The DMC World DJ Championships launches the countdown to DMC41 with a free, ticketless party at Camden Market’s Amphitheatre on Sunday 16 August, ahead of three days of competition across Camden in November.
In 1985, a young DJ called Roger Johnson won a competition nobody was quite sure would catch on. Forty one years later, that competition has crowned champions on five continents, turned bedroom DJs like A-Trak and DJ Qbert into legends, and become the closest thing turntablism has to a World Cup. This year it comes home. Camden Market’s Amphitheatre, a stage that has already seen its fair share of scenes, hosts the opening party, and for once nobody in London needs a ticket to get near a world champion.
Four hours, no ticket, one world champion
Turn up to Stables Market on Sunday 16 August between 3pm and 7pm and that’s it, you’re in. World DMC Champion Cutmaster Swift takes the decks alongside DJ Pogo, one of the names that shaped UK turntablism long before scratching had a place at the Brits, with broadcaster and DJ MysDiggi hosting a set that moves through hip hop, funk, disco and soul. DMC are giving away merchandise, vinyl and slipmats throughout the afternoon, and the Universal Music shop next door is running its own activations. It is, in effect, a free festival stage dropped into a Sunday in Camden Market, which is reason enough to build an afternoon around it.
The real event: three days, one November weekend
The launch party is the trailer. The main event is DMC41 itself, three days of competition spread across Camden from 12 to 14 November, building towards a Saturday final at KOKO, the Grade II listed venue hosting the championship for the third time in its history. Tickets are already live via See Tickets, from £22 for Day One and £35.75 for Day Two. Given the roll call of DMC champions past, Craze, Roc Raida, C2C, Scratch Perverts, reigning champion DJ Fummy defending his title among them, this is a genuinely significant weekend for anyone who cares about DJ culture, not just a niche event with a big name attached.
The London x London Take: Free, no ticket, a world champion on the decks: this is one of the better value afternoons in London this August, and it will not stay quiet for long once Camden Market’s usual Sunday crowd realises what’s happening in the Amphitheatre. Get there for 3pm rather than drifting in later. But treat the party as the opening bid, not the main event. DMC choosing Camden for its return, and KOKO for its final, says this 41st edition is being built as a proper homecoming rather than a modest anniversary lap. Book November early.
Need to Know
- Venue: The Amphitheatre, Stables Market, Camden Market
- Address: Camden Market, London NW1 8AH
- Date: Sunday 16 August 2026, 3pm to 7pm
