Four people have been left in critical condition, with eight people rushed to hospital, after a suspected crowd crush occurred during a concert at O2 Academy Brixton last night, 15 December.

Metropolitan Police were called to the 4,921-capacity south London venue after a large number of people tried to force their way into a concert by afro-pop singer Asake.

According to witnesses, around 3,000 people turned up to the gig without tickets. The concert was cancelled 10 minutes after the singer appeared on stage to perform.

According to the Guardian, a spokesperson then said on stage, “We have stopped the show, because they breached the door. You have got 3,000 people have broken the door outside and because of security, police have asked us to close the show. We apologise to you. This is nothing to do with us.”

No arrests have been made at the time of writing.

The crowd surge is the latest in a series of crowd problems at events worldwide, with security experts reporting a distinct change in behaviour at events since the pandemic subsided.

United Kingdom Crowd Management Association chair Eric Stuart told Access that among the by-products of the lockdowns is that young people lack experience of how to behave in crowds.

“They haven’t had that familiarity with the pack and how to behave in that environment, so we’ve seen some real aggressive and extreme behaviours resulting from an apparent sense of intolerance and entitlement,” he said.

Brixton Academy operator Academy Music Group has been contact for comment.

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