London club Studio 338 ravaged by fire

A new two-day tiki festival on an outdoor beach in London has been postponed after the venue was badly damaged by a fire yesterday.

Studio 338 will postpone Spirit of Tiki after a fire badly damaged the venue

Studio 338, the venue set to stage the inaugural Spirit of Tiki, became engulfed in flames yesterday (Monday 8 August).

Due to take place 14-15 August, Spirit of Tiki was organised by Georgi Radev, bar manager of Mahiki in Mayfair, with rum aficionado Roger Barnes and global rum ambassador Ian Burrell.

It was set to feature a large beach surrounded by tiki bars, Caribbean barbecue food, dancing, frozen cocktails, and rum-flavoured ice creams, as well as a tiki stand selling clothing, accessories, and real flower leis.

The Mahiki team were also preparing to create the “world’s biggest” Piña Colada at the event.

Around 100 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze at the venue on Boord Street in Greenwich after it started yesterday morning.

The venue’s management team said they had decided they needed to cancel Spirit of Tiki and subsequent events while Studio 338 underwent a full refurbishment.

A statement on the festival’s Facebook page said: “Spirit of Tiki will be reborn from fire like a phoenix in a bigger and better venue. We will announce our new venue and dates very soon. I want to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in Spirit of Tiki for the big support.”

A total of 22 spirits brands including Bacardi, Mount Gay, and Angostura were set to host their own individual bars with bespoke cocktails crafted in collaboration with Mahiki’s mixology team.