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.

The crush occurred after a large group of fans outside the venue attempted to force their way into the Academy, with the show going on to be cancelled.

A total of eight people were removed from the scene by ambulance with crush-related injuries, with two others being treated at the scene.

Police were called to the venue at around 9:30pm on the night of the 16th, after reports that large numbers of people were gathered outside the venue, which normally has a capacity of around 5,000 people, and were attempting to force entry into the show.  Scenes outside the venue were heated, with some witnesses estimating that up to 1,000 people had gathered without tickets outside the doors, clashing with security and  police, adn even trying to force their way through locked doors.

The concert was called off within just ten minutes of it having started, with Asake telling the crowd, “They said outside is fucked up already, so we have to end the show. I don’t know why. It’s not me.”

A further announcement from the team on stage went on to tell the crowd that the situation outside had become severe, with an estimated 3, 000 people attempting to enter the building.   The announcement was followed by booing from the crowd.

After the crush, Asake took to his Instagram with this message: “My heart is with those who were injured last night and caused any form of discomfort. I pray you get well soonest. I am also in the process of reaching out to individuals. I still do not have the full brief from the venue management themselves as to what led to the disruption at the entrance of The Brixton Academy, but we are thankful that all was peaceful in the end. For my people who enjoyed the beginning of my performance, I am sorry that it was cut short. Thank you for your unbelievable love London. I love you too much! I’m looking forward to seeing you again in a bit!”

Solomon Smith, who was present at the show, took to twitter to share his feelings:

Not Asake’s fault at all, it was more people who didn’t have tickets turned up with fake tickets… #Asake #Brixton pic.twitter.com/dxDzfCEUY7

— Solomon Smith (@sollysworld) December 15, 2022

The tragic event comes after the release of the Lagos musician’s debut album, Mr Money with the Vibe, in early September this year.  Since the release, the album has climbed to become the highest charting debut Nigerian album of all time on the Billboard 200 list, making it to No. 66 in September.

Following the death of one of the victims of Thursday night’s crush, a 33-year-old east London woman who was taken to hospital following the show, Asake is said to be “devastated”, saying on his Instagram, “I am overwhelmed with grief and could never have imagined anything like this happening”.

Police and the venue management are currently working together on a debrief as to why the situation escalated with such tragic consequences.