From
Thursday 9th May 2024
to
Sunday 12th May 2024
AEGEE-London is organising an European event for the sake of it. We want aegeeans to come to London and have a big time here!
📢 Hello Europe! 📢 This is London calling the network. Our event lasting 4 days will contain high doses of beautiful monuments, green parks, breathtaking landscapes and a moderate amount of party. Delicatessen food like fish and chips will be part of your diet here.
What is AEGEE?
AEGEE stands for Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l'Europe and it is known as European Students' Forum in English. It is one of the largest trans-national, interdisciplinary student organisations in Europe. Established in 1985, AEGEE currently has around 6,000 members and 110 local branches (antennae) in university cities across Europe, including Russia, Turkey and the Caucasus, with a European board and head office in Brussels.
AEGEE strives for a democratic, diverse and borderless Europe, which is socially, economically and politically integrated, and values the participation of young people in its construction and development. AEGEE is a secular, non-profit organization, not linked to any political party. All projects and activities are based on voluntarily work of its members. AEGEE empowers students and young people in Europe to take an active role in society by influencing political decision makers, and it creates a space for dialogue and learning opportunities.
Find out more information about AEGEE on the official website, on Wikipedia and on Facebook.
Programme
Get ready to dive into the heart of London's vibrant scene with our exciting sightseeing and party event! This is the programme, designed for exploring iconic landmarks, and followed by nights of dancing!
Please take into account that, even when we'll try to follow times and scheduled activities as much as we can, some changes may happen as we're a small group of people taking care of all the tours and logistics.
European Night
The European Night on Thursday 9th will be happening at the hostel, and will be our first activity of the event! Participants will bring from their country their local favourite snacks and drinks for everybody to know and enjoy. Participants will be grouped by country and each one will have its own table. And the AEGEE-London hosts will go table by table listening to an introduction to the snacks and having a small sip of every drink. You can find more information about European Nights in the website of AEGEE-Praha.
Locations
Hostel
We're staying at the Generator hostel, based in the centrical neighbourhood of King's Cross.
Check the below map to see the exact location of the hostel. The nearest Underground station is Russell Square (5 mins walking) or King's Cross St. Pancras, mayor transport hub (7 mins walking).
London
London is home to a huge number of famous tourist attractions. It is always within the top 3 most visited cities in the world. During the event we'll have multiple tours where you'll be able to see some of the most iconic places of London.
Visit London is the official visitor guide for the city, including information on attractions, transport and prices. Very handy when you don't have time yet want to see the whole city!
Confirm
If after applying you have received an acceptance email, congratulations! You have been selected for our event. In order to confirm your attendance just follow the below steps:
- Pay the participation fee of 150€: you can pay by bank transfer, PayPal or card. Please, make the payment within 4 days from the acceptance email arrival. Remember that the fee is not refundable. We are doing this event at a loss. And if we got a participant cancellation last minute the hostel would not refund the price to us.
- Fill the incoming form: we just need you to fill a short form to know your eating preferences and any health issue. Only the minimum necessary data is asked.
- Wait to receive the WhatsApp group link: we'll be using this group for introductions and to not get lost whilst we are in London. Once we've received your fee payment we'll send you an email with the link to join the group. It may take a few days until we send the link.
By bank transfer
Reference: Bott YOURNAME
Account holder: AEGEE-London
Bank: Barclays
Sort code: 20-10-53
Account number: 50953512
Address: AEGEE-London, London, UK
Bank: Barclays
IBAN: GB89 BARC 2010 5350 9535 12
SWIFT-BIC: BARCGB22
By PayPal or card
If you pay by card or PayPal we are charged a fee by PayPal, so we have to charge a bit more, being the price 156€.
That's all. Don't forget to buy your plane, train or bus tickets. And we'll see you in May!
Get Ready
What to bring
You're about to visit London. Know every small detail about our event and about coming to the UK so that you don't have your experience spoiled because you forgot "that"!
- The usual stuff you bring with you in a 4-day international trip to a northern country: passport, phone with charger (and adapter for British plugs), coat and confortable shoes. The hostel does NOT provide towels (only if you pay extra for it). Bring your own one.
- Visa if required. If you need a visa to enter the United Kingdom you can apply for it here. AEGEE-London can provide you with an invitation letter in case you need one.
