Bongo's Bingo

Last updated

Bongo's Bingo
Company type Private
IndustryEntertainment
FoundedApril 2015
Area served
Worldwide
Number of employees
120
Website www.bongosbingo.com

Bongo's Bingo is a bingo-themed event created by Joshua Burke and Jonny Lacey in April 2015. Originally operating from Liverpool's Camp and Furnace venue, it is now based in its own custom built venue, Content, as well as regularly hosting nights around the UK and abroad.

Contents

History

In April 2015, Joshua Burke and Jonny Lacey (Jonny Bongo), who had been hosting pub quizzes and club nights in Liverpool joined together to create Bongo's Bingo, an evening of bingo with the atmosphere of a "student rave". [1] It quickly gained popularity and by 2019 was hosting sell-out nights in Ibiza, Dubai, Australia and Amsterdam. [2] In 2019 they also moved from their original home of Camp and Furnace to their own venue, Content, on Stanhope Street in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle. [3]

Bongo's Bingo held three events in New York in February 2024. [4]

In 2025 Bongo's Bingo marked their tenth anniversary with two shows at the Exhibition Centre, Liverpool. In that decade they had had over 5 million customers and given away over 5,000 Henry hoovers as prizes. [5] [6] As of 2025, there are 40 regular Bongo's Bingos nights around the UK as well as events in Dubai and Australia, hosted by 18 different teams and the company as whole employs 120 people. [5]

Celebrity performers have included David Hasselhoff, the Vengaboys, B*Witched and Kelis, while Samuel L. Jackson made an unannounced appearance at a Glasgow show. [7] [8] [9] [10]

In 2020 Burke and Lacey won a case in the High Court against Camp and Furnace, who had claimed ownership of the Bongo's Bingo name and logo and a 15% stake in the business. [11] [12]

References

  1. ↑ Kirwin, Ellen (20 January 2018). "Meet the men behind the internationally renowned Bongo's Bingo". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  2. ↑ Kent-Smith, Jasmine (April 2019). "Promoter Focus: Bongo's Bingo". Mixmag (335): 111.
  3. ↑ Ben, Bingo (14 August 2019). "Bongo's Bingo Liverpool Troubles Continue". BingoDaily. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  4. ↑ Culgan, Rossilynne Skena. "Part bingo night, part rave, Bongo's Bingo is making its NYC debut this month". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 Sawyer, Miranda (2 March 2025). "Rave, games and showers of Coco Pops: a night out at Liverpool's Bongo's Bingo". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "'It's a dose of escapism': A chat with Jonny Bongo". Confidentials. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Hookway, James (30 August 2022). "England's Wildest Event Is Bingo Night; Bongo's Bingo nights mix dance-offs, cheesy giveaways and '90s nostalgia with the actual game; 'absolutely the best bit'". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Duke, Simon (17 March 2021). "What happened to B*Witched - from band fall out to TV lifeline". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  9. ↑ Houghton, Tom (16 September 2019). "The plan for upcoming Bongo's Bingo nights as court case delayed". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "Samuel L Jackson appears at bingo party night". BBC News. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  11. ↑ Houghton, Tom (25 March 2020). "Jonny Bongo wins High Court battle with Camp and Furnace". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  12. ↑ Shua Ltd v Camp And Furnace Ltd [2020] EWHC 687 (Ch), 24 March 2020, retrieved 12 January 2026
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