What is Bongos Bingo?
Bongo’s Bingo is the new craze sweeping the UK.
At first I thought “not for me”. But then I saw it EVERYWHERE.
Then an invite to attend landed in my inbox and I thought, right, it’ll be an experience, let’s do this.
Then I saw that 5ive were doing a Bongos Bingo gig here in Newcastle, and I WAS SOLD.
If you didn’t know, 5ive was one of my favourite bands when I was little. My mum and I used to sing along to them all the time and the chance to see them live I couldn’t pass up.
Bongos Bingo is hosted at the Boilershop in Newcastle. It’s right behind central station and is easy to get to for everyone!
We headed to the Boilershop at 6:30pm, through the queue and bag search and straight to our reserved table. If you book a reservation you get your seats marked out with a name placard so make sure you get there nice and early so you don’t lose your seats as the place fills up and the security can’t guard your seats anymore! We got a nice bottle of Prosecco and grabbed some beer from the bar and got our cameras ready for the Bongos Bingo to begin!
What to expect at Bongos Bingo
If you want a night out you won’t forget this is the night out for you.
Think Karaoke + Bingo + Rave and you have Bongo’s Bingo.
There is music for EVERYONE!
The music is one of the best things about the evening and just makes the atmosphere at Bongos Bingo unbelievable. Exciting, loud and the voices of around 700 people belting out classics from Dolly Parton and the stamping sound of their feet as we all clamber up and down on the benches. You get your chance to belt out Disney classics, good old karaoke hits from all eras and even rave in the dark.
If you’re super competitive like me, the Bingo that starts the evening is a great way to kick your evening off. With prizes such as Jeremy Corbyn ( a cardboard cut-out of him), A HENRY HOOVER and hundreds of pounds in cash up for grabs, I can really see why people get so excited to go! The room would explode with clapping and cheers whenever someone won! A guy won a karaoke machine and, braver soul than me, he had to get up and sing for it! 700 odd people singing ‘Mr Brightside’ was a brilliant moment of the night. I have to admit I was screaming when the pink unicorn toy came out- but my bingo book had been soaked by that point so I was gutted I couldn’t play to win! I’d have loved to have brought that home! The prizes change all the time so get ready to play for something just as mad to carry around on a night out!
I would never expect on a night out to get sprayed by coco-pops! But tonight I did and it was hilarious!
The evening is DJ’ed by Micky Pickles and his beautiful dancers, Thirsty Thelma & Dirty Daisy. They do an amazing job of riling the crowd with their dancing, singing and running up and down the aisles jeering everyone on. Micky Pickles has got to be the funniest bingo callers there is!
Bongo’s Bingo Special Guest: 5ive
After the final round of Bingo was played and we had a fun rave in the dark with bouncing balloons and glow sticks!
Then 5ive came out on stage and people were shoving and jostling to get a glimpse at the band. It was so surreal seeing them with my own eyes whilst screaming along to the music. They had everyone up dancing, partying and screaming! It’s so awesome to see a band you’ve loved for so long in person- the kind of night you’re so glad you have plenty of photos of!
Micky Pickles did a great job of hyping us up for their appearance at the end of the night by playing us little clips of their songs throughout the night- teasing us as to when they would appear on the stage.
It was definitely one of the funnest nights of 2018 and I keep re-watching my instastories from that night. I cannot wait to get more tickets booked in 2019!
Bongos Bingo in 2019
Bongos Bingo has big plans going forward into 2019!
If you’re interested going- book your tickets here for many cities around the country! I’m definitely hoping to go again it’s the perfect event for a fun night out for a friends birthday, girls night or Christmas party!
If you’re looking for an unusual, memorable valentines date or a great night out with your single pringles- get yourself down in February!
