The Free Red Carpet Experience That Prada Can't Top

_{Meryl Streep attending “The Devil Wears Prada 2" European Premiere. (Image: Capital Pictures/Alamy)}

Leicester Square's Hippodrome Casino offered fans of The Devil Wears Prada 2 what may be the most unexpected free seat in town for the premiere on 22 April: a direct view of the red carpet from the end urinal of its first-floor gents' toilets.

Simon Thomas, of the Hippodrome Casino, posted the offer on LinkedIn ahead of the film's premiere in Leicester Square, where Meryl Streep and co-stars Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt  walked the red carpet. The casino sits steps from the premiere venue, and Thomas identified the first-floor bathroom as offering a direct sightline across the square to the arrivals, free to use for anyone already in the building.

With official premiere tickets long gone, spending a penny may have been the most cost-effective viewing spot in central London.

'The Best View in Leicester Square'

_{A Loo With A View. (Image: Simon Thomas/Linkedin)}

Thomas framed the offer with characteristic understatement in his LinkedIn post, writing: 'In the heart of London's Casino Quarter, surely the best view in Leicester Square tonight.'

He continued: 

'A few yards from our front door, the red carpet is at this very moment going down for one of the year's biggest film launches, with Meryl Streep and the cast of The Devil Wears Prada 2 arriving later. If you didn't manage to get a ticket for the premiere, there is another option. Stand at the end urinal in the first-floor gents at the Hippodrome and you can look straight out of the window across Leicester Square and watch the arrivals.'

He signed off: 'We like to think we've got all bases covered.'

From Red Carpet to Rooftop

Thomas posted an image to LinkedIn showing preparations already under way in Leicester Square ahead of the evening's event.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is scheduled for theatrical release on 1 May 2026. Streep reprises her role as Miranda Priestly, with the sequel following the character navigating a changing media landscape alongside Hathaway and Blunt.

The Hippodrome, which sits on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Leicester Square, has operated as a casino and live entertainment venue since 2012. For those lingering after their unconventional premiere viewing, the venue also has a rooftop garden and evening entertainment programme, including Magic Mike.