Sonic the Hedgehog does Ascot

Nobody knows who starts the chant. It must come from an individual impulse, but it spreads so rapidly through the hall at Alexandra Palace, and through air that is soupy with sweat, lager and noise. “Have you ever seen Sonic down a pint?,” it begins. I look around the room, across a sea of multicoloured costumes, hats and towering jugs of beer, for the target. There it is: a man dressed in a full Sonic the Hedgehog outfit, electric blue spikes pointing in the air. In one hand he holds a pint aloft. The chant goes on, louder and more insistent: “Have you ever seen Sonic down a pint? Have you ever seen Sonic, ever seen Sonic, ever seen Sonic down a pint?” Sonic raises his plastic cup high in salute and tips it into his face, where it vanishes in short order, amid cheers and whoops.

It’s 23 December, and this venue is quite possibly the most exclusive room in London. The glee of the crowd is palpable, perhaps because everyone here is aware that they are participating not just in a British cultural phenomenon, but one of the most exclusive events in the city. Forget Taylor Swift or the Champions League final, for the three weeks before Christmas, the darts is where everyone is – or wants to be, at least.