Big queues as LG Arena rap fans are searched
Thousands of Jay-Z and Kanye West fans were caught up in long queues outside Birmingham's LG Arena after bosses decided to carry out full body pat-downs and bag searches before they were allowed in.
Thousands of Jay-Z and Kanye West fans were caught up in long queues outside Birmingham's LG Arena after bosses decided to carry out full body pat-downs and bag searches before they were allowed in.
The hip hop superstars were performing at the venue last night as part of their world tour.
LG Arena spokesman Tara Tomes said the decision had been made to make the thorough searches of crowd members based on the "audience profile".
"Obviously we wouldn't do this for something like Disney on Ice," she said.
Ms Tomes said there was also a technical fault to do with lighting that delayed the doors opening to the seating area by about 10 minutes.
"On the night, there was an unforeseen technical delay, which meant that the arena bowl doors weren't opened until 7pm so our security team waited for the technical issues be resolved before letting anyone else into the building, as we had reached capacity in Forum Live. At 7pm the audience inside the building were granted access to the seating and standing areas and we then let the remaining audience members in."
At one point, the queue snaked from the doors of the LG back to the main halls of the NEC.
"There were more than 14,000 people there last night so it obviously took some time," Ms Tomes said.
"We had no complaints from fans who got in late."
In 2006, two stewards were shot during a Kanye West gig at the NEC. Abidan Raphael opened fire after twice being ejected from the arena. He was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to at least 20 years in prison.
