Entertainment & Events

Great British Pub Awards and Wetherspoons results show diversity is key

Diversity is key for the Great British pub

By Ed Bedington

The recent Great British Pub Awards was a triumphant celebration of the diversity and richness of the UK’s pub offer, with businesses of all stripes recognised for excellence across the board.

The Great British Pub Awards: Can you spot yourself?

Were you spotted at The Great British Pub Awards 2022?

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

On Tuesday (4 October), The Great British Pub Awards (GBPA) 2022 were celebrated at Escape To Freight Island in Manchester in an action-packed, festival-themed event. Here, we round up the best pics from the evening. Can you spot yourself?

Big Hospitality Expo and Low2NoBev show success

Sector comes together for epic three-day event

By The Morning Advertiser

Hospitality leaders came together for a three-day event focused on restaurateurs and chefs, casual dining operators and pubs and bars, and also the low to no-alcohol scene at Olympia, London.

GBPA 2022: hosted by comedian Russell Kane (pictured) this years awards took place on Tuesday 4 October in Manchester

Where are the best pubs in the country?

By Rebecca Weller

With the Great British Pub Awards (GBPA) 2022 now over, The Morning Advertiser (MA) has put together a useful map of all this year's winners.

GBPA 2022: winners round-up

Pics of all the 2022 GBPA winners

By Rebecca Weller

Yesterday (Tuesday 4 October), saw Escape To Freight Island, Manchester, transform into a fun-filled festival site to celebrate the Great British Pub Awards (GBPA) 2022. Below is a round-up of this year's winners, including the Great British Pub...

Celebration night: this year's awards were hosted by comedian Russell Kane

gbpa 2022

GBPA 2022: What the winners had to say

By Nikkie Thatcher

Last night (Tuesday 4 October), saw this year’s Great British Pub Awards revealed at Manchester’s Escape to Freight Island.

Great times: the Great British Pub Awards at Escape to Freight island, Manchester, was a success

gbpa 2022

Smashing social media

By The Morning Advertiser

What an amazing party at the Great British Pub Awards 2022 and publicans, staff, pubcos and many more certainly let their hair down.

Overall champion: the Gun Inn has been named the Great British Pub of the Year

gbpa 2022

The Gun Inn crowned Great British Pub of the Year

By The Morning Advertiser

Last night (Tuesday 4 October), the pub industry’s annual awards crowned the Gun Inn, in Findon, West Sussex as its Great British Pub of the Year 2022.

Hospitality Expo: Experts discuss the future of functional drinks

What’s the future for functional drinks?

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Creating ‘experiences’, targeting young people and engaging big players were key to the future of the functional drinks market, experts revealed at the Big Hospitality Expo on Wednesday (28 September) at London’s Olympia.

Finalist info: here's a deeper dive into this year's Stonegate Pub of the Year shortlist

gbpa 2022

Meet the finalists for Stonegate Pub of the Year

By The Morning Advertiser

Ahead of the 2022 Great British Pub Awards in a just a few days time, here's the lowdown on the finalists in running to be named Stonegate Pub of the Year.

Shortlisted venues: ahead of the awards next week, we've taken a closer look at the Admiral Pub of the Year finalists

gboa 2022

Meet the finalists for Admiral Pub of the Year

By The Morning Advertiser

With the Great British Pub Awards just days away from announcing and celebrating some of the best bars in the business, we take a look at some of the finalist that are in the running to take home some silver. Today it’s the turn of the bars that are competing...

The judges are ready: Andi Oliver, Des Gunawardena and Lorraine Copes

Pub finalists announced for BIH awards

By Gary Lloyd

A trio of London pubs and one in Cambridge are in the running to be crowned best Bar/Pub of the Year in the inaugural Be Inclusive Hospitality (BIH) Spotlight Awards.

Competition time: here are the six contenders for Punch Pub of the Year

gbpa 2022

Meet the finalists for Punch Pub of the Year

By The Morning Advertiser

With the Great British Pub Awards just days away from announcing and celebrating some of the best bars in the business, we take a look at some of the finalist that are in the running to take home some silver. Today it’s the turn of the bars that are competing...

