3 things we learned from Olamide, YBNL’s overcrowded London concert

On Sunday, the sold-out London concert of the YBNL crew was prematurely ended as a result of overcrowding, security and safety concerns. 

The show, which featured performances from Adekunle Gold, Sean Tizzle, Lil Kesh, and others, had over 5,000 fans in attendance at the Eventim Apollo venue.

Here are 3 things we deduced from the situation.

YBNL’s mass following

About two weeks ago, Burna Boy held a concert at that same venue and although it was well attended, it had no issues of overcrowding.

The overcrowding recorded during Sunday’s concert goes to show that the Olamide Adeleke-led YBNL crew has a significantly larger fan base in the United Kingdom.

Nigerian music now big abroad

Everywhere you go in the world, you can always find a Nigerian community while music originating from these parts have, of late, filtered into the global space.

This is such that ‘Afrobeats’ – as Nigerian music is so categorised – is gradually becoming a prominent genre in world music.

While a chunk of attendees of the YBNL concert may be Nigerians, several other nationalities were also present.

This is an indication that a lot more nationalities are being drawn to Nigerian music.

The need for bigger venues

The Eventim Apollo in London is the go-to stop for most of Nigeria’s biggest artists when considering a venue to host a show in the United Kingdom.

The YBNL concert pushed the venue to its limits, and as such, the need for a bigger venue for subsequent events has arisen.