- O2 Academy Brixton Set to Reopen with Strict Safety Conditions
- 77 Conditions to Ensure Public Safety at the Music Venue
- Police Collaboration and Ongoing Investigation into Tragic Incident
Lambeth Council has stated that the O2 Academy Brixton can reopen once it has met 77 “extensive and rigorous” conditions “designed to promote public safety.”
December saw the South London music venue’s licence suspended after two ticketless fans were killed trying to enter.
The council held a two-day licensing inquiry to determine if the academy should be permitted to host events once more.
When the venue will reopen, according to the proprietor, will be announced.
The 77 conditions that must be met by the venue are as follows: reinforced doors, new crowd management systems, more detailed risk assessments, a new ticketing system, a centralized control and command center, and new security and management.
The council’s cabinet member for safer communities, Mahamed Hashi, stated that the measures were “proposed by (owners) AMG (Academy Music Group) at the hearing to support their goal of regaining the venue’s license so that it can reopen, and to ensure that a tragedy similar to the one that occurred there in December 2022 never occurs again.”
The local government will continue to assist the ongoing police investigation into the incident, he added.
AMG thanked Lambeth Council and announced that the academy would reopen with demonstrations.
The Metropolitan Police stated that it would collaborate with AMG and the city council to ensure that “safety takes precedence.”
The goal of the Metropolitan Police Department has always been for the academy to be “run by a licensee who will take every precaution to ensure [safety],” according to Supt. Gabriel Cameron.
During the two-day hearing, the force requested a different venue management company.
Rebecca Ikumelo, a 33-year-old mother of two from Newham, and Gaby Hutchinson, a 23-year-old security contractor working at the venue from Gravesend in Kent, perished in the throng on 15 December 2022, during an Asake concert.
A third woman remains in critical condition in the hospital.
Ten patients were treated by London Ambulance Service at the scene, and eight were transported to hospitals.
Questions were raised regarding the venue’s doors, staffing, and medical coverage in the days and weeks that followed.
Amy Lamé, the nightlife administrator appointed by the mayor, praised the decision to reopen the “cherished” venue.
