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Victoria Beckham at the O2, January 2008
Posh Victoria Beckham
Melanie C at the O2, January 2008
Sporty Melanie C
Melanie B at the O2, January 2008
Scary Melanie B
Emma Bunton at the O2, January 2008
Baby Emma Bunton
Geri Halliwell at the O2, January 2008
Ginger Geri Halliwell

Wanted · 1994 · singers and dancers

Spice Girls

Tick the four questions.

The five at the O2, London, 6 January 2008, on the reunion tour. Photograph Kura.kun, CC BY-SA 3.0. The nicknames Scary, Sporty, Baby, Posh and Ginger came from Top of the Pops magazine.

The advert and the names

The Stage · Mayfair · Maidenhead · Knaphill · 1994

Four hundred in a room, five in a house

All five answered an advert for singers and dancers who were streetwise, outgoing, ambitious and dedicated.

The advert
Black railings in front of a window lit pink and red
The railings at Danceworks, 16 Balderton Street, Mayfair, in December 2024. Tom Page · CC BY-SA 2.0

4 March 1994 · Balderton Street

Danceworks

On 4 March 1994, 400 hopefuls crammed into the Danceworks studios after spotting an advert for a new girl band in The Stage.

Still dance studios, opposite the Selfridges clock and three minutes from Bond Street station; open classes for every level.

Sources
Danceworks

An open class at Danceworks

Balderton Street, Mayfair

The studios where 400 hopefuls auditioned on 4 March 1994 still run open classes at every level, from beginner to professional: street, jazz, musical theatre and more.

See the timetable

Boyn Hill Road, Maidenhead

Five toothbrushes

They moved into a house in Maidenhead, where they had dance and vocal coaching. They lived on very little money and spent each day in a rehearsal studio, on songs and dance routines.

The house
A suburban road junction under trees
Where Boyn Hill Road meets the Bath Road in Maidenhead, 2015. The street, not the house. David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0

Once they were put together, the group rented a house on Boyn Hill Road in Maidenhead. They moved out when they split from the managers who had formed them.

A private house on a residential street: the street only, please, and no knocking.

Sources
A village road junction with a pub sign and brick buildings
The centre of Knaphill, near Woking, in 2005: the village where the group rehearsed. A view of the village, not the studio. Ron Strutt · CC BY-SA 2.0

1994 · Trinity Road

Trinity Studios, Knaphill

Knaphill’s community centre housed Trinity Studios, which Heart Management booked in 1994 so the band, then called Touch, could make up its dance routines and rehearse.

Late in 1994, Touch were renamed the Spice Girls.

The building is now the Woking Youth Arts Centre, home to the Knaphill Cabin Youth Club.

Now the Woking Youth Arts Centre and a youth club: see it from Trinity Road.

Sources
A round blue plaque on a London brick wall
The Spice Girls disc on the wall at Strongroom, 120–124 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, July 2026. Cory Doctorow · CC BY-SA 4.0

1995 · 120–124 Curtain Road

Three songs in a small room

In 1995 the five wrote with Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe in a small room at Strongroom, where the café is now. In the first week they wrote three songs. Two of them were Wannabe and 2 Become 1.

Before they were famous they practised dance routines in the car park. A blue disc says they recorded Wannabe at Strongroom in 1996 and held dance rehearsals in the courtyard.

Richard Boote set the studios up on Curtain Road in 1984; the bar opened in 1997, on the night of the general election.

Strongroom Bar opens every day from noon, until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays; look for the blue disc.

Sources
Strongroom Bar

A drink at Strongroom Bar

Curtain Road, Shoreditch

The bar and courtyard at 120–124 Curtain Road, by the room where Wannabe was written. Open daily from noon, until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

See what’s on
Looking up a curving stone staircase to a painted vaulted ceiling
The top of the Grand Staircase in the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, October 2021. Bs0u10e01 · CC BY-SA 4.0

1996 · Euston Road

One take on the stairs

Wannabe’s video was shot in one take in the building now called the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. The shoot moved to the Midland Grand Hotel at King’s Cross when planning permission for the first location fell through.

The Midland Grand opened on 5 May 1873, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, and closed in 1935 because it cost too much to run. It reopened as a hotel on 5 May 2011. Guests can follow a self-guided QR-code tour of its history.

A working hotel on Euston Road; guests can follow a self-guided tour of the building by QR code.

