Blog: Highlights from West End Live 2015

At around 1pm on Saturday afternoon, #WestendLIVE apparently became the seventh-biggest worldwide trend on Twitter. Perhaps this explains just how much excitement and hype surrounds this free annual event, with thousands of fans making their way to Trafalgar Square to watch the best that London's West End has to offer.

I arrived at 11am and West End Live was already heaving. Fans were queuing around the block, some wearing t-shirts from their favourite musical, others clutching programmes, but all with their mobile phones at the ready to capture every performance. The atmosphere was electric. At first I milled around backstage and soaked up the nervous energy of the performers, chatting to a few who were getting ready. After a huge roar from the crowd, a group of girls in tutus ran off the stage. Billy Elliot the Musical had finished their performance and the girls were excitably chatting, not quite believing the scale of the crowd.

I walked around to the front of the stage where I was glued to the spot for two hours, not wanting to move for fear of missing a performance. Highlights of the day included Wicked's Emma Hatton defying gravity on the top of Canada House, Beverley Knight's amazing solo in Memphis, the impressive performance from Miss Saigon, Anna-Louise Knight as Matilda and of course the classics, Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables. Joey from War Horse provided enjoyment between performances as well as regular updates about the stalls surrounding the event.

Fighting my way through the crowds to Leicester Square, a 1920s-style Spiegeltent provided even further entertainment. Costumes and props from various shows were on display as well as make-up demonstrations, kids' activities and a photo-booth. Most exciting of all, however, was a performance from Dinosaur Zoo; I was genuinely scared as the puppeteers roamed around the tent bringing a huge T-Rex back to life.

Now in its eleventh year, West End Live continues to grow, providing a thrilling, two-day extravaganza not to be missed.