Sited south of Soho and west of Covent Garden in London’s famous West End, Leicester Square joined an elite cadre of global ‘squares’ a long time ago, and now shares its fame with Trafalgar, Times Square, Red Square, and plenty of other places where feet are favoured over wheels.
Perhaps easily confused with the nearby Piccadilly Circus, a hub for just about everything commercial, Leicester Square is a pedestrianised area dominated in its centre by fountains and a statue of playwright William Shakespeare.
The Visit London website describes Leicester Square as a “cultural hub” and “entertainment epicentre” – but we’ll have to turn our back on old Tudor Will to discover some of its more lively places.
Red Carpet
The Hippodrome Casino lives just around the corner, on Cranbourn Street. This long-established site recently made the move to the internet, creating a casino online that pipes its table games from the floor of the physical venue, via webcam.
Live Hippodrome Roulette and Blackjack accompany Live Bellagio Roulette on its website, but it carries plenty of slots too.
Source: Pexels.
Sticking with entertainment, the established heart of Leicester Square is, of course, its fondness for cinema. ODEON, Vue, and Cineworld combined host a red carpet premiere once a week, on average.
The ODEON boasts that its events are “so star-studded”, visitors “need sunglasses”. The venue has been present in this corner of London since 1937, while the Hippodrome traces its roots back to around 1900.
Scenes in the Square
Leicester Square appeared sometime in the early 17th century with the building of Leicester House across Cranbourn Street to the northeast. The area would become known as Leicester Fields by 1755, with much of its current shape set in stone.
Leicester House no longer exists. Its demolition, around 1791, coincides with the transformation of the Square into an entertainment hub, which it achieved by the mid-19th century.
On a similarly historical vein, Leicester Square recently hosted an interactive statue tour over five years called Scenes in the Square. Sculptors planted bronze statues of characters from cinema history in the area, including the final addition of Daniel Kaluuya from Jordan Peele’s 2017 horror flick Get Out, in 2024.
Dave’s Hot Chicken
Despite the modest size of its central aspect, Leicester Square has a schedule of events running all year round. These include theatre performances – e.g., Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre and Titanique at the Criterion – and a musical appearance by Welsh band Stereophonics.
There’s plenty of food to go around. The Leicester Square website recently announced the arrival of Dave’s Hot Chicken, a “cult-favourite” from Nashville, as well as a new rooftop venue at the Indigo Hotel.
For the less discerning palette, there’s also McDonald’s, Greggs, Burger King, and a Bella Italia within walking distance of Shakespeare’s stony visage.
The Londoner
The closest hotel to all this action is The Londoner, a five-star establishment to the south of the square. However, being in the capital, there are places to stay everywhere. Page8, The Resident Covent Garden, and the Savoy are all within walking distance of Leicester Square.
London’s Leicester Square has plenty of history to match its global renown, but its supporters are determined to make more.