- Money (pounds £): cards are accepted everywhere (mind the bank fees). Even in some places you can only pay with card. Usually credit cards have cheaper fees to pay in shops abroad than debit cards. But at the same time credit cards are more expensive if you want to withdraw cash from a cash machine abroad. Check card fees with your bank.
- Mobile SIM card: although it is not compulsory, having Internet on the phone in London will be useful. There is WiFi in the hostel. The mobile provider of your country may already be giving you a good price for mobile internet when travelling to the UK. In case it does not an UK SIM card is a cheap way to get internet on the go. You can find SIM cards for less than £10 in every supermarket, or at the airport. With a £10 allowance you should have enough for 4 days. Alternatively, if your phone is compatible with eSIMs (like iPhones or Google Pixels) you could set up an international internet provider, although usually they are not as cheap as local SIM cards (more info here).
- Typical snacks and drinks from your country for the European Night on Thursday. There won't be any cooking facilities.
That's all. You aren't going to the jungle!
What the fee includes
Our exclusive event welcomes 25 participants for 4 days to delve into this world-capital city.
What's included in the fee of 150€ is:
- ✅ 3 nights at the hostel.
- ✅ Breakfast and launch or dinner.
- ✅ Transport by bike for one day (the others day will be walking).
- ✅ City tours
- ✅ Entrance to some of the places and parties we’ll go at night.
What's not included:
- ❌ Party drinks.
- ❌ Entrance to some of the places and parties we’ll go at night.
How to reach London centre
There are different ways to reach London centre and the hostel at King's Cross depending on which is your arriving place:
- If you fly to Standsted airport the cheapest way to get the centre is by a direct National Express coach. You can also take the Standsted Express train to Liverpool Street station, which takes less time but it's more expensive. These coaches and trains will leave you in main stations from where you can take the Underground to King's Cross.
- If you fly to Luton airport the fastest way to get London centre is by taking the train to St. Pancras. Before reaching the Luton Airport Parkway station you first take the DART transit train from the airport, which takes 5 minutes to reach Luton Airport Parkway. From there the train will leave you at St. Pancras, which is 10 mins walking from the hostel.
- If you fly to Gatwick airport the cheapest way to get the centre is by train as the airport has its own station and you can pay with the Oyster card (or contacless card or NFC phone). You can also buy the conventional train ticket if you have troubles with contactless payments. There are direct trains to St. Pancras, which is 10 mins walking from the hostel.
- If you fly to Heathrow or City airports, these airports have its own station in the Underground.
- If you take the train to St. Pancras station (like the Eurostar) you're taking a direct train that leaves you 10 mins walking from the hostel!
- If you take a coach to Victoria coach station, poor you, what a tiring trip. After you recover your body movility you'll have to walk for 10 minutres from the coach station to the Victoria train station. From there you can take the Underground to King's Cross.
Underground and trains usually ends at midnight and starts at 5:00. On Friday and Saturday there is the Night Tube with trains running on 5 of the Underground lines. There are also some night buses and 24h buses. Check them on Google Maps or on the TfL website.
Useful information
There are some small tips that you should know before arriving to London:
- When you arrive to London you will need to pay for the public transport (urban buses, underground and urban trains). You can do it in two ways: with the Oyster card (the London public transport card). You can get these cards (with cash or card) in main Underground stations for a deposit of £5 that you can get back when you leave. Or you can pay with your contactless card or NFC phone (Apple Pay, Google Pay or similar). Since 2014 cash isn’t accepted in any urban bus, Underground or urban train.
- Uber (for iOS and Android) operates in London.
- There are bike and scooter services like Lime or the public one Santander Cycles.
- The Met Office is the government institution in the UK for weather forecasts. Check how is gonna be the weather like in the next days for London here.
- 999 is the British emergency free telephone number.
- If you come by plane and don't check in luggage remember that Ryanair and WizzAir hand luggage allowances are smaller than most low cost airlaners. Check them here and on the official websites (Ryanair or WizzAir).
Organisers
The AEGEE-London team, composed by people coming from all across Europe excepting the UK, is devoting its free time to organise the best AEGEE event for your delight. We're volunteers, but the experience you'll enjoy will be premium!
We cannot wait to see you all here in London and spend the time of a whale in workshops, city sightseeing and party. London is looking forward to seeing you!
