When it opens in a few weeks, the London Museum will be able to stay open all night as it has been granted a 24-hour drinks and entertainment licence by the City of London.
The museum already plans to stay open until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and has already planned an all-night coffee bar in the restored Temperance Cocoa Room, running from Thursday to Sunday. That is intended to be an alcohol-free venue, so the new licence gives the wider museum more options for its overnight programme.
The museum’s application covers the museum’s event spaces, cafés, bars and restaurants, with permission sought for plays, films, live and recorded music, and dance performances. It also includes late-night refreshments between 11pm and 5am.
The museum can now run overnight activities, although a 24-hour licence doesn’t mean the whole museum would be open, and it more likely applies to the café bar spaces and the ability to open the ground floor space for events.
The application went before the City of London’s licensing hearing sub-committee on 28th October, where they said they would write to the museum with their decision. The museum has confirmed that the licence has now been granted.
A London Museum spokesperson said: “In our new home, we set ourselves the ambition to be just like London, with extended opening hours fitting for a 24hr city. With markets, a hospital, and nightclub nearby, Smithfield is active around the clock, and this license gives us the opportunity to create great moments for people to experience the museum, whatever their shift or schedule. We look forward to opening later this month and creating a brilliant new cultural destination for the capital.”
The museum will join a neighbourhood with a long tradition of staying awake while much of London sleeps. Between Fabric nightclub, the meat market (for now) and the local hospital, Smithfield already operates around the clock.
It also used to have pubs that opened very early to serve market workers, although most of those early openings disappeared as the meat market’s working day shifted earlier following the introduction of the congestion charge.
So there’s another possibility for the museum – a 5am pint of museum porter for people who fancy one.
The London Museum’s permanent galleries in the General Market will open on 28th November 2026, although free tickets are sold out until 30th November. The temporary exhibition space, learning centre and interactive collections store will follow in 2028.
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