Brixton Academy to re-open with series of “test events”

nme.com:

a hearing into the future of the venue commenced last Monday (September 11), which sought to determine whether or not the Academy Music Group (AMG) could continue to operate its licence at the venue following a fatal crowd crush at an Asake concert last December.The event left two people dead and one in a critical condition.

The Academy had its licence suspended and Metropolitan Police then reportedly made a push for the location to close its doors for good after the deaths of Gabrielle Hutchinson and Rebecca Ikumelo, who were aged 23 and 33 respectively.A hearing regarding the future of the Brixton venue kicked off at the start of last week.

Last Tuesday (September 12) it was reported that Lambeth Council would support the reopening of the O2 Academy “in principle” if a series of conditions were met.Additionally, on Friday (September 15) it was announced that the music venue had been given the green light to keep its licence and re-open – providing that it meets 77 “extensive and robust” conditions “designed to promote public safety”.Now, following the decision, the venue is set to re-launch with a series of “test events” and a timeline for the re-opening will be announced shortly.“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 through first-hand professional testimony, campaigns, and petitions as well as economic assessments demonstrating the financial impact to the surrounding area caused by the closure,” reads a statement from the AMG.“Academy Music Group is determined to learn all appropriate lessons from the night of December 15, 2022.