Review: Virgin Radio Rooftop Concert – ‘Ash at the Top of the Tower’

Virgin Red Points Redemption – Top of the Tower Rooftop Concert | London | June 2026

This post provides a review of Virgin Radio’s ‘Top of the Tower’ event featuring Ash and hosted at the London News Building in June 2026. Over the past couple of years Virgin Radio has hosted a series of these rooftop concerts, with around 200 tickets available each time via competitions or Virgin Red points redemptions. It is likely that there will be further ‘Top of the Tower’ events in summer 2026.

I redeemed 3 tickets for this event, priced at 7,500 Virgin Red points per ticket. These were largely points I’d accrued through the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card. Tickets were available just 7 days before the event itself and seemed to take about 4 days to sell out on the App.

The Event

If you’re reading this because you’ve bagged tickets to a similar Virgin Radio event (woop!), then a key point to share about this specific review is that on this occasion the event was actually inside the building on the top floor, rather than on the roof garden itself. I suspect that this was due to very strong winds on the day of the event, however no one acknowledged or mentioned this at any point. Photos from the previous event with the Kooks, in summer 2025, show that previous events have been hosted outdoors on the roof.

Our tickets included:

• Entry to the exclusive Virgin Radio Live Presents… Ash event. 
• A live performance from Ash (approx 40 minutes), plus a DJ throughout the evening
• Access to the dedicated Virgin Red cloakroom. 
• Light snacks and beverages  

The event was hosted in a large space on the top floor of the News Building, with impressive views across London. On one side of the room was a bar area, on the other was a DJ booth alongside an impressive collection of the band’s kit. Small tables were dotted around the room with snacks. With only 200 tickets available, there was plenty of space available and it was extremely easy to walk straight to the front of the stage. The event started at 18:00, with Ash performing at around 19:15. The event closed at 22:00, although they stopped serving drinks a little while before, with things beginning to wind down from 21:00 onwards.

Arrival

We arrived at the News Building entrance slightly before 18:00 and were asked by security staff to wait for entry. A small queue formed and they began welcoming guests in shortly after. Security was taken quite seriously – all guests had their ID checked against the Guestlist (so make sure you do take photo ID). We were then issued with wristbands and taken through airport style security scanners.

Going up an initial escalator, specific event branding was displayed on large screens throughout the space – so we stopped for a quick photo opp! We were then accompanied, with a small group of other guests, to the lifts and taken up to the 17th floor. On arrival there was an area with a small staffed cloakroom, a Virgin Radio photo/media backdrop and toilets. Having popped our coats in the cloakroom we were directed to the large event space, stopping at the bar to get a drink.

Food and Drink

My initial visit to the bar was actually my only visit all night – because having opted for a glass of white wine, this was continually topped up by hosts who were moving around the event space. The bar offered three main options, red or white wine and bottles of peroni lager. Soft drinks, including lemonade, coke and water, were also available. All drinks were complimentary throughout the evening.

Whilst the event information did only advertise ‘light snacks’, the food offering was pretty limited. There were some bread sticks, crisps and nibbles dotted around on tables. Having attended similar previous loyalty points events through American Express, Hilton and others, which have included impressive canapé offerings, this was a little underwhelming. In my opinion, limiting the drinks a little and instead upgrading the food offer would have enhanced the overall event.

Entertainment

A DJ played tracks throughout the evening, with a playlist full of 80/90/00’s classics. Ash were introduced by the host and jumped straight into their set, which was being broadcast live on Virgin Radio.

They played for around 40 minutes, starting with a couple of newer songs before progressing to a series of late 90’s/early 00’s hits including Girl From Mars, Burn Baby Burn and Shining Light. These were appreciated by a mainly 40+ audience, who enjoyed the opportunity for a sing along.

The stage was behind a small belt barrier, although the audience were able to stand pretty close. The band had a full set up, with stage lighting – standing by the speaker the volume was actually pretty loud (despite essentially being in an office building).

Now this is definitely not part of the event offer, but on leaving we happened to arrive at the lift at the same time as Ash lead singer Tim Wheeler, so had chance for a quick selfie and a chat on the way back down! Given that by this point some people were quite merry from all the free alcohol (!), I have to say that he was a great sport. He happily posed for some pictures, before talking about the band’s next tour dates (starting with Download festival) and jokily acknowledging the giant Ash video screens with his face on that surrounded us in the building lobby.

This was a great end to the evening, but pure chance that we happened to head for the lift at that moment. That said, I think there’s always an increased chance of these kind of opportunities at small private events like this – for example, the last time I redeemed Virgin suite tickets at the O2 Arena, my daughter met her favourite YouTuber in the lounge.

Conclusions

Overall, I’d say that the Top of the Tower events are worth considering as a Virgin Red redemption. At 7,500 points a ticket is significantly cheaper than many Virgin O2 redemptions (which can go as high as 60,000 points for 2 tickets), and you get a very different, up close and personal experience. The limitless free drinks also make for a cheap and interesting night out and the views across London are spectacular. I was slightly disappointed that the event wasn’t out on the roof this time, however given the wind strength at ground level, I can see why moving inside was a sensible choice.

We’d travelled across from Bristol for the 40-minute set, which was about a 2-hour journey including the tube across London, and we definitely weren’t disappointed. It made for a really different night out and besides our train tickets and a quick sandwich in the station, we didn’t really need to spend any money all evening. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future opportunities.

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