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There’s nowhere in the world quite like London, where cobbled alleys sit at the foot of shiny skyscrapers; where culture spans East End drag queen brunches to epochal West End performances. Our city celebrates its heritage while embracing the new, which is exactly what we’re doing as we mark 50 years of Time Out.
A lot has changed in the capital over the past five decades – and we’re not just talking about Londoners’ insatiable appetite for cheese-based street food and wallowing in giant ball pits. Huge events like Notting Hill Carnival, Pride and the London Marathon have established themselves in the city’s calendar. Beloved venues have closed down (RIP Madame Jojo’s) and brilliant new spots have emerged (award-winning cocktail bar Dandelyan, the newly restored Mail Rail and our number one restaurant The Barbary). Through good times and bad, Time Out has been there (even if we’ve sometimes been a bit hungover on the job).
And because it’s not every day you turn 50 (we know, we’ve aged well), we’re planning on celebrating for the rest of the month. You might already know that we’re teaming up with the likes of interactive supperclub Gingerline to throw a huge party showing off the best of the city and that we’ve pulled together a book and an exhibition of Time Out’s most iconic covers and the stories behind them – like the time we let Elton John guest-edit the magazine, or when the elusive Banksy designed the cover (no, we didn’t get to meet him).
But there’s more: we’re dedicating the next three issues of Time Out to the past 50 years of London’s history, as well as what we’re excited about now. In the coming weeks we’ll be championing 50 people making London an awesome place to be and looking back at 50 important moments since Time Out’s launch in 1968. First up, though, we’re celebrating 50 of our city’s most iconic, unique and vital venues – from cultural institutions and quirky museums you’d only ever find in London, to groundbreaking bars and everyone’s favourite prehistoric pals, the Crystal Palace Park dinosaurs. The series is going to be a huge love letter to the city we’ve called home for half a century. Because 50 years deserves more than just a few party poppers and a Colin the Caterpillar cake, right?
Read about the 50 most iconic places in London here
To celebrate our big five-oh, we’re curating the ultimate birthday party in Granary Square on Saturday September 29.
Book your tickets at timeout.com/50party