The annual No Trousers Tube Ride returns to London on Sunday, January 11.
A crowd of “fun lovers, exhibitionists, bucket list tickers and inquisitive introverts alike” is expected to board the Tube for a chilly ride in their underwear.
The event, created in the 2000s by the Stiff Upper Lip Society as a tongue-in-cheek send-up of British prudishness, quickly gained popularity and inspired similar events in cities across the globe.
But when the group announced 2024 would be its final year organising the ride, personal trainer Dave Selkirk stepped in to keep the tradition alive.
This year’s event will begin at 2.45pm at the Old Pagoda in Soho’s Chinatown, with the trouserless Tube ride starting at 3pm.
Organisers remind participants to arrive fully dressed.
Those taking part will be divided into groups before heading to nearby Tube stations.
Participants are encouraged to bring a bag to carry their trousers during the ride.
The only cost involved is a valid ticket for travel on the London Underground.
The journey is usually followed by a pub visit.
The point of the event is to appear casual and unconcerned, as though you simply forgot to put on your trousers.
Organisers ask that people wear plain, low-key underwear and avoid anything too revealing.
The event listing reads: “We gather in a big group, head down to the underground, get on the tube, strip our lower half down to our pants (underpants) and travel round for a bit.
“We then meet up for a drink or two somewhere afterwards, of course in our underpants.”
Participants are expected to act as normally as possible while on the Tube—reading, scrolling through their phones or chatting quietly—despite the lack of trousers.
It began as a playful challenge to British reserve but has grown into an international phenomenon.
