London venue Brixton Academy is set to temporarily close for the next month following two deaths caused by a crowd crush at last week’s Asake gig.
This morning (December 22) it was reported that the iconic venue’s licence could be temporarily suspended after the incident at a show from the Nigerian artist on December 15.
The incident occurred when people who were outside the venue tried and were able to force their way in to the show, leading to overcrowding and the gig being cancelled half way through.
Rebecca Ikumelo, aged 33, died in hospital on Saturday morning (December 17), while Gaby Hutchinson, 23, died on Monday (December 19). A third attendee, aged 21, remains in hospital in a critical condition.
The venue has been voluntarily closed since the Asake concert, but today Lambeth Council have decided that the venue will be ordered to remain shut until January 16, local journalist Robert Firth has reported.
According to Firth, another hearing will take place on that date to decide the future of the venue and any potential further closures.
The O2 Academy Brixton must temporarily shut following the crowd crush at the Asake concert last week, Lambeth Council has decided.
The venue will remain closed until January 16, when another council hearing will take place to decide its future.
— Robert Firth (@robjfirth) December 22, 2022
Following the incident, Scotland Yard applied to have the venue’s licence temporarily suspended, citing “serious crime and disorder” during the show, while a separate criminal investigation from the Metropolitan Police has been launched, applying for a review of the venue licence.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “The decision whether or not to suspend or vary the premises licence will be made by a Local Authority Licensing Subcommittee.”
The application for the licence review added: “Police were called to the premises in response to reports of serious disorder with a clear threat to public safety. During the incident, a crowd forced their way into the venue leading to serious injuries to several individuals, and two individuals have since lost their lives.
“The Met contend that the premises is associated with serious crime and serious disorder. A certificate signed by Detective Superintendent Daniel Ivey has been provided to this effect.”
The venue said they “continue to be devastated by this tragic situation and are fully supporting the ongoing investigation”.
The police have called for anyone with information that could potentially help the case to come forward and have set up an online portal for people to submit information, images or footage. They estimate that there were around 4,000 witnesses present at the time of the incident.