A petition to save Brixton Academy has secured over 10,000 signatures in 2 days
A fan-led campaign has been launched to save London’s O2 Academy Brixton from closure.
Tragic events at the entrance of the venue during a show by Asake in December saw two people – security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and fan Rebecca Ikumelo, 33 – lose their lives as a severe crush developed.
An enquiry into those appalling events is ongoing, with the Met Police calling for O2 Academy Brixton to have its licence revoked. The venue is currently closed, and the Met force seemingly believe it should stay that way.
A spokesperson told The Guardian: “On 14 April, the Met police submitted an application for a review of [the] premises licence to Lambeth council and will be seeking a revocation of the licence. This matter will be decided at a future council sub-committee hearing on a date to be confirmed.”
Now, a fan has launched a petition to show public support for the venue. Stuart O’Brien has opened the petition, which is going viral – #SaveBrixtonAcademy was trending on Twitter, and more than 10,000 people have placed their names against its pledge.
The founder writes on the page: “Bring in new security procedures including crowd control to ensure a repeat doesn’t happen, but let’s not turn this venue into soulless flats as would more than likely happen in the event of permanent closure.”
He adds: “The loss of this venue would also have a devastating effect on the local economy! So please, let’s help keep music live and Save Brixton Academy!”
You can sign up to save the venue Here.