Final few: find out more about the last six standing in the Greene King Pub of the Year category

gbpa 2022

Meet the finalists for Greene King Pub of the Year

By The Morning Advertiser

With the Great British Pub Awards just days away from announcing and celebrating some of the best bars in the business, we take a look at some of the finalist that are in the running to take home some silver. Today it’s the turn of the bars that are competing...

Almondsbury Creative, Almondsbury, Bristol Part-pub, part-community sports complex, the Almondsbury is a labour of love for owner Garth Jackson. Situated just off the M5, the site is home to tennis, football and cricket clubs, all of which have seen a healthy rise in memberships since Garth and his team took the reins. The pub itself offers an entertainment-led package that includes numerous private hire spaces that also host smaller local clubs and societies. There’s a cinema room to keep the children occupied, while a weekly Creative Kids Creative Club injects a bit of good old-fashioned holiday camp-style entertainment into proceedings. Bigger events throughout the year bring the local community together and have attracted acts including Wagner from Britain’s Got Talent and seventies musical cider drinkers The Wurzels. Gaggle of Geese, Buckland Newton, Dorset Sarah and Simon Colquhoun took over this rural village pub five years ago and have set about transforming the five-acre site into a family destination pub through continuous and astute investment. They’ve bought a retired double decker bus and turned into a soft play facility, transformed fields to the rear of the pub into a flourishing campsite with glamping tents and shepherd’s huts, and even built a crazy golf course from scratch to help keep kids entertained at no extra charge. The Gaggle of Geese is also home to a quartet pf pygmy goats that children can feed with bags of food available at the bar. The pub has featured in several broadsheet holiday and hospitality guides, helping to add to its burgeoning reputation. Puss In Boots, Stockport As part of the Almond Family Pubs group, a family focus is written into the DNA of the Puss In Boots. The team is fully-committed to providing great product and great service on a daily basis, with an ethos around inclusivity that means all family members can enjoy the experience. One of its most notable innovations is the introduction of a visual menu for children who have special educational needs, comprising pictures of menu items that stick on laminated card with Velcro. It allows the users to point out to servers what they want to order, bringing them into the dining experience, without having to rely on their parents. Ye Olde Bridge, Oxton, Nottinghamshire Hannah Lloyd took over Ye Olde Bridge four years ago, since which she’s invested considerably to create an attractive modern gastropub with a growing local reputation that caters for families of whatever shape or size. The pub now has a playground, a soft play dome and a maze to keep the kids entertained, but it’s a venue that puts as much value on 70th birthday parties as celebrations for the youngest members of the family. Ye Olde Bridge makes sure it’s a community-focused hub, with weekday coffee mornings for new mums, or tai chi and yoga classes in the huge meadow to the rear, performing an important role in bringing people together in a rural location where high street coffee chains can’t be found. The pub’s standalone refurbished barn gives it an extra events revenue stream, while sustainability credentials are in evidence, including beehives on-site. The Railway, Lowdham, Nottinghamshire Community-focused events are a major generator of positive family vibes at this food-led pub. A calendar highlight is a Kids Garden Party on the last school day of the summer term, with a barbecue, face-painting, children’s entertainers, live music and a tuck shop helping to get the holidays off to a roaring start. The switching-on of the Christmas lights provides more of a wintry take with fake snow and a countdown, followed by Santa descending form the pub roof to distribute presents. But it’s not just about the showpiece events that hit home, with the service from general manager Drew Cox’s friendly and professional team providing a great family pub experience all year round. The River Garden, Harefield, Middlesex There are several ways to get to The River Garden. There’s plenty of car parking space; you can arrive by long boat on the Grand Union Canal that passes by the end of its huge garden; or you stop off for refreshment after cycling down the canal towpath, making use of the pub’s bike racks. Once there, you’ll find a sumptuous modern pub that has enjoyed major investment from owner Flamur “Tony” Gashi. There’s a luxury feel to the décor and fittings, a food and drink offering that’s pitched at a premium level, and two play areas for those with young children. The River Garden is a fine example of how thoughtful investment and attention to detail can transform the fortunes of ailing pub sites.

gbpa 2022

Meet the finalists for Best Pub for Families

By The Morning Advertiser

This year's final six in the Best Pub for Families category include some impressive initiatives. Here we take a closer look at the shortlist.

