To mark its 50th anniversary, Time Out will throw a huge party in London in Granary Square, King’s Cross on Saturday September 29 from 5pm to 11pm. Time Out 50 will be a one-night birthday bonanza celebrating the very best of London across food, drink, performance, cabaret and music – all curated by Time Out’s content team and brought to life by Time Out’s Live Events team. A limited number of tickets to join the party are available at timeout.com/50party for £30*.
The party offers the chance to sample the best of the city right now – in one place, on one night: Bompas & Parr and Sipsmith will bring to life the world’s biggest gin cloud descending on the square, there will be an exclusive foodie taster experience of Gingerline’s latest immersive extravaganza ‘The Grand Expedition’**, east London drag collective The Glory will present cutting-edge cabaret on a floating stage, London’s coolest choir Some Voices will revamp hits by legendary Londoner David Bowie, Southbank Centre will showcase choreographer Holly Blakey with a specially curated performance, there will be feminist wrestling from EVE and a flurry of vivid colour at one of Andrew Logan’s famous Jewellery Parades. Party guests can finish the night shaking it to four DJs – including a headline set from Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor – selected in collaboration with Time Out 50’s official music partner, King’s Cross music mecca Spiritland. And the dust, feathers and sequins from Notting Hill Carnival may have only just settled, but for one night only, the vibrancy and sound from west London’s annual celebration will be making its way to central London - to the Time Out 50 party.
There will be cocktails from a curated bar, featuring the city’s finest drinking institutions and former winners of the Time Out Bar Awards including Dandelyan, Swift and Bar Termini. Party guests will also get to sample London’s most amazing street food, handpicked by Time Out London's Food editor Tania Ballantine and delivered by KERB, including Mother Clucker, Ribman, Yum Bun, Club Mexicana and other foodie delights.
The Time Out 50 party will be part of a series of anniversary events. An exhibition is open until 3rd March 2019 at London’s Museum of Brands; Time Out 50: 50 Years, 50 Covers shows fifty amazing magazine covers and the stories behind them, charting how Time Out has reflected, shaped and become an inseparable part of urban life around the world. A 128-page book of the same name is published by Unicorn, available at timeout.com/50 and from all major bookshops and online retailers for £20.
The event location of the party, Granary Square, is closely connected to Time Out, with King’s Cross the home to Time Out’s headquarters since December 2017 and King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP), the developer behind Granary Square, the presenting partner of the event. The public square – the largest of its kind in Europe – is right at the heart of King’s Cross, on the banks of Regent’s Canal and adjacent to Coal Drops Yard, the new Heatherwick Studio-designed shopping and lifestyle district set to open in late October 2018. Granary Square is where in Victorian times barges unloaded their goods and today, 1,000 choreographed fountains, bars, cafés and restaurants attract locals and visitors to explore this part of the capital.
A number of drinks brands raise a glass to Time Out with further event partners including BACARDÍ whose Rum Truck, featuring a state of the art integrated sound system, will create the Mojito lab serving up three special spins on the classic cocktail in partnership with top London rum bar The Rum Kitchen. Curious Brewery, the brewery owned by England’s leading winemaker, Chapel Down, will present The Curious Bar, a modified Land Rover serving its Curious Brew, Curious Session IPA and Curious Apple, all of which pull on the brand’s winemaking heritage to make refreshingly-balanced and high-quality drinks. Celebrating true refinement and excellence in craft, the Kentish brewery has also teamed up with The Jaunty Flaneur, the shoe polish artisans of Mayfair who will be offering complimentary shoe shines whilst guests enjoy a pint of draught beer. Red Bull's eye-catching flora-filled two storey pop-up bar Deck 87, will be serving a trio of delicious mocktails including a complimentary drink for every party guest. Pioneers of the gin renaissance, Sipsmith will arrive at Time Out 50 with their London gin cab, a pop-up bar offering ginny tipples and London inspired gin masterclasses. Sipsmith have also created a special Time Out cocktail, which will be a complimentary welcome drink for every guest. Monkey Shoulder are the presenting partner for the Time Out Bar, a relay of bar takeovers from five of London's best bars and winners of Time Out London's 2017 Bar Awards. Each bar will recreate some of their signature serves including one mixed with Monkey Shoulder whisky.
Time Out was born in London in 1968 when Tony Elliott, at the age of 21, created a magazine at his mum’s kitchen table – partially funded by a £70 birthday gift from his aunt – to help Londoners explore the exciting new urban cultures that had started up all over the city. Fifty years on, Time Out’s mission remains the same as it was when it first started: to inspire and enable people to make the most of the city. Today, it is a leading global media and entertainment brand helping millions of people discover the best of 108 cities in 39 countries with its websites, apps, magazines, offers, live events and Time Out Market: the world’s first food and cultural market based on editorial curation, bringing the best of the city’s restaurants, bars and cultural experiences together under one roof. The first Time Out Market opened in 2014 in Lisbon and attracted 3.6 million visitors in 2017, making it the country’s most popular attraction. By the end of 2019, new Time Out Markets are set to open in Miami, New York, Boston, Chicago and Montreal.
Julio Bruno, CEO of Time Out Group PLC, said:
“Time Out started in London in 1968 and has expanded across the world - it is now a leading global media and entertainment brand. For 50 years, we've curated the best of the city and this is exactly what our Time Out 50 party in Granary Square will be all about. We will celebrate the very best of London right now in one big night out and everything - from our exciting contributors to our fantastic event partners - has been handpicked and curated by our editorial team. It's going to be an incredible night and we all hope to see you there to celebrate the city and our iconic brand."