The reopening of the Brixton O2 Academy has given the community high hopes for the revitalisation of south London nightlife.
After a year of closure, the landmark venue reopened last Friday following a fatal crush at an Asake performance in December 2022 where two people, Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and mother-of-two Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, died.
The tragedy prompted the Metropolitan Police to suggest the closure of the Academy, but the Lambeth Licensing Sub-Committee allowed the venue to reopen if it adhered to 77 conditions imposed on the premises’ licence.
Maximilian Horn, 30, general manager of The Effra Social, commented on the lack of vitality on Brixton night life in Academy’s period of closure.
He said: “It was dead quiet in the streets – it felt like lockdown again after they closed”.
With a capacity of 5,000, the Brixton O2 Academy once brought thousands of visitors to Brixton every week.
Horn, who has held three general manager positions at late night venues in Brixton, saw all three struggle financially with the Academy’s closure, on top of the economic difficulties caused by the cost of living crisis.
Speculating about the impact the reopening would have on the community, Horn hoped that the venue would reclaim its status as a key music venue in London whilst also revitalising late-night trade in Brixton.
A report from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), published in February, outlined that many of the UK’s music venues have been unable to recover from the pandemic and subsequent living crisis, as rents continue to rise.
This week, the BBC reported that over 3,011 night-time economy businesses closed in London between March 2020 and December 2023, the most drastic decline for any English region.
The NTIA report also highlighted the significance music venues continue to hold in the ecosystem of the night-time economy, prompting more trade in adjacent bars and clubs.
In a statement commenting on the Brixton O2’s reopening, Michael Kill, chief executive of the NTIA, said: “As the venue embarks on this new journey, we eagerly anticipate it welcoming music enthusiasts, artists, and the community to partake in the enchantment of live performances once more within this iconic space.”
Residents are also eagerly anticipating the venue’s return, with one Brixton resident Connie Ashton-Stockley, 23, excited for Brixton to get busier.
She said: “It will really add a bit of buzz around the area”.
Ashton-Stockley, who is a waitress at a late-night venue ten minutes’ walk away from the O2, suggested that the streets of Brixton felt safer when it was busier.
Commenting on the venue, she said: “I definitely think it is a big part of the community, and what Brixton is.
“All in all I think it is actually a really good thing, as long as they manage it better, which I think they will.”
Running at half capacity, the venue reopened with a series of tribute acts, but larger acts, like Royal Blood and Arcade Fire, are set to follow in the coming months.
