Date: Saturday 21st February 2026

Venue: “The Venue”, 1st Floor, The O2 Centre, 255 Finchley Road, London NW3 6LU
https://maps.app.goo.gl/FHfWpP8YsStQBCRz8

Admission: The standard entry fee is £14. Please fill in the entry form: https://forms.gle/vCzmicuRKLL3bkZD9

Hosted by: Phil Stanton

Doors open: 10:45 am
Gameplay starts at 11:30.

Games to be played: 7 plus the Grand Final

Refreshments: Tea/Coffee/Biscuits will be provided.
There are 2 supermarkets within the O2 Centre itself, as well as a Nandos and a coffee shop, plus various other options outside the centre.

Finishes by: 5:30 pm

Wheelchair accessible?: Yes

Parking onsite?: Yes, chargeable, in the O2 Centre car park.
Rates are £25 for 6 to 7 hours, £35 for 7 to 10 hours.
Travel by public transport is strongly encouraged, see below for details.

Public transport:
Public transport is the recommended way of getting to the venue, which is easily accessible from all major London rail terminals via the Jubilee, Metropolitan and Overground lines, as well as several bus routes.

Format: 9-rounders, “Bristol” (classroom) style.
All competitors will be drawn into pairs, to play against each other.
Everyone will be playing their games from the same selection of letters, numbers and conundrums, all displayed on the big screen, running Countdowner Fiona Titcombe’s “RoboRiley” software, custom-designed specifically for these events.
Each game will have 9 rounds, like Countdown used to do in the old days:
3 Letters rounds, a Numbers round, 3 more Letters rounds, another Numbers round, and finally a Conundrum.
After each game, there will be another draw, where your opponent will then be someone who is on the same number of wins as you so far, so don’t worry if you have a tough first game, as you’ll then get matched at opponents who are performing at a similar level to you for the rest of the day.
At the end of the day, the top two players will face off in the Grand Final.
Remember, the aim is to have fun! There will be plenty of prizes on offer that anyone could win.

Rough timetable for the day
Doors open: 10:45
Welcome/Round 1 Draw: 11:15
Practice Round: 11:30 (for newcomers to get familiar with how the event will work)
Game 1: 11:45
Game 2: 12:20
Lunch: 12:45
Game 3: 13:50
Game 4: 14:25
Game 5: 15:00
Game 6: 15:35
Game 7: 16:10
Final: 17:00
Prizegiving: 17:20

Post-event group meal plans:

We’ll go back to Pizza Express in Baker Street again, because they’re really good to deal with, and can accommodate big bookings and pretty much all dietary requirements.
Table will be booked for 7:00 pm as usual.

Please keep an eye on the Facebook event page or C4Countdown discussion page for updates and announcements.

How to enter:
To sign up, please complete the entry form at https://forms.gle/vCzmicuRKLL3bkZD9

Enquiries

Contact us at hello@focalcountdown.com

Attending or organising a FOCAL event is subject to the FOCAL Code of Conduct.