O2 Academy Brixton will reopen in April
The venue has announced its first shows in 16 months, having closed in December 2022 following a fatal crowd crush
O2 Academy Brixton has announced its reopening next month, 16 months after shutting its doors in December 2022 following a fatal crowd crush.
Sharing the details of its first gigs back on social media, the venue wrote: “O2 Academy Brixton will reopen on Friday 19th April with Nirvana UK (tribute to Nirvana) and The Smyths, (tribute to the Smiths), followed by Friday 26th April with Definitely Mightbe (tribute to Oasis) and UK Foo fighters (tribute to Foo Fighters).”
The venue's licence was suspended by Lambeth Council following a tragic incident on 15th December 2022, when two people died and another was left in critical condition after fans without tickets tried to get into a concert by Asake. The Metropolitan Police reportedly made a push for the venue to shut for good as it faced indefinite closure. However, following a two-day hearing in September last year, councillors voted for the O2 Academy Brixton to reopen pending its meeting 77 "robust" conditions “designed to promote public safety.”
The company which owns the Brixton Academy, Academy Music Group (AMG), said it had developed new safety measures in an effort to have its licence restored, including stronger doors, new queuing systems to improve crowd management, and more secure ticketing.
A statement from Academy Music Group (AMG), which also operates other O2 Academy venues, read: “Academy Music Group is determined to learn all appropriate lessons from the night of December 15, 2022. Working at a senior level with experts across all disciplines, AMG presented a comprehensive, multi-faceted response for the licensing authorities to support their case for the safe and secure reopening of the venue.”
In September 2023, the South London venue announced it would be holding a series of “test events”, as well as outlining a timeline to reopening. AP Security, which AMG hired to supervise events at Brixton Academy, will not work at the venue again, the Guardian reports.
Further shows from indie bands Editors and The Black Keys are being advertised on the venue’s website, taking place in the first week of May.
Tickets for the opening gigs go on sale this Friday (8th March) at 9am GMT here. A pre-sale will also go live on Wednesday (6th March) at 10am GMT.
A petition to save Brixton Academy received more than 115,000 signatures and was supported by the likes of The Prodigy.