Sources
  • 37countries where Wannabe went to number one
  • 7weeks at number one in Britain
  • 9British number ones in all
  • 100mrecords sold

Say You’ll Be There, 2 Become 1 and Mama / Who Do You Think You Are followed it to number one. They have had nine British number ones; three were Christmas number ones in a row, a record they share with the Beatles. They have sold more than 100 million records, and Spice is the best-selling album by a girl band.

The numbers

The BRIT Awards · February 1997

Two awards and a tea towel

At the 1997 BRIT Awards Wannabe won British Single of the Year, ahead of Oasis’s Don’t Look Back in Anger. Say You’ll Be There won British Video. They performed Wannabe and Who Do You Think You Are on the night.

Melanie C threw down a challenge to Liam Gallagher from the stage.

Geri’s dress started as a plain Gucci dress. She asked her sister to stitch a Union Jack tea towel onto it. It later became the most expensive piece of pop-star clothing ever sold at auction.

The BRITs
St Pancras London

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

Euston Road, King’s Cross

The old Midland Grand on Euston Road, where Wannabe’s video was shot. Opened in 1873, reopened as a hotel in 2011; guests can follow a self-guided QR-code tour of the building.

Check rooms

Istanbul, October 1997, and every place since

Seventeen cameras

Seventeen cameras filmed their first concert, in Istanbul on 12 and 13 October 1997. Here are ten, one on every place in the story. Select a camera, check it on preview, and cut it to air.

The cameras
Preview
No camera selected
Programme
Nothing on air

Ten cameras, one on every place. Select one.

Cut a camera to air and its place’s story runs here.

October 1997 to January 1998, and after

A first concert, a film and a bus

A grey concrete sports hall with flagpoles along its front
The Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul in May 2012, before it was demolished. Mister No · CC BY 3.0

12 and 13 October 1997 · Zeytinburnu

The Abdi İpekçi Arena site

The Spice Girls played their first concert at an 8,000-capacity basketball arena in Istanbul. The show at the Abdi İpekçi hall ran on 12 and 13 October 1997. Seventeen cameras filmed it, and 250 security staff worked it.

The hall was demolished to make way for a new basketball centre.

The arena has gone. The Basketball Development Centre opened on the site in September 2024, with a 10,000-seat main hall.

Sources
A double-decker bus painted red, white and blue parked on gravel beside a fence
The bus from Spice World on display at Island Harbour Marina, Isle of Wight, August 2021. ITookSomePhotos · CC BY-SA 4.0

Island Harbour · Isle of Wight

The Spice World bus

The film’s bus is a 1978 Bristol VR double-decker, painted with the Union Jack outside and fitted with a swing inside.

It went on display at Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight in July 2014. After maintenance it can be hired again for private parties, photoshoots and events. It once took Airbnb guests. At the 2025 Isle of Wight Festival fans could climb aboard and look inside.

Kept at the marina and hired out for parties and photoshoots: check with the owners before you travel.

Sources

Spice World was shot around London between June and August 1997, directed by Bob Spiers. Richard E. Grant played their manager. It opened in America on 23 January 1998 and, on a $25 million budget, took $100 million worldwide.

Critics mauled it. It is a cult film now. In the film the bus flies. Spotify’s 2021 copy crossed Tower Bridge with its wheels on the road.

The film

August 2012 · Stratford

Five black cabs

At the London 2012 closing ceremony they rode round the stadium in five black cabs and sang a medley of their hits.

The cabs

Five black cabs on the track. Start them.

80,000 in the stadium · 300 million watching

London taxis covered in lights driving across a lit stage in a packed stadium
The Spice Girls and their lit-up black cabs in the Olympic Stadium at the London 2012 closing ceremony, 12 August 2012. David Jones · CC BY 2.0

The Olympic Stadium

At the London 2012 closing ceremony the five came into the stadium on taxis, stood on the roofs and circled the arena singing a medley of Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life. There were 80,000 people in the Olympic Stadium and an estimated 300 million watching around the world.

Now London Stadium; it runs a 60-minute guided tour.

Sources
London Stadium

London Stadium tour

Stratford

A 60-minute guided tour of the 2012 Olympic Stadium, where the five rode in on black cabs at the closing ceremony.

Book a tour
Five women in white and silver stage outfits standing in a row
The Spice Girls on stage in Toronto on 26 February 2008, the last night of the reunion tour. Ezekiel. · Public domain

2007 to 2019

Back together

The 2007–2008 reunion tour included 17 nights at the O2 in London. The first London date reportedly sold out within 38 seconds.

On the 2007 reunion tour their children came on stage during Mama.

