Scenes from the start of the 2025 waiters race… and celebrations with the well-carried champagne at the end [Photos: Peter Clarke]

WHO needs a World Cup final, anyway? With a spaghetti-eating competition, waiters sprinting down Dean Street and the legendary Tug of War, there’s plenty of drama to soak in this Sunday at the Soho Village Fête.

Revellers will pack out St Anne’s Gardens from noon til six for the 51st edition of the Fête, which promises a colourful celebration of all things Soho.

Boasting live music throughout the day, snail racing and a “drag queen interlude”, there’s something for everyone.

“It brings our community together and it’s definitely the Soho Society’s biggest event,” says Lucy Haine, part of the team which has been organising the Fete “since January”.

Perhaps the biggest logistical challenge is the Soho Waiters Race, which starts at 3.15pm and requires 100 volunteer marshalls to ensure fair play. There are rules – strict rules – to observe for those looking to run away with the £100 cash prize.

Waiters, who are encouraged to come “looking the part”, must hold a tray (topped with a bottle of champagne, a glass, and an ashtray, of course), with one hand only. Two hands can “only be used to steady items on the tray either at a complete stop, or, for no more than three paces while you are coming to a stop in order to reset your tray,” according to the rulebook.

Waiters race celebrations with the well-carried champagne at the end

The winner is the person who crosses the finish line first with “all items on the tray intact and standing”. An announcement of victory comes after “sufficient time has been allowed to consider reports from marshalls” and a VAR check.

It’s a highlight which this year has attracted international competition.

“We’ve got a contestant from the Netherlands, who is running the race for a Dutch TV show,” says Lucy. “People do take it seriously. Some restaurants have entered seven people, and they do train for the race.”

It could be a tight sprint this year, as Stefan Moise of the Ham Yard Hotel snatched the men’s first prize last summer, breaking Dean Street Townhouse’s winning streak.

Elsewhere, there are more winnings up for grabs – the raffle could see you walk away with a stay at Hazlitt’s Hotel, a year’s membership at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club or a champagne lunch, to name just a few of the prizes.

“We’re so lucky to get such fantastic donations for the raffle from local businesses. It’s a real community effort. Everyone gets involved,” Lucy says. “Even the new kids on the block, who run a clothing stall nearby, are helping out by supplying our merchandise.”

Those “new kids” are the lads from Custard, who trade their custom print clothing at Berwick Street Market.

Jeremy Marcantel, who co-founded the streetwear brand with his brother, is delighted to play a part in this special tradition.

“We went on Soho radio last year, and met a load of people [from the Soho Society] there. They’ve been really good to us, and wanted to get us involved in the Fete,” says Jeremy.

Police tug of war battle in 2025

“It really is like a little village here, which is special. Even though you’ve got all the big name shops around in central London, there’s a proper community in Soho.”

Jeremy started the business “during lockdown, because I was bored,” he says. “I was buying charity shop and vintage clothing, sewing them together to make custom pieces. I just needed a hobby, really.”

Although most of Custard’s trade comes from online orders, Jeremy is passionate about being part of a market. “There’s something about that old market mentality which I need,” he reflects.

“And here, it’s crazy. One minute you’ve got a shoplifter trying to sell you something, the next you’re talking to Paul Mescal.”

Jeremy has been trading at Berwick street for three years, and in that time has “met the full spectrum of people living in London. This job teaches you how to talk to anyone, how to strike up a conversation on the street. You don’t get that online.”

The Most Soho Dog

“They’re always making changes to the market, adding new traders, exploring new things. It’s important to do that, it keeps places like this alive,” says Jeremy.

His custom T-shirts for the Soho Village Fête are emblazoned with this year’s poster, designed by legendary cartoonist David Shenton. Shenton contributes a colourful artwork every year for the Fête, and his work can be seen at the nearby Cartoon Museum.

Jeremy will be selling T-shirts at the event on Sunday, “as long as we get our van fixed. It’s like that with market trading, you’re always having to sort out things that shops don’t need to worry about.”

Lucy is confident that the Fête committee is ready to pull off another successful day.

“We’ve got 15 of us, and everyone has a different area to focus on.

Jeremy Marcantel and his team from Custard

“It is very busy, and we do reach capacity in the gardens quite quickly, but we’ve got it all under control with our own jobs.”

One such job will be determining the “Most Soho Dog”. It’s about “personality and having a great costume on,” according to Lucy.

“The dog show is quite competitive, and we’ve got some new entries this year. There’s also a ‘Dog Most Likely to Win RuPaws Drag Race’ category.”

While dogs vie for attention, the police and fire service will be battling it out in the Tug of War, another Fête staple.

“People really enjoy what we put on,” says Lucy. “It’s a chance for our community to just let their hair down, which is important.

The winning firefighters

“We always attract characters. Gail Porter usually comes, so does Rachel D’Arcy.”

“Very sadly, we won’t have Armin ‘Sweety’ Loetscher from the St Moritz club as he died earlier this year. He always came with his Alpine horn. We’re displaying the horn this year as a sort of tribute to him.”

The French House bar will be open all day, and with madcap Soho eccentricity as a fitting backdrop, glasses will be raised in Sweety’s honour.

It might not be an England World Cup final, but there’s plenty of fun to distract here in the heart of Soho.

The Soho Village Fête is organised by Soho Society, founded in 1972.

• www.thesohosociety.org.uk

Soho Fête: Sunday July 19 1-6pm

MAIN STAGE: Compere – Peter Cliffe

12:00 – The Belles of London City Morris Dancers
12:15 – Election of the ‘Soho Mini Mayor’ – Soho Parish School and Revd Simon Buckley
12:25 – St Kat’s Sessions
12.45 – Cat Delphi – Yamaha London Music Ambassador
13:15 ­– The Soho Dog Show
13.45 – Drag Queen Interlude
14:40 – Bob Morgan and Diego Laverde Rochas
15:05 – Ray & Johnny
15:45 – Waiters Race Presentation
16:05 – The Fabulous Lounge Swingers
16:45 – The Raffle Draw (with Revd Simon Buckley)
17:05 –St Kat’s Sessions – ALL STARS, Olivia Swann, Fraser Urquhart, Ewan Hastie, Ines Nassarra, Esther Bennett & Ian Shaw
17:45 – Singalong all performers
17:55 – ‘Soho, Soho’ Finale – Minnie Diamond & friends

MAIN EVENTS:

12:30 Spaghetti Eating competition (Big Table)
14:15 Soho Police vs. Fire Brigade Tug of War
(St Anne’s Gardens)
15:15 The Soho Waiters Race
(Start/Finish line: The French House, Dean Street)

ALL AFTERNOON:

The Tombola
Splat the Rat
The Raffle
The Mystery Game
Live Music, French House and The Italian Bar, Stalls all afternoon