Plans are underway to transform Babylon on King Henry 1 Street into a new nightclub called Popworld, leading to the creation of additional jobs.

Popworld will open on Friday 1 February with a celebratory VIP party including a guest appearance from Jo O’Meara and Bradley McIntosh, members of chart-topping band, SClub who will perform their 90’s hits live on stage. Customers and party lovers are invited to join General Manager Maggie Hewlett and her team to celebrate the club’s launch from 8pm. Guests will be welcomed by special stilt walking artists who will wow them with their tricks.

The new nightclub is the third Popworld to open and follows the successful launch of Popworld in Southampton in September. New to the club will be an innovative and awe inspiring range of cocktails (or, in the case of Popworld, poptails) and drinks including the Popalicious, Popworld’s signature cocktail which is a delicious blend of rum, strawberry liquor, fresh lime juice topped with rum.

Speaking about the plans for the bar, Maggie Hewlett, manager of Popworld explains more about the bar. “The vision for Popworld is it is a bar that celebrates and wholly embraces pop music, from the 90s to the present day, as well as its trademark anthemic music. There’s nothing like a great pop song; it gets you singing, it gets you dancing and most importantly, it makes you smile.

“At Popworld, apart from the customer, the most important person is the DJ, our ring master. Their job is to make sure that the customers have a night to remember and that they leave the bar with a smile on their face. Our DJs have been working together to create playlists that will get people on the dance floor and they can’t wait to get going.”

The Stonegate Pub Company, who own and operate the site, will be investing £100,000 in Popworld transforming the bar with bright and vibrant colours, a new sound and lighting system complete with an 8ft by 6ft LED wall which will be installed along with addition of new large party booths seating up to 10 people. The booths, which can be pre-booked by calling in advance, are great for parties and special occasions and give an exclusive feel to a night out. The investment in the bar has also created two new jobs as Popworld will introduce table service throughout the bar as they aim to instil a service focussed culture.

“We won’t be putting a minimum spend on the tables so customers can relax and enjoy themselves to a budget that suits them” said Maggie. “We’ve got a great cocktail menu which has a number of sharing cocktails such as the Partini and the Top Hat. Not only do they taste great, they look good too with elaborate garnishes and provide a real element of theatre. We’ll also be offering our customers a great range of iconic single bottles to share with friends.

“The whole Popworld experience is all about our team taking care of our customers so that they have a memorable night and want to return time after time. For those customers who loved to party at Babylon, you won’t know what has hit you, as at Popworld we promise to take partying to the another level.”

Popworld will be open Tuesday to Saturday from 10pm until 2am.