The Time Out London blog team

Club heads, we bring you good news. One of Time Out’s favourite little basement venues, The Glove That Fits, has had a major renovation. And even better news is that it’s been granted a brand new late licence too. Hackney nightclub The Glove That Fits (TGTF) has been given a permanent late licence, allowing the venue to open until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays and 2am on Thursdays. Previously the club had to close at 1am on most weekends, with only an occasional late licence granted. The early closures significantly limited the venue’s programming in an already challenging landscape for independent music venues. The licence was granted by Hackney Council following a formal application from TGTF.  Photograph: Fossil Archive / The Glove That Fits Now eight years old, the venue has also undergone its first renovation since opening in 2018, which includes a newly rebuilt DJ booth, new room layout, upgraded DJ equipment and a new lighting rig, all while keeping the club’s signature red lighting and basement feel. Photograph: DINAMPLATZ   Founder Seb Glover said: ‘Its an exciting and important step in the life of our little venue. In an increasingly challenging environment to operate in, this extension allows us to further support the artists, creators and creative ecosystem that we love and that makes the UK such a unique and rich place to be.’ For more nightlife, these are London’s best clubs.  ICYMI: This legendary north London music venue is for sale. Get the latest and...

An estimated 13,000 Pokémon fans descended on London’s ExCeL centre last weekend (Feb 13-15), travelling from all over the UK and the world, to attend the ninth annual Pokémon Europe International Championships (PEUIC).  All united by their love for the Japanese game, the event saw 7,000 competitors take part in heated battles in the Trading Card Game (TCG), the Video Games Championships (VGC) and Pokémon GO. Competing is serious stuff, with winners taking home cash from a total prize pool of $500,000 (£369,170).  Collectors and fans came to meet other Poké-heads and cop as much Poké-merch as they could carry, from cards, to clothing and plush toys, with queues going around the venue and highly-coveted tickets required to enter the enormous Pokémon Centre.  Time Out went down to meet some of the attendees and capture the action.    Photograph: Chris Bethell for Time Out Kay, Newark and Renza, Lincoln ‘We drove two and a half hours to get here, we’re here for the whole weekend. ‘How can I sum [the Championships] up without coming across like a complete nerd? I can’t! You’ve just got to lean into it.’ – Kay ‘I’m dressed as a Team Rocket grunt. We’re huge, huge Pokémon nerds. We love cosplay and we love Pokémon.’ – Renza Photograph: Chris Bethell for Time Out    Photograph: Chris Bethell for Time Out Hannah, 23 and Kieran, 23, North London ‘We are really into TCG. I used to dabble in Pokémon but since I came to the Championships last year it has become an obsession....

One of the longest-standing and largest queer film festivals, BFI Flare celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026. The springtime film bonanza at the BFI’s South Bank home is a major calendar fixture for London’s queer communities and cinephiles alike, and with exactly one month to go until the 2026 edition of the festival kicks off, the line-up has just been revealed. Film buffs attending this year’s edition of Flare will be able to catch 31 world premieres among the 65 feature films and 62 shorts on the programme, alongside a stellar curation of classic queer cinema, and the usual programme of talks, workshops, exhibitions and DJ nights that make the BFI Southbank such a buzzy place to be during the festival.  The BFI Flare 2026 Line-Up Opening Night Film  As previously announced, the 40th edition of Flare will open with the world premiere of American documentary maker Jennifer Kroot’s riotous new film Hunky Jesus, which follows social justice movement the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as they prepare to host their legendary annual Easter Sunday drag contest in San Francisco. Alongside the premiere, long-serving member Sister Roma will be present for a talk exploring the ‘sistory’ and impact of the movement alongside UK chapter members. Image: Hunky Jesus Special Presentation Taking place halfway through the festival, the Special Presentation for Flare 2026 is Kiwi director Paloma Schneideman’s ‘tender, unflinching’ coming of age drama Big Girls Don’t Cry, following...