London O2 Arena refuses entry to man over ‘Free Gaza’ shirt, prompting boycott calls

London’s O2 Arena, last week, refused entry to a man for wearing a t-shirt in support of Gaza, amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in the besieged territory, leading to calls to boycott the venue.

A video has circulated online this week showing security at London’s O2 Arena refusing entry to a man and woman due to the former wearing a t-shirt with the words “Free Gaza”.

The incident reportedly took place over the weekend as the presumed couple attempted to make their way into the event featuring British comedian, Peter Kay.

With the security guard at the scene claiming that the venue’s policies forbid the expression of political slogans, another of the Arena’s staff member’s insisted that “we’re a non-political venue” and that it takes a “neutral” stance on such slogans.

Saying that she purchased the tickets for the event two years ago for her partner’s birthday, the woman recording stressed to the Arena’s staff that “you do realise there’s a genocide going on, right? You do realise thousands of children’s body parts are spread everywhere”, referring to Israel’s recent strike on a school in Gaza housing displaced Palestinians, which killed over 100 people – including children – and left not a single one of their bodies intact.

READ: One-third of consumers boycott brands due to Israel war on Gaza, global survey reveals

The refusal of the couple’s entry over the shirt has sparked outrage on social media, leading to numerous calls for a boycott of the venue and its events.

AEG Europe, the company which owns the O2 Arena, stated to MEMO that it is “a diverse and inclusive venue, as is our fan base and we sincerely apologise for any offence this incident may have caused. 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 insisted that “for this reason our ‘prohibited items’ policy exists, stipulated in our terms and conditions for all events, which prohibits items that ‘in our reasonable opinion, may cause danger or disruption to any event or to other visitors’”.

Citing the large crowd intake the venue deals with during such events and its policies focused on “providing a safe and inclusive experience for all”, the company stated that “In the rare event a fan arrives wearing clothing that security deem could breach our disruption policy, an alternative item of clothing should be provided free of charge, with the fan collecting their item post the event.  We are sorry this didn’t occur in this instance and apologise once more to anyone upset by this occurrence.”

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