Asake announces London show at The O2

5 May, 2023

Asake

Asake has announced a one-off London show at The O2 Arena this summer.

The Nigerian Afrobeats star will perform at the 20,000 capacity London venue on August 20, marking his first performance in the English capital since a fatal crowd crush at his O2 Academy Brixton gig in December resulted in the death of two people, leaving a third critically injured.

“My London family see you this Summer at The O2 Arena,” Asake wrote on social media.

Pre-sale sign up is live now until 11:59pm BST on Tuesday, May 9, before tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 10, at 10am BST. General sale will then go live on Friday, May 12 at 10am BST from here.

The incident at Asake’s Brixton gig on December 15 occurred on when people tried to force their way into the show, leading to overcrowding and the gig being cancelled halfway through. Rebecca Ikumelo, aged 33 and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23 died in the days after the crush. A third attendee, aged 21, was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Asake said he was “overwhelmed with grief” after receiving the news that fan Ikumelo had died. “My sincerest condolences to her loved ones at this time. Let us please keep her family in our prayers. I have spoken to them and will continue to do so,” he said.

“I am overwhelmed with grief and could never have imagined anything like this happening.”

“My team and I are still awaiting the full debrief back from the Venue management and the Police to determine what exactly led to all the disruption caused and ultimately to Rebecca’s passing.”

O2 Academy Brixton’s licence was temporarily suspended until January 16, later emerging that the venue would stay closed voluntarily until April while investigations continue.

The South London venue’s licence was then suspended for three months. Since then, a host of artists have moved gigs from Brixton to other gig venues across London.

The venue is now facing potentially indefinite closure, news which sparked a number of public statements from artists and industry figures who have insisted the iconic music venue be saved from closure.

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