Presentation Ceremony

We’ll be celebrating all that’s best in the UK bus industry at the UK Bus Awards presentation ceremony on

 Tuesday 28th November 2023
at Troxy, 490 Commercial Road, London E1 0HX

Doors open at 11am for early networking during which a cash bar will be open. Lunch will begin at 12.30pm and will be followed by the presentation ceremony, which will finish by 4.15pm. The bar will be open again until 6.30pm before the event closes at 7pm. 

The dress code is lounge suit or staff uniform. 

About Troxy

Troxy is an exciting art deco building, a former cinema stunningly restored and converted, and this year celebrates its 90th birthday. Built at a cost of £250,000 (over £18m in today’s money), it had a capacity of 3,500 making it one of the largest cinemas in England. The feature film on opening night on 11th September 1933 was King Kong. Watching a film here was an incredible experience, as local resident, Ms Danvers, recalls; “It seemed like Hollywood had come to the Commercial Road in all its glory…Outside was a blaze of lights, inside a large foyer with…a large sweeping staircase, chandeliers, ceiling to floor mirrors and thick carpets. In fact, West End luxury at a price we could afford.” Troxy closed as a cinema in 1960, re-opening three years later as The London Opera Centre with a revolving stage the same size as the one at the Royal Opera House, which is still in Troxy’s basement. The Centre closed in 1978, but the Royal Opera House continued to use the building until it re-opened as a Top Rank bingo hall in 1992, rebranding as Mecca in 1997 and closing as a bingo hall in 2005.

After a refurbishment, Troxy was re-born as a live events space in 2006 and has hosted prestigious awards ceremonies, sporting events, gigs and films ever since. Further refurbishments have taken place over the years, most recently while the building was closed in 2020/21 during the pandemic when the stage was returned to its huge original size, exposing the fly tower and proscenium arch, as well as updating the production facilities and removing the 1990s box office from the foyer.

The Wurlitzer Organ and Richard Hills

A significant addition to Troxy started in 2011 when installation of the largest Wurlitzler organ outside the USA began. It was originally imported to Britain for the former Trocadero in Elephant and Castle, which opened in 1930 and was a sister cinema to Troxy. It took the Cinema Organ Preservation Society over four years to complete the installation of the organ’s 1,777 pipes – which range in size from one inch to 16ft long – in to the four original organ chambers built into the proscenium arch. The pipes imitate a wide range of orchestral instruments, alongside sound effects and various drums, cymbals, xylophone, glockenspiel, marimba and piano, all of which are the real thing.

We make use of the organ during the event and we are very pleased to welcome Richard Hills as our organist. Richard is widely acknowledged as one of the very few musicians to have bridged and mastered the divide between the classical and theatre organ worlds, having studied at Rochester Cathedral, Exeter College Oxford, Portsmouth Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and has won numerous prizes and awards in this country and in the USA and has appeared many times as a soloist on TV and radio. He made his solo debut at the BBC Proms in 2013, returning in 2015, and appeared with the BBC Scottish Symphony and John Wilson Orchestras during the 2019 Proms season. Richard will be playing before, during and after the ceremony.

The menu

Our caterers provide delicious, modern and seasonal food for the four course lunch and have catered for many high profile clients. Each course is carefully prepared with fresh ingredients to a high standard. Vegans, vegetarians and any other dietary requirement will be well catered for if you can let us know well in advance of the event, so do tell us if you have any dietary or access needs. 

To start
London smoked cured salmon
Horseradish, pickled cucumber, Granny Smith apples
or for pre-booked vegans and vegetarians:
Pumpkin, vegan ricotta, grape and walnut salad

The main event
Slow cooked lamb breast
Root vegetable hash, braised red cabbage, mint jelly
or for pre-booked vegans and vegetarians:
Polenta aubergine
White bean puree, pomegranate and date dressing

Dessert
Islands 64% chocolate mousse
Roasted hazelnuts, dulce de lech

To finish
Fairtrade coffee, teas and infusions
with petit four

Dinner Wines
White: Petit Ronde Picpoul De Pinet, France
Red: Berri Estates Merlot, South Eastern Australia
(bottles of beer will also be provided on the table) 

How to get there

Troxy is situated on Commercial Road, almost opposite Stepney Methodist Church. The nearest station is Limehouse (DLR and c2c Rail).

Walking from the station

At Limehouse Station, take the Bekesbourne Street exit from the platforms (City end). At the foot of the steps, turn right and then turn left onto Commercial Road and walk for around 350 yards. Troxy is on your left hand side.

Buses

Routes 15, 115 and 135 serve the stops outside Troxy. Bus D3 also stops nearby at Limehouse Station.