SuRe, Eurovision candidate for Great Britain. Pic: Wouter van Vlie
The Eurovision song contest is one of the most iconic, eagerly anticipated and at times ghastly live music competitions to exist.
After a gruelling multi-round selection process for all the 43 competing countries, families and party people alike gather to watch the spectacle which has been known to span for a dramatic four hours.
Representing Great Britain, SuRie will take to the stage this Saturday with pop ballad ‘Storm’.
Be one of the 250 million watching the spectacle at ELL’s top five East London Eurovision parties:
The Glory- Eurovision Party
Located on Kingsland Road (in between Dalston and Shoreditch and equally as exciting) The Glory is a vibrant gay bar that prides itself on weekly drag nights, weekend discos and its annual Eurovision party. Free entry before 10pm, this bar will be screening the grand final across two floors, complete with resident hosts and after-hours DJ’s- the winning result isn’t the closing point of the night.
John Sizzle, co-owner of The Glory said: “It’s a camp two-floor Eurovision fanatics dream party with a fantastical drag performance and hosting by self proclaimed Euro queen Jonny Woo at the helm.”
Be sure to arrive before 10pm as entry then goes up to £5.
Queen Adelaide – Sassitude Party
The queen Adelaide on Cambridge Heath has seen many a reinvention in recent years. However, it has now reformed to its former glory as a gay bar and traditional Hackney boozer.
A lively basement often playing the likes of Lady Gaga and Girls Aloud are what catapults this pub’s ‘Sassitude’ Eurovision night into ELL’s top five. Free until the party ends at 3am, the Adelaide boasts a night of cult pop hits.
Dalston Superstore – Maybe Baby Eurovision Screening Party
Perhaps East London’s most loved and frequented gay club, Dalston Superstore is a place where dancing on bars is encouraged rather than frowned upon.
On the smaller side of Eurovision-watching-party-venues, Superstore is definitely one of the most apt places to celebrate the festivities. Titled ‘Maybe Baby’, this event starts at the early time of 7pm and includes: drag performances, themed drinking games and trivia.
Tickets are £5 online.
Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club- Euro–disco
Just a 10-minute walk from Shoreditch High-street and Bethnal Green station, Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club is a venue that has an aesthetic that reminds you of a school prom from years gone by, complete with tinsel streamers and an LED heart that frames the stage.
Originally as its name would suggest, a Working Men’s Club, this nightlife must go is now more culturally liberal and diverse than its original purpose, often boasting a calendar that is full of LGBTQ nights to which this years ‘Euro-disco’ is no exception.
Promoted as a night that will be ‘conti-mental’ Working Men’s Club have booked have a wealth of DJs who will be playing everything from past Eurovision winners and failures to the much-loved Euro trash. Entry costs £8 and there’s a free glass of bucks fizz available for the first 100 through the door.
Tickets can be bought online.
The Water Poet – Party and Screening
In the heart of Shoreditch’s Spitalfields, The Water Poet is a diverse space that has dining rooms, a large beer garden and even a cinema. It therefore makes sense that this versatile pub has its very own Eurovision offering to add to the mix.
This party will not only be screening the event as per custom, but also hosting a fancy dress competition based on this year’s Eurovision theme of ‘all aboard’. Expect nautical fabric, unruly sailors, drag queens and a wealth Portuguese food as a nod to the 2018 host country.
This event is free on a first come first served basis.
