Asake cancels London show after security breach

Afrobeats sensation Asake has been forced to cancel his sold-out show at the O2 Academy Brixton midway through as many fans who didn't have tickets tried to forcefully gain access to the show.

According to reports, the fans tried to breach the venue's doors, forcing the sold-out show to stop halfway through on the night of Thursday, December 15, 2022.

One person said on Twitter that more than 1,000 people showed up without tickets.

The BBC reports that eight people have been taken to hospital, with four in a critical condition, after a suspected crush during the event in London.

Police and other emergency services were called to the O2 Academy in Brixton as the unfortunate event began to escalate.

Security and Aviation Commander in the Metropolitan Police's Aviation and Security Specialist Operations unit, Commander Ade Adelekan, said that the police have launched an investigation on the issue.

“They arrived to find a number of people with injuries believed to have been caused by crushing. Detectives are investigating the circumstances which led to four people sustaining critical injuries,” he said.

Adelekan assured that the scene will be examined by specialist officers as part of an investigation which will be "as thorough and as forensic as necessary".

In his words, “This is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital, a police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night."

He added that specialist officers will examine the scene and the CCTV, and he also appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

The show, which was abandoned halfway through, was the third of three sold-out shows the Nigerian singer had performed in Brixton.