Watford pair denied entry to Peter Kay show over Gaza shirt

The Watford branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign shared a video to TikTok which it says shows two of its members being denied entry to the comedian’s gig on August 10.

In the clip, which has been viewed more than 82,000 times, security guards prevent the fan and his partner from going in, claiming that it was because the O2 is “not political” and “neutral”.

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As the discussion continues, the ticket-holders suggest it could be worn inside out to hide the message, but this is rebuffed and staff say the shirt would have to remain with them if the pair entered.

The man’s partner then asks if there is a replacement shirt he could be offered but is told this wouldn’t be possible.

The 'free Gaza' t-shirt. (Image: Watford PSC)

As the video ends, they are discussing going to a nearby merchandise shop and buying a new shirt to wear when the man says, “I don’t want to miss the gig, so…we’ll take the T-shirt off”.

In a statement, the O2 Arena said: “We are a diverse and inclusive venue, as is our fanbase, and we sincerely apologise for any offence and upset this incident may have caused.

“On any given night we host up to 20,000 people and we try to make the best decisions we can, with the information available, in a timely fashion. We don’t get every decision right, all of the time, and on this occasion we made a judgement call and got it wrong. For that, we apologise.

@watford.psc Denied entry to the O2 for wearing a t-shirt for 🇵🇸 #palestine #boycott #boycotttheo2 #freepalestine #endthegenocide #fy #fyp #viral #gaza #savepalestine #uk #endoccupation ♬ original sound - Watford PSC

“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 our ‘prohibited items’ policy exists, stipulated in our terms and conditions for all events."

It explained that the policy prohibits items that "in our reasonable opinion, may cause danger or disruption to any event or other visitors".

The venue acknowledged that this was not the case in the video and that entry should have been granted.

The statement added: “For clarity, there is no venue policy which prohibits clothing displaying any specific messages, unless we reasonably believe there to be a risk of disruption or that it is unlawful.

“In light of this incident we are currently reviewing our policies and procedures to prevent this happening again and wish to extend our apologies once more.”