It was a very different crowd queuing for O2 in London last night. Instead of young women in bright colours awaiting their pop idol, it was a mass of sensible greys and gilets. Barack Obama, 44th President of the US, was in town for a cosy chat with British historian David Olusoga, making it basically Oasis for centrist dads.
The O2 felt a strange choice for political talk. While the former Millennium Dome has the capacity and security for such a high profile speaker, getting everyone in on time seemed to be a challenge, with huge queues and people still finding their seats 15 minutes after the conversation began. My personal theory is the crowd was unfamiliar with the venue in comparison to London’s theatres, unpractised at rushing to claim a prime spot at the barrier, unaware you can’t waltz in with anything other than a small bag.
