a sorry excuse of a “tribute” from @asakemusik. My sister lost her life at your show and you haven’t spoken to a single member of my family since. But you can hold another concert in London less than 9 months later and play her videos as a “tribute”? RIP Rebecca Ikumelo — R (@rachaeliku_) August 20, 2023

The show itself was still mired in speculation. Asake showed up on stage 90 minutes late with there being rumours of issues with crowd control. However, it is possible extra precaution was taken as Asake went on the state “Safety is my main priority tonight”.

Investigations are still ongoing regarding what happened during that fatal crush outside the 02 Brixton Academy last December, with the venue remaining closed as Lambeth Council reviews it’s live music license. The future of the venue is currently up in the air at the moment; the Met Police have claimed to have “lost confidence” in the venue’s safety whilst online petitions have pushed for the venue to remain open.

When it came to the unsuspension of the venue’s license, the venue voluntarily decided on extending their closure for another three months. It was considered that an extra few months to unmuddle the problems at stake, in order to ensure the safety that customers deserve, was necessary.

The O2 Brixton Academy has been around for almost a century. Providing a space in South London which has dedicated it’s services as a cinema, a discotheque and a concert hall. It’s a venue which many people have relied on and where artists hold their best memories.

Just a week ago the MET Police claimed to have “lost confidence” in the Academy and have started working towards the official closing down of the venue for good. No doubt this has caused an uproar amongst artists, music lovers and people within the industry.

Many of them have spoken up through social media, expressing their disappointment. The attempt to do this has lead the public to launch a petition on Change.org to bring a halt to the Metropolitan Police’s wishes. In only a matter of hours the petition had over 25.000 signatures and is now at 50.000. The highest signed petition in Change.Org’s history.

People know the crush was caused by people – pointing out that the venue should not take the hit by having to close down. It is a fixable problem. Some even brought up the fact that there have been more deaths at the MET police than the O2 itself. Which is something to think about.

Comments on the matter have surfaced on social media; Some included Tim Burgess comment on Twitter “Lost count of the amount of times we’ve played Brixton Academy – it’d would be a tragedy to lose such an iconic venue”.

Sister Bliss posted “Brixton Academy – @faithless have graced the stage there many times – and yet a terrible tragedy happened there only recently. But it is hugely short sighted to shut the venue permanently- generating jobs, local economy- bringing the best music to London! #SaveBrixtonAcademy”. 

The rock band Garbage also had their say with a simple “Save Brixton Academy #SaveBrixtonAcademy https://chng.it/RFzJKsZF via @UKChange”. 

An endless amount of support for the space has been apparent. It has proved it’s important stance within the industry’s members and how it cannot go unappreciated. Further information will be revealed in the next coming weeks.

Click here to sign the petition.