The 2007 tour
A white tented dome with yellow masts across the water
The O2 on the Greenwich Peninsula, 2014, with the cable car crossing the Thames. Lewis Hulbert · CC BY-SA 3.0

2007–2008 · Greenwich

The O2

The 2007–2008 reunion tour included 17 nights at the O2 in London.

An arena on the Greenwich Peninsula, by North Greenwich station: check its listings.

Sources
Viator · Ad / affiliate

London pop music tours

London

Live marketplace results for London music history walks and tours. Check each itinerary for Shoreditch and King’s Cross.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours
A white arch over a stadium roof under a grey sky
Wembley Stadium and its arch, 2017. N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0

June 2019 · Wembley

Wembley Stadium

In June 2019 Emma, Geri, Mel C and Mel B closed their stadium reunion tour with three sold-out nights at Wembley. They wore new versions of their nineties outfits, and on the last night brought their mothers and children on stage.

The 2019 tour had 13 sold-out stadium dates in the UK and Ireland. For the 2019 stadium dates more than 700,000 people were, at one point, queuing online for tickets.

The queue

Wembley runs guided stadium tours: book on its site.

Sources
Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium tour

Wembley

A guided tour into the parts of the stadium usually kept for players and performers, where the 2019 reunion tour ended. VIP and group tours too.

Book a tour

Visit

Where it is now

9 places you can visit. The Maidenhead house is a private home, so it is named but not pinned and shown by its street; Trinity Studios is seen from Trinity Road; the Istanbul arena has gone, so its pin marks the basketball centre on the site.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Still dance studios, opposite the Selfridges clock and three minutes from Bond Street station; open classes for every level.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Strongroom Bar opens every day from noon, until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays; look for the blue disc.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working hotel on Euston Road; guests can follow a self-guided tour of the building by QR code.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. An arena on the Greenwich Peninsula, by North Greenwich station: check its listings.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Now London Stadium; it runs a 60-minute guided tour.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Wembley runs guided stadium tours: book on its site.

  1. Black railings in front of a window lit pink and red
    The railings at Danceworks, 16 Balderton Street, Mayfair, in December 2024. Tom Page · CC BY-SA 2.0

    16 Balderton Street, Mayfair

    Danceworks

    On 4 March 1994, 400 hopefuls crammed into the Danceworks studios after spotting an advert for a new girl band in The Stage.

    Still dance studios, opposite the Selfridges clock and three minutes from Bond Street station; open classes for every level.

    Sources
  2. A round blue plaque on a London brick wall
    The Spice Girls disc on the wall at Strongroom, 120–124 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, July 2026. Cory Doctorow · CC BY-SA 4.0

    120–124 Curtain Road, Shoreditch

    Strongroom

    In 1995 the five wrote with Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe in a small room at Strongroom, where the café is now.

    Strongroom Bar opens every day from noon, until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays; look for the blue disc.

    Sources
  3. Looking up a curving stone staircase to a painted vaulted ceiling
    The top of the Grand Staircase in the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, October 2021. Bs0u10e01 · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Euston Road, King’s Cross

    St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

    Wannabe’s video was shot in one take in the building now called the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

    A working hotel on Euston Road; guests can follow a self-guided tour of the building by QR code.

    Sources
  4. A white tented dome with yellow masts across the water
    The O2 on the Greenwich Peninsula, 2014, with the cable car crossing the Thames. Lewis Hulbert · CC BY-SA 3.0

    Greenwich Peninsula

    The O2

    The 2007–2008 reunion tour included 17 nights at the O2 in London.

    An arena on the Greenwich Peninsula, by North Greenwich station: check its listings.

    Sources
  5. A round stadium with a steel roof ring seen from a road
    London Stadium, the 2012 Olympic Stadium, in Stratford, October 2023. N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford

    The Olympic Stadium

    At the London 2012 closing ceremony the five came into the stadium on taxis, stood on the roofs and circled the arena singing a medley of Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life.

    Now London Stadium; it runs a 60-minute guided tour.

    Sources
  6. A white arch over a stadium roof under a grey sky
    Wembley Stadium and its arch, 2017. N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Wembley, north-west London

    Wembley Stadium

    In June 2019 Emma, Geri, Mel C and Mel B closed their stadium reunion tour with three sold-out nights at Wembley.

    Wembley runs guided stadium tours: book on its site.

    Sources

Stay

Sleep where the video was shot.

The old Midland Grand on Euston Road, now a hotel again.

St Pancras London

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

Euston Road, King’s Cross

The old Midland Grand on Euston Road, where Wannabe’s video was shot. Opened in 1873, reopened as a hotel in 2011; guests can follow a self-guided QR-code tour of the building.

Check rooms

Go there

Two stadiums, a dance class, a bar.

Tours of Wembley and the Olympic Stadium, an open class at Danceworks, a drink at Strongroom, and London music tours on the marketplace.

Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium tour

Wembley

A guided tour into the parts of the stadium usually kept for players and performers, where the 2019 reunion tour ended. VIP and group tours too.

Book a tour
London Stadium

London Stadium tour

Stratford

A 60-minute guided tour of the 2012 Olympic Stadium, where the five rode in on black cabs at the closing ceremony.

Book a tour
Danceworks

An open class at Danceworks

Balderton Street, Mayfair

The studios where 400 hopefuls auditioned on 4 March 1994 still run open classes at every level, from beginner to professional: street, jazz, musical theatre and more.

See the timetable
Strongroom Bar

A drink at Strongroom Bar

Curtain Road, Shoreditch

The bar and courtyard at 120–124 Curtain Road, by the room where Wannabe was written. Open daily from noon, until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

See what’s on
Viator · Ad / affiliate

London pop music tours

London

Live marketplace results for London music history walks and tours. Check each itinerary for Shoreditch and King’s Cross.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

Nothing dated yet.

We found no Spice Girls show or exhibition on or after today on an official page. Wembley, the O2 and London Stadium publish their own listings.

No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.

Take it home

A poster, four books, three records.

An original 1997 Spice World one-sheet, books by Geri, Victoria and Mel B and a history of the group, and the three albums.

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Spice World (1997), US one-sheet

An original 1997 US one-sheet for Spice World. 27 × 40 in, rolled, near mint.

In stock

View poster
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame

David Sinclair

A history of the group and its fame. Omnibus, 2004.

Find the book
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

If Only

Geri Halliwell

Geri’s own account, up to leaving the group. 1999.

Find the book
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Learning to Fly

Victoria Beckham

Victoria’s autobiography. 2001.

Find the book
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Brutally Honest

Melanie Brown with Louise Gannon

Mel B’s memoir. 2018.

Find the book
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Spice

Spice Girls · CD, Virgin CDV 2812, 1996

The first album, with Wannabe and 2 Become 1.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Spiceworld

Spice Girls · CD, Virgin CDV 2850, 1997

The second album, with Spice Up Your Life, Too Much and Viva Forever.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Forever

Spice Girls · CD, Virgin CDV 2928, 2000

The third album, with Goodbye and Holler.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The sources

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

10 of 10 places · 12 of 12 Moments

  • Danceworks

    16 Balderton Street, Mayfair

    • The audition

      Four hundred hopefuls answer an advert in The Stage and audition at Danceworks.

  • Boyn Hill Road

    Boyn Hill Road, Maidenhead

    • The shared house

      The group, still with Michelle Stephenson, rent a house on Boyn Hill Road in Maidenhead.

  • Trinity Studios, Knaphill

    Woking Youth Arts Centre, Trinity Road, Knaphill

    • Touch rehearses

      The band, then called Touch, rehearse and make up their routines at Trinity Studios.

    • Touch becomes Spice

      Late in 1994, Touch are renamed the Spice Girls.

  • Strongroom

    120–124 Curtain Road, Shoreditch

    • Wannabe is written

      In their first week with Stannard and Rowe at Strongroom they write Wannabe and 2 Become 1.

  • St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

    Euston Road, King’s Cross

    • One take on the stairs

      The Wannabe video is shot in one take in the empty Midland Grand Hotel.

    • The bus again

      Spotify’s copy of the bus leaves the Wannabe hotel on a 25th-anniversary tour of London.

  • The Abdi İpekçi Arena site

    Zeytinburnu, Istanbul (now the Basketball Development Centre)

    • The first concert

      Their first concert, over two nights at the Abdi İpekçi Arena.

  • The Spice World bus

    Island Harbour Marina, Whippingham, Isle of Wight

    • The bus

      A 1978 Bristol VR double-decker becomes the Spice World bus.

  • The O2

    Greenwich Peninsula

    • Seventeen nights

      All five back together for 17 nights at the O2.

  • The Olympic Stadium

    Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford

    • Five black cabs

      The five ride into the closing ceremony on taxis and sing from the roofs.

  • Wembley Stadium

    Wembley, north-west London

    • Three nights at Wembley

      Emma, Geri, Mel C and Mel B close their 2019 stadium tour with three sold-out nights.

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