The Brixton Academy will be allowed to reopen after a fatal crowd crush at the venue last year – but Lambeth Council said the venue will have to meet 77 conditions to open again safely.
It comes after security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, died at the south London venue on 15 December 2022, when fans without tickets tried to enter a show by Nigerian Afrobeat artist, Asake.
Both victims were in the foyer of the building when they were critically injured, the Metropolitan Police said. About 1,000 people were outside the venue at the time.
A 21-year-old woman remains critically injured in hospital even now.
The council said the Academy will have to meet 77 “extensive and robust” conditions “designed to promote public safety” before it could reopen, in a decision announced today.
Following the crush, which also injured 10 people, the venue was ordered to shut down after its licence was suspended by Lambeth Council in December.
A hearing of the council’s licensing subcommittee to decide the venue’s ultimate fate began on Monday.
The initial decision to close Brixton Academy was supported by the venue’s owner, Academy Music Group, which offered to voluntarily close the site’s doors over the suspension period.
Venue ‘determined to learn lessons’
Brixton Academy said it looked forward to welcoming fans back after spending £1.2m during its closure to improve facilities and carry out maintenance.
In a statement after the council’s decision, the venue’s management said: “We are immensely grateful to Lambeth Council and Lambeth Licensing Sub-Committee.
“We continue to be devastated by the events of last December.
“Our heartfelt condolences remain with the family and friends of Rebecca Ikumelo and Gaby Hutchinson.
“What happened was and is a tragedy and we are committed to ensuring that it can never be repeated.
“Over the past nine months, the venue’s importance to the local community and the live music scene in the UK has been made clear.
“Academy Music Group is determined to learn all appropriate lessons from the night of 15 December 2022.
“As the Licensing Sub Committee knows, the venue must implement all the new conditions and will reopen at first with test events.
“The commitment we give to work in close partnership with all the responsible authorities as we reopen is a serious and sincere one.”
Police vow to work with Academy
The Metropolitan Police had previously urged the council to shut the venue.
But in a statement today, the force said it was never its intention to close Brixton Academy for good.
Superintendent Gabriel Cameron, Lambeth neighbourhood police lead, said: “Our thoughts today are with the loved ones of Rebecca Ikumelo, Gaby Hutchinson and the young woman who remains critically injured.
“It has always been the aim of the Met Police to ensure that the venue is operated safely for the public, and it is run by a licensee who will take all necessary steps to ensure this is the case.
“It has never been our aim to ask for the venue itself to be permanently closed. We absolutely recognise the cultural importance of it and its place at the heart of Lambeth.”
Gerald Gouriet KC, who represented the Met, said at an earlier hearing that officers found “large-scale disorder” with crowds eventually pushing the doors open in the moments before the crush.
A police investigation was launched, and the Security Industry Authority (SIA) opened an inquiry into corruption allegations that some security staff at the venue regularly took bribes.
The Met said today its investigation into what happened continues.
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MP says venue must only reopen when safe
A petition was launched calling for the venue to reopen after its temporary closure. It surpassed 100,000 signatures.
Members of well-known bands, such as Blur and The Chemical Brothers, supported the reopening of the venue.
Florence Eshalomi, MP for Vauxhall, said after today’s licensing decision: “I know how popular the Brixton Academy is and the fondness in which it is held as a music venue.
“It plays an important role in Brixton’s night-time economy and boosts trade for surrounding businesses.
“I am therefore pleased that it will reopen, but this should only happen in the full knowledge that it is safe to do so.”
Asake was forced to abandon the gig last December after performing three songs and released a statement saying his “heart is with those who were injured”.
His manager, Stephen Nana, later told Sky News he was “completely speechless and lost for words” after Ms Hutchinson’s death was announced.