Sophie’s choice: pubs’ survival could come down to winter World Cup boost (credit: Getty/FG Trade Latin)

Pubs face festive dilemma after ‘£155m loss’

By Gary Lloyd

UK pubs have been left with a choice between hosting Christmas parties or screening the football World Cup after missing out on a £155m booty in sales for the tournament that would usually have taken place in summer.

Award nominations: here are the final six contenders in the Star Pubs & Bars Pub of the Year category

gbpa 2022

Meet the finalists for Star Pubs & Bars Pub of the Year

By The Morning Advertiser

With the Great British Pub Awards just days away from announcing and celebrating some of the best bars in the business, we take a look at some of the finalist that are in the running to take home some silver. Today it’s the turn of the bars that are competing...

Final shortlist: the six contenders for Best Sustainable Pub have illustrated their green credentials

gbpa 2022

Meet the finalists for Best Sustainable Pub sponsored by Heineken UK

By The Morning Advertiser

With the Great British Pub Awards just days away from announcing and celebrating some of the best pubs in the business, we take a look at some of the finalists that are in the running to take home some silver. Today it’s the turn of the pubs that are...

GBPA Best Pub Garden sponsored by Diageo: finalists round-up

GBPA 2022

Meet the GBPA finalists for Best Pub Garden sponsored by Diageo

By Rebecca Weller

Ahead of the winners for the Great British Pub Awards (GBPA) 2022 being announced next month, the Morning Advertiser has all the information you need about the finalists competing to be crowned this year’s Best Pub Garden.

Sporting chance: (clockwise from top left) the Admiral Nelson, Anlaby Park, the Denbigh Castle, the Railway, The Gardeners Arms and Famous Three Kings

GBPA 2022

Meet the GBPA finalists for Best Pub to Watch Sport sponsored by Sky

By Gary Lloyd

Many pubs make screening sport one of their main revenue streams and with the football World Cup approaching, there's no excuse for any site not to cash in on the tournament or any other sport that is currently taking place. Here are the finalists...

Commemoration and celebration: Many pubs will stay open on the day of the Queen's funeral (Getty/ Walter Bibikow)

Pubs plan for Queen’s funeral

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Many pubs have opted to stay open next Monday (19 September), the day of the Queen’s funeral, to “celebrate” and “honour” her life and service.

Event details: Low2NoBev 2022 will host a raft of products alongside insight

Why to attend Low2NoBev 2022

By The Morning Advertiser

Low and no-alcohol pioneers have outlined why Low2NoBev 2022 is a must attend event for the sector.

Booming market: hosting weddings fun and worthwhile for pubs but cost effectiveness and preparation are key (Credit: Getty/coolnina)

Wedding market for pubs 'booming'

By Rebecca Weller

“Booming” wedding market provides pubs an opportunity to “showcase” their venue while offering variety to staff, according to operators from the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list.

Community heroes: PubAid awards open for entries

Community Pub Hero Awards open for entries

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

PubAid’s Community Pub Hero Awards is now open for entries, with new categories designed to reward sites and customers that go the extra mile to support local communities and charities.

Industry response: the sector has also paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II (image: Getty/South_agency)

No obligation to close during mourning period

By Nikkie Thatcher

The decision to close during the mourning period, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II is at the discretion of the business, official guidance has advised.

Royal news: Queen Elizabeth II was the UK's longest reigning monarch

Pub sector pays tribute to Queen

By Nikkie Thatcher

Many voices from the sector including the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) have paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died this afternoon (Thursday 8 September).

Name celebration: (l-r) Nigel Smith, licensee of the Fleece Inn, Bretforton is hosting the Nigel Night, pictured with musician Nigel Walton

Pub aims to beat own ‘Nigel Night’ record

By Nikkie Thatcher

A Worcestershire licensee is planning to smash its own world record for holding the largest gathering of people called Nigel, in a bid to revive a name that is in danger of becoming extinct.

Dedicated to moderation: the Low2NoBev 2022 events runs from 26-28 September

Free event pass to help improve low and no sales

By The Morning Advertiser

Low2NoBev – the only dedicated trade show for the low and no-alcohol drinks sector – returns to Olympia London this month (26-28 September) with visitors urged to register for their free entry badge now.

Follow us

Property of the week

Pub Trade Guides

View more

Webinars

On-demand webinars

Headlines

The Lock In Pub Podcast