Anyone hoping to put on the kind of rollicking, rip-roaring party that gets the crowd on its feet can always turn to one dependable event for inspiration: Bongo’s Bingo.
An epic promotion famed for putting a boisterous spin on a centuries-old card-playing game, Bongo’s is – on the surface – absolute mayhem.
Each new party is as rowdy as the last, with excitable toastmasters weighing in between bursts of music, head-slapping dance-offs, and bizarre prize revelations that range from giant unicorns to Henry Hoovers.
But beyond the frenzied stages, winding conga lines and roof-shaking decibels, there’s a team at work making it all tick. The chaos is organised. And the promotion is a phenomenon.
Bongo’s Bingo has, to date, sold over 1.5 million tickets – appearing in 50 countries and over 150 private hire events. A regular stop-off is Manchester – and the responsibility of implementing these crazy shows in the Rainy City has fallen to events company Square Fish.
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Neil Lofthouse – co-founder of the firm alongside his sister Steph – has been working with Bongo’s Bingo for years to make the magic happen at Albert Hall in a previous role.
Their partnership has proven such a success, in fact, that Square Fish has now been chosen to organise bespoke Bongo’s shows that can be booked by organisations for special one-off events.
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Ultimately, this means audiences can enjoy the intense, high-energy atmosphere of a classic Bongo’s night – only with the formula tweaked to fit the occasion.
Square Fish’s mission is to level up the entertainment and tailor shows to the client – whether it’s a private corporate party, conference, awards show or business festival.
Performances run for around two-and-a-half hours, featuring electric rounds of bingo buoyed by Bongo-branded extravagance.
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Neil said that he and his sibling Steph set up the events business to realise their ‘dream’ of running a firm together as a family. Manchester’s synonymy with music made this city the obvious geographic spot to get things going.
Just months after launching, a big name like Bongo’s has put its faith in Square Fish to manage the madness of its local shows.
Neil stated: “Manchester is a city like no other, the industry and people that support it are incredible. Manchester offers it all, from fresh and creative concepts, incredible music, and club scene to a thriving event sector.
“The events industry has been incredibly challenging, especially with the pandemic and the aftermath. We wanted to find a way to keep pushing forward and adapt our offering so we all could come out of the other side – we switched our business model to offer virtual experiences and created Boxspoke the bespoke gifting experience.
“We’ve got a great partnership with Bongo’s now and it’s hugely exciting to work with them.”
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As well as hosting virtual shows for thousands of viewers via Boxspoke and booming live experiences for bonkers crowds at Bongo’s, Square Fish has also established itself as an invaluable asset when it comes to the nuts and bolts of creating events.
The company can curate special lineups to ensure unforgettable shows, with a dedicated team handling all production and concept design work. Square Fish also operates as a ‘Venue Finder’: Helping clients pinpoint the perfect location for events that fit requirements, budget and vision.
The fact that Neil and Steph’s startup has thrived in such testing surroundings is testament to its capabilities – but the founders believe this is only the beginning.
“The future is bright for Square Fish and Manchester,” Neil clarified.
“We are super excited to have grown the team and can’t wait to share exciting upcoming projects very soon.”
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It sounds like the Square Fish parties are only going to get bigger, wilder and more ambitious as we move into 2022. If that sounds like your bag, it’s worth reaching out. A private Bongo’s Bingo is guaranteed to be a night that lives long in the memory.
If you fancy hosting a Bongo’s Bingo show for your business, you can contact Square Fish to talk arrangements via: [email protected].
You can also learn more about Square Fish and what they’re doing for the local events industry via their official website: https://squarefishevents.co.uk/
Gigs & Nightlife
Deansgate bar Simmons closes just over a year after opening
Danny Jones
London-born bar brand Simmons has closed their Manchester site just over a year after opening their first Northern location.
They’ve lasted roughly 15 months on one of our busiest nightlife strips.
Opening on Deansgate back in October 2024, Simmons Manchester wasn’t just their first foray here up in this half of the country but their only other venue outside of the capital.
An otherwise well-established and popular chain down south, they have a total of 15 different bars in central London, but things clearly haven’t quite taken off as planned here in Manchester.
Placing a poster in the unit’s shopfront besides the likes of Be At One, Yours, The Moon Under The Water Spoons and the Deansgate branch of Slug and Lettuce, as you can see, the fellow franchise founded over a decade ago said: “After much consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our doors.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye”, they add, “We’re incredibly proud of what the team built here and so grateful to them, as well as everyone who joined us over the past year.
“We’ve had some unforgettable nights. We love Manchester, and we hope to be back under the right conditions.”
They go on to thank everyone for being “part of the journey”, but for now, it looks like the room has closed effective immediately.
Simmons started back in 2012 when founder Nick Campbell opened the first bar below his flat in Kings Cross, and their presence has grown hugely since then. The closing sign was spotted and shared on social media earlier this week.
Offering everything from stylish cocktails to New York-style pizza, live music and even private karaoke booths, the place had plenty going on.
With rising business rates, energy bills and more dovetailing with the continuing cost of living crisis that is still hampering both hospitality and the nightime economy, they are just one of many to unfortunately close their doors of late.
For instance, it was only earlier this month that we saw multiple well-known names shut up shop here in the city centre or elsewhere in Greater Manchester, including another long-standing late-night favourite, Revolution.
It’s a shame for any business to close, and we certainly hope they’ll return someday with a model that can be sustained in the current climate.
Harry Styles announced as latest performer at the 2026 BRIT Awards
Danny Jones
Yes, in what is set to be his Co-op Live debut (yes, the venue he’s literally invested in), Harry Styles has been confirmed as the latest blockbuster performer at this year’s BRITs.
The lineup for the 2026 BRIT Awards was already pretty stacked, but this just takes the cake.
Not long after FINALLY announcing his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally and releasing the new lead single, ‘Aperture’, the Cheshire-born singer-songwriter is coming to the Co-op Live arena for the very first time as part of the ceremony’s live music lineup.
Absolute scenes. Screaming, crying, throwing up.
we've got news… Harry's coming home 💋🪩@Harry_Styles will be making his live TV performance debut of music from his new album 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.' at The BRIT Awards 2026
Watch the performance live Saturday 28th February on ITV1 & ITVX in the UK and on… pic.twitter.com/Aax3lV03xM
The 31-year-old former One Direction member turned solo artist and global megastar recently revealed a raft of live shows this coming May (and there’s been plenty of discussion surrounding ticket prices), but he’s sadly overlooked Manchester for now.
However, anyone who already secured a seat at the first-ever BRITs here in Manchester will no doubt be doing cartwheels now following the announcement.
As if that wasn’t a mega enough name, he will be joining the likes of the wonderful, already award-winning and fellow multi-time nominee, Olivia Dean.
As quite literally two of the biggest musicians on the planet right now, we couldn’t pick a better roster if we dreamed it up ourselves.
Speaking of Ms Dean, she is also one of several acts confirmed to be playing a series of intimate acts across the country – and her’s is right here in Manchester.
You can see the full lineup of gigs HERE – all we’ll say is that there’s some seriously big hitters playing very small capacity venues on this list.
What a great few weeks for music, eh?
Taking place on Sunday, 28 February, public tickets for the show unfortunately sold out some time ago for what will also be his first-ever live musical TV performance.
Perhaps his booking is at least partly why we haven’t got a standalone Harry Styles Manchester gig on the ‘Together, Together’ tour, but we’re still keeping everything crossed that he’ll announce a second leg of shows here in the UK.
You’d think he’d fancy properly headlining the gaff he helped pay for, or maybe a return to the Etihad Stadium across the way, right?
Find the complete shortlist of nominees, as well as the rest of the live music lineup for the 2026 BRITs ceremony here in Manchester, down below; and if you see on screen trying to clutch at Harry’s ankles, we’re sure you’ll understand…
Daisy Jackson -
1st December 2021 
