M&M's World - gaudy, soulless yet hugely popular
The Independent|September 22, 2024
Tens of thousands flock each week to queue, buy overpriced sweets and take photos. But why, wonders Roisin Lanigan
- Roisin Lanigan
M&M's World - gaudy, soulless yet hugely popular

There is a dark force in the middle of Soho. Like an abyss, it swallows up light and repels hope. It corrupts all those who grow close, trapping them in its embrace. Its tiers wind in on themselves like an Escher artwork. At its hollow centre, a DayGlo spiral staircase twists upwards to look out across the wasteland that is Leicester Square. Dante thought hell had nine circles, but there is a place more terrifying than anything he imagined in the Divine Comedy, and it has four floors. I am talking, of course, about M&M’s World.

M&M’s World – a Minionified shop that sits on the corner of Leicester Square, curling back into Chinatown – has cemented itself as the empty heart of central London in its 13 years of existence. It appeared here in June 2011, taking over a site formerly occupied by the Swiss Centre. It is to this day the world’s largest candy store, clocking in at an impressive 35,000 square feet of pure, unadulterated M&M’s content. It’s one of a series of bizarre “universe” themed shopping locations imagined by the world-building execs at Mars, Incorporated – the first opened on the Las Vegas strip in 1997, followed by outposts in Florida, New York, Nevada, Shanghai, Minnesota and Berlin.

Created as part of Westminster City Council’s regeneration plan for the local area – conceived amid the rose-tinted haze of the London 2012 Olympics dream – M&M’s World was meant to make Leicester Square a “world-class destination”, akin to the remodelling of Times Square in New York that took it from a dangerous, forgotten and crime-heavy area in the 1980s to the mecca of consumerism and tourism that it is today.

この蚘事は The Independent の September 22, 2024 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は The Independent の September 22, 2024 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

THE INDEPENDENTのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
What can stop Verstappen winning fifth straight title?
The Independent

What can stop Verstappen winning fifth straight title?

It is rare that we learn fresh pieces of detail about drivers on the Formula One grid.

time-read
4 分  |
November 26, 2024
Mo' money, mo' goals - why Salah is worth the gamble
The Independent

Mo' money, mo' goals - why Salah is worth the gamble

As clear and emphatic as Mohamed Salah’s words on Sunday were, something was still left unsaid.

time-read
4 分  |
November 26, 2024
Guardiola: 'It will be a bad season by our standards'
The Independent

Guardiola: 'It will be a bad season by our standards'

But after five losses in a row, Man City's manager is defiant

time-read
4 分  |
November 26, 2024
West Ham hit Newcastle on counter to ease pressure
The Independent

West Ham hit Newcastle on counter to ease pressure

Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka combined to burst Newcastle’s bubble as West Ham handed under-pressure boss Julen Lopetegui breathing space with a priceless Premier League away win.

time-read
2 分  |
November 26, 2024
Flood-proofing homes now will prevent future misery
The Independent

Flood-proofing homes now will prevent future misery

One thing most people would agree on: Britain urgently needs new homes.

time-read
3 分  |
November 26, 2024
Chancellor has gone from cosying up to confrontation
The Independent

Chancellor has gone from cosying up to confrontation

Rachel Reeves urgently needs a new script – and some pizzazz.

time-read
4 分  |
November 26, 2024
CBI boss warns Budget will mean fewer jobs are created
The Independent

CBI boss warns Budget will mean fewer jobs are created

Half of UK companies will cut jobs and two-thirds will recruit fewer staff, according to the boss of the UK's top business lobby group.

time-read
3 分  |
November 26, 2024
Man who drugged wife in mass rape case should serve 20 years, say prosecutors
The Independent

Man who drugged wife in mass rape case should serve 20 years, say prosecutors

French prosecutors have sought a 20-year prison term for Dominique Pelicot, accusing him of facilitating the mass rape of his wife Gisele Pelicot by dozens of men, drugging her unconscious, and sharing pictures and videos of her sexual assault.

time-read
1 min  |
November 26, 2024
Thousands arrested at Khan protests as Pakistan capital put under police lockdown
The Independent

Thousands arrested at Khan protests as Pakistan capital put under police lockdown

Pakistani authorities arrested more than 4,000 supporters of Imran Khan, including five parliamentarians, ahead of a rally demanding the release of the former prime minister from prison, where he has been held for over a year.

time-read
2 分  |
November 26, 2024
One dead after DHL cargo plane crashes in Lithuania
The Independent

One dead after DHL cargo plane crashes in Lithuania

A DHL cargo plane has crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, killing at least one of four people on board.

time-read
3 分  |
November 26, 2024