Peter Kay fan refused entry to O2 Arena for carrying ‘Free Gaza’ shirt

A Peter Kay fan was denied entry to the O2 Arena for wearing a Free Gaza t-shirt amid fears it ‘could cause danger and disruption’, it has emerged.

The fan and his partner, who claim to have purchased tickets to the sold-out London gig two years ago, were stopped by security at the entrance over the shirt. 

Officials said he would need to ‘get another t-shirt’ before the pair could enter the venue and even declined to let the man turn it inside out, saying the ‘t-shirt would need to stay with us if you are going to change it’.

Venue staff told the couple that the O2 is ‘not political’ and ‘neutral’, offering them the options of purchasing a new t-shirt from the merchandise stand or a nearby shop, or missing the show and contacting their ticket seller for a refund.

The fan said ‘I don’t want to miss the gig’, suggesting that he and his partner decided to replace the shirt and go to the August 10 show, although that is not shown in the footage.

O2 bosses have now responded to the incident, noting that the venue’s ‘prohibited items’ policy bans objects that in ‘our reasonable opinion’ could be harmful to guests. They said security ‘made a judgement call and got it wrong’ and admitted that ‘entry should have been granted’ to the couple.

Footage recorded by the couple and shared on TikTok by the Watford branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign shows how they were detained ahead of the gig.

The man, wearing a black and white Free Gaza shirt, is seen standing near the entrance security queue as his partner films what she branded as a ‘ridiculous’ incident.

‘Do you have any way you can get another t-shirt to change in to?’ a security official asks the fan.

He explains that his shirt is ‘all I’m wearing’, but the official interrupts and doubles-down with ‘you need to change’.

His seemingly frustrated partner then asks: ‘You can’t let us into the venue because of a t-shirt?’

The official, saying how he ‘just spoke to the venue’, mentions a ‘policy’ and says they were ‘advised’ not to let the pair in – but doesn’t specifically state what the policy entails. He then turns back to the t-shirt wearing fan and says: ‘If you can change it, that would be great.’

The partner suggests that he ‘turn it inside out’, but the security official adds: ‘You won’t be allowed to do that.’

‘What?’ the partner exclaims, to which the official reiterates that he will need a new shirt and the pro-Palestine shirt would ‘need to stay with us if you are going to change it’.

The partner then asks if they would be refunded for their tickets, to which the security officer advises them to ‘go back to your point of sale’.

A second venue official offered to provide them with the contact details for AXS customer service’.

‘This is crazy,’ the woman responds. ‘He can’t even turn it inside out and wear it backwards?’

‘No,’ one security official said. The other added: ‘It wouldn’t stop him from reversing it back once he’s inside.’ 

The woman warned that she was ‘filming’ and the O2 would ‘have massive boycotts’ but the staff did not waiver.

‘We’re not a political venue,’ the second security officer replied. ‘Everyone’s neutral.’

The woman then asked for a ‘different option’ to get into the show but the staff told them ‘we don’t have anything we can offer you t-shirt wise’. The couple were then referred to the ‘merchandise’ being sold at the venue or the ‘shops in the ally’.

He added: ‘We can’t offer anything because I have asked the venue.’

‘Wowza, that’s mental,’ she replied. Her partner added: ‘Well, I don’t want to miss the gig so…’

The O2 today has responded to the incident, saying in a statement shared on social media that it is a ‘diverse and inclusive’ venues and apologises for ‘any offense and upset this incident may have caused’.

Bosses, citing how the arena holds up to 20,000 people, said ‘we try to make the best decisions we can, with the information we have available, in a timely fashion’.

They admitted ‘we don’t get every decision right’ and said that ‘on this occasion we made a judgment call and got it wrong’. 

‘Safety and security are our paramount priority at all times, and we do everything we can to provide a safe and respectful environment for all guests. It is for this reason that our “prohibited items” policy exists, stipulated in our terms and conditions for all events,’ the statement reads.

The policy, according to the venue, prohibits items that in ‘our reasonable opinion, may cause danger or disruption to any Event or to other visitors’.

‘On this occasion that was not the case and entry should have been granted,’ the statement stated. 

‘For clarity, there is no venue policy which prohibits clothing displaying any specific messages, unless we reasonably believe there will be risk of disruption or that it is unlawful’.

The O2 says that in ‘light of this incident’, officials are reviewing venue policies and procedures to ‘prevent this from happening again’.