Brixton Academy allowed to reopen after crowd crush

Brixton Academy nightclub moves towards re-opening following an incident in December that saw 2 dead, 1 with life-threatening injuries, and 5 others hospitalized. The establishment must make accommodations in compliance with Lambeth Council’s decision to officially re-open.

Brixton Academy has been a staple in the London rave scene and has previously hosted avant-garde events that have pushed the envelope for live performances such as a 360-degree virtual-reality show hosted back in 2020. However, the club has fallen from the once glorious state through one dire situation.

Back in December, the Brixton Academy nightclub saw a police response outside the club due to reports of overcrowding and attendees pushing through into the club. Police responded to the situation, coming onto the scene to observe many injuries believed to be caused by crushing. The show’s attendees had rushed to the club to see, Nigerian Afrobeat artist Asake, which had to subsequently be canceled shortly after the police response.

Now, 9 months after the initial incident, the Brixton Academy has been told officially that they may be allowed to re-open given certain circumstances. In order for the establishment to be re-instated and be allowed to officially open, the club must enact certain safety measures to prevent any future occurrences such as the incident seen in December. The decision was brought forth on September 15 by Lambeth Council on the condition that safety measures be implemented which are “extensive and robust”.

The council has stated that such changes as stronger doors, more detailed risk assessment, a centralized control and command center, new crowd management systems, new ticketing system, as well as new security and management on top of 71 other required changes must occur before the club be allowed to open.

Since the decision has been handed down, Rolling Stone has announced that following safety changes, the club is expected to announce a slate of ‘test events’ and a timeline for re-opening.

The group in charge of the Brixton Academy club had this to say on the implementation of new safety measures in light of the December 15th incident,

“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.”

It has also been reported that AP Security, the company hired by AMG and in charge of security at the Asake event, will not work at the venue again.

Image Credit: Drew de F Fawkes via Flickr | License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)