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02/06/2026
**SOLD OUT** Wednesday June 3rd 2026 18.00 'The New Byzantines'
London Book Premier HOSTED at the Frontline Club. 📚
Join Sean Mathews for a discussion hosted by Middle East Eye and moderated by Peter Oborne on his book, The New Byzantines: The Rise of Greece and Return of the Near East.
Caught between wars raging in both Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Greece is an island of relative stability. Popularly considered the cradle of Western civilisation, this is a Christian Orthodox state on the edge of the Islamic world. And, after a half-century of integration into NATO and the EU, Greece is now reabsorbing into the Near East, as the West fractures and new Middle Eastern powers rise. The country’s importance as a cultural and geopolitical hybrid is growing.
Travelling through the region, Sean Mathews explores at ground level the tectonic shifts reshaping Europe and the Middle East. He meets the last Greek merchants in Cairo, and hears from Istanbul’s remaining Greeks about Turkey’s break with the West. In Jerusalem, he discovers a budding alliance between Greece and Israel; and in a faded Ottoman port, he encounters football hooligans loyal to a Russian oligarch.
This bold reappraisal of Greece as a Near Eastern nation uncovers its Byzantine and Ottoman past as a key to survival in today’s chaotic, shrinking world.
Sean Mathews is a Greek-American journalist who has covered a wide swath of the Middle East. He is a correspondent with Middle East Eye, and has also written for The Economist and Al-Monitor, among others. He calls Athens home and travels often in the region. This is his first book.
David Hearst is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye. He is a commentator and speaker on the region and analyst on Saudi Arabia. He was The Guardian’s foreign leader writer, and was correspondent in Russia, Europe, and Belfast. He joined The Guardian from The Scotsman, where he was education correspondent.
Peter Oborne is associate editor of Middle East Eye and columnist for Byline Times and Declassified UK. He has worked as political editor of The Spectator and political columnist for the Daily Mail & Daily Telegraph
02/06/2026
*SOLD OUT* Panel Discussion 19.00 tonight Tuesday the 2nd June 2026 at the Frontline Club
Today, Lebanon is once again at a turning point, shaped by an accelerating regional conflict, a fragile cease-fire, tentative talks unfolding between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, Hezbollah’s evolving role within the current balance of power, internal political paralysis, and a deepening economic crisis that continues to reshape daily life.
What does Lebanon’s current trajectory reveal about the wider geopolitical moment it is embedded in, and about the fragile space between war, negotiation, and containment in the region?
Co-organised by L’Orient Today and the Frontline Club, this conversation looks at Lebanon as a central but unstable node within today’s regional order. It examines a country where political tensions, security dynamics, and social fragmentation are unfolding in parallel, closely tied to broader regional developments and shifting lines of negotiation and confrontation.
As Lebanon once again stands between an expanding war dynamic and an uncertain future, the panel also asks a broader question: how does a state navigate survival when its internal fractures are inseparable from the geopolitics around it?
01/06/2026
Tonight 1900 at the Frontline Club
Monday 1st June 2026
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989320680707?aff=oddtdtcreator
The democratic self-governing territory of Taiwan lives in the shadow of an evermore assertive Communist Party of China which sees the island as a breakaway province that it’s vowed to take back force if necessary. But is it really as black and white as a potential full-scale military invasion, and how might evolving identities be shaping China’s strategy towards the island?
We will discuss the threats posed by China through the lens of changing identities, and how the island’s 23 million people are increasingly identifying as Taiwanese and not Chinese - and what this might mean for China and their push for Taiwan.
29/05/2026
WE HOST NEW LINES TONIGHT AT THE CLUB Friday 29th May 2026 Ticket link: https://www.ticketfairy.com/event/thewarthatremains-20260510121708320
War does not end when the fighting stops. Its effects continue through memory, grief, displacement and the lives people rebuild in the aftermath.
On 29 May, The War That Remains brings together writers and journalists whose work examines what follows conflict; how it shapes identity, relationships and everyday life long after the headlines fade.
Join Arwa Damon, Olesya Khromeychuk, and other guests for an evening of conversation on memory, grief and the long aftermath of war.
The panel will be followed by a Q&A discussion.
This New Lines Magazine event is free to attend, but tickets are limited.
Doors will open at 6.30pm and the event will start at 7pm. As usual, there will be time for conversations and networking after the event.
The Frontline Club is a private members club; however you do not need to be a member to attend this event.
27/05/2026
📚Booktalk ⏱️19.00🗓️Thursday 28th May 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London 🎟️ Tickets https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1988554563229?aff=oddtdtcreator
Hayden's first book, 'My Fourth Time, We Drowned', documented crimes against humanity on Europe's borders, including the ways in which European policy led to the torture and indefinite detention of some of the world's most vulnerable people. It won the Orwell Prize, Michel Deon Prize, Il Premio Terzani, and was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, among others.
Her second book reexamines crises through love stories she has come across in nine countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. But it is also a book about the limitations and failures of journalism; the dangers of dehumanisation; and a detachment crisis that sees people in privileged and wealthy countries disconnect from what is taking place elsewhere.
Hayden has lived in Lebanon since 2024, and the book is also grounded in the ongoing war there.
26/05/2026
HOSTING TONIGHT AT THE CLUB: Frontline Innovation: Medical Evacuation
Tonight! May 26, 2026 at 6:30 PM (BST)
Frontline clinicians, engineers and leaders reveal how real‑world trauma insights become innovations that transform emergency care.
TICKETS: 🎟https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/frontline-innovation-medical-evacuation-tickets-1986009124754 🎟
Join to hear how a Clinician‑Led Idea Became a Breakthrough in Trauma Care. This event brings together the clinicians, innovators, and frontline responders who are changing that.
Every year, thousands of trauma patients die not because treatment is impossible — but because it arrives too late for the patient to be stabilised. Medical evacuation delays remain one of the most stubborn, deadly gaps in emergency medicine, from rural Britain to the front lines of Ukraine.
Where the story begins: East Anglian Air Ambulance
Emergency doctors working at East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) identified a critical gap in trauma care: patients could deteriorate on scene and during transportation because of hypothermia, which is common in prehospital environments and can reduce chances of survival.
This led to a collaboration with ThermoTraumaPort and funded by NIHR and private investors — transforming a frontline problem into a manufacturable, regