Those amongst you who aren’t afraid to bare all – rejoice! The annual No Trousers On The Tube Day is returning this weekend. This trouserless tradition started when the New York-based group Improv Everywhere held the inaugural ‘No Pants Subway Ride’ in 2002. You can imagine the shock of commuters as fellow public transport riders suddenly started stripping off! But as the event has gained notoriety, the sight of a trouserless tube rider has become almost (dare we say it?) normalised.
Subsequent London editions have taken place almost every year since 2009 – bar a break in the action due to COVID. Fast forward to 2025 and, on Sunday, January 12, Londoners will strip off (partially!) to take part in this year’s jeans-less jaunt.
The No Trousers Tube Ride deets
The group will starts walking toward the Tube at 3pm from the meeting spot in Chinatown opposite the Old Pagoda site (here is the Google Maps pin provided). Participants are asked to arrive at 2:45pm before the horde splits off into smaller groups to catch the tube. Participants are told to arrive in ordinary clothes – it is pretty nippy out there, after all – and they’ll be given the signal to discard their britches once they’ve boarded the train.
And no you can’t cheat by wearing a long skirt or a dress. That defies the whole point! It’s about the silliness inherent in someone wearing no trousers and acting nonchalant about it all! Previous years have seen participants wearing OTT undies (including Tube-themed examples) but this year’s organiser has a different idea. This year’s No Trousers riders are asked to “keep the (under)pants as normal or low-key as possible, so it looks like you’ve just forgotten your trousers.”
It’s free to take part and anyone may join, though the event stresses that anyone participating must be respectful and kind to other passengers while also being mindful of safety throughout the ride.
Following the trouserless journey, the event description promises a (presumably also trouserless?) after-party as everyone meets up for a drink at the pub to discuss the event.
What’s different for 2025
As with last year’s event, it should be noted that, while the spirit of the ride remains the same, this is not the same No Trousers Tube Ride that has been dropping trous since 2009. The original organisers, The Stiff Upper Lip Society, chose to cease all future No Trousers Tube Rides from last year. They decided to stop because the American iteration (and other events worldwide) have also stopped taking place.
In 2023, two separate No Trousers Tube Ride events took place simultaneously. One was organised by the Stiff Upper Lip Society, while the other was organised by a prior member of the group, Dave Selkirk. This year’s No Trousers Tube Ride will mark the third event from Selkirk.
Speaking on the event last year, organiser Dave Selkirk said:
It’s been a popular event for so many years because it’s an event just for the sake of fun. It’s a very welcoming crowd and pictures over the years show what a great time everyone has. With all the sadness or seriousness out there in the world today, it’s a privilege to live in London and have an event such as this where we can just let go and have fun.
I’ve been involved for 6 years as a group leader and organiser, and when Stuff Upper Lip said they weren’t doing it (in 2024) I decided I’d like it to still go ahead.
Stiff Upper Lip felt it had run it’s course, I feel there’s still a huge demand for it, and that there is still a huge benefit to holding it.
So, there will be a No Trousers Tube Ride once again this year, so you know what’s going on if you board the carriage at a certain time this Sunday!
NB: In America, it may be called the no PANTS ride, but please remember to keep your pants (UK) firmly around your tooshie. And yes, one of the requirements is pants with sufficient coverage. Let’s keep it relatively PG here, eh folks?
Dare to bare? Join the Facebook event here.
