Roll up! Roll up! The greatest show on earth is coming to town – London Town, that is. In what might be the most inspired piece of recycling you’ve heard of, the top level of a high-rise car park in Wapping is about to be turned into a circus-themed, bar-centred street festival (except it’s safely off the street).
The Yellow Park car park in Wapping Lane may seem squeezed in among the warehouse conversions, authentic and faux, but at 16 storeys high it positively towers over the neighbours.
And once Big Top opens for business in the New Year, drinkers and grazers will be able to enjoy incredible views east to Canary Wharf and west towards The City.
Complete Licensing secured Big Top’s operating licence from Tower Hamlets without any problems and the venue would have been open before Christmas but for the Covid-19 pandemic.
The drums will roll, the spotlights will shine and the elephants will march triumphantly (no, not really) when social distancing rules are relaxed, but the delay has allowed Big Top to add some extras. As well as the carousel bar, which will be the hub of the venue, there are plans for other circus-themed bars and attractions such as a silent cinema (including top quality headphones so the neighbours don’t have to share visitors’ enjoyment of movies like, er, The Greatest Show on Earth).
Safety will be a primary concern. When your venue is 16 storeys up, the first thing you do is to make sure your customers aren’t at risk, and this is another area where Complete Licensing’s expertise has proved invaluable.
Safety will be a primary concern. When your venue is 16 storeys up, the first thing you do is to make sure your customers aren’t at risk, and this is another area where Complete Licensing’s expertise has proved invaluable.
Access won’t be a problem either, with all that car-parking space literally at your feet. And Underground and Docklands Light Railway stations within easy walking distance make this a very accessible as well as very different option for an afternoon or evening out.
Of course, any street festival-type of enterprise rises or falls on the quality of the street food on offer, and plenty of thought has gone into lining up high-class options from around the world. On top of that, a changing roster of pop-up food venues will help give Big Top the feel of the best street festivals going.
A riverfront coffee shop will also be part of a project which is bringing an exciting and very different experience to east London. And an integral part of the process is to involve the local community in events. The locals might get hooked on the circus, but the great thing about Big Top is that no-one will be running away to join up because it’s not going anywhere.