A new industry-led campaign to save O2 Academy Brixton in London has been launched.

The Venue is currently closed, its license temporarily withheld while an investigation is underway. 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.

The Met Police believes the venue should have its license permanently withdrawn; a fan campaign led to an online petition, with more than 100,000 signatures and counting.

Now an industry-led campaign has been launched to show support for the venue. NTIA, Save Our Scene and Brixton BID have united to help save O2 Academy Brixton, arguing that it is vital both for Brixton’s local area, but live music across the country.

In a statement, Michael Kill – CEO NTIA – commented…

“The Brixton Academy is a huge part of the cultural economy within London and the UK, and is without doubt one of the landmark performance spaces in the world. It is responsible for shaping and nurturing artists’ careers past and present.”

“The loss of this venue would be catastrophic for the industry, so would urge all involved to step forward and engage in productive and meaningful discussions, with an aim to resolve the current challenges and present a unified position on delivering the safe and effective management of this space in the future.”

A landmark for the local area, O2 Academy Brixton draws countless music fans to Brixton – it’s loss would have a negative impact on the community. Gianluca Rizzo MD Brixton BID adds:

“Brixton Academy is one of the most iconic music venues in the UK and beyond. Whilst artists dream about performing in Brixton, our business community is proud to be home of such venue. Not only it is one of our key cultural destinations, the Brixton Academy contributes positively to the local economy as well as opportunities for our community. We stand by the Brixton Academy”.

For full information on the campaign visit the NTIA website.

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