Birmingham's Rainbow Venues' license has been revoked and may be forced to close permanently

Birmingham's Rainbow Venues has had its license revoked following the drug-related death of 19-year old Michael Trueman, who passed away during a Halloween event at the popular nightlife destination last month.

After emerging from the toilets, a security guard found Trueman disoriented and called for medical assistance after he fell into a drug-induced seizure. Trueman later died at the hospital.

Following a temporary closure and a police investigation, the Birmingham City Council has decided that the best course of action is to order a permanent closure of the venue. The business has 21 days to appeal the decision in court.

Rainbow Venues has hosted countless major performances from some of electronic music’s most lauded artists. Cirque De Soul has cancelled its December 8 Christmas event. Mixmag has contacted the venue for confirmation if scheduled events featuring Bicep, Omar-S, Eats Everything, Horse Meat Disco and Nicole Moudaber will also be cancelled.

This is the second drug-related death at The Rainbow Venues in two years. In 2015, 18-year old Dylan Booth died during a NYE party. Booth's passing prompted Birmingham police to insist on the venue employ undercover security and drug-sniffing dogs to prevent the flow of drugs coming into the warehouse space.

“The most stringent measures are in place, yet drugs are still being consumed inside the venue,” said West Midlands Police representative Abdool Rohomon when speaking to the press. “We have no option but to call for Rainbow’s license to be revoked. This is the second drug related death at the venue in two years and we have evidence that a 15-year-old boy has been admitted to the venue.” The evidence in question was was apparently obtained via a Snapchat story.

According to Birmingham Mail, Rainbow’s legal representative Matthew Phipps has denied the allegations of there ever being a “high” 15-year-old inside the venue and has stated that The Rainbow Venues proposes to further ramp security by “installing CCTV inside the toilets” rather than revoke the venue’s license permanently.

Cameron is Mixmag's US Editorial Intern. Follow him on Twitter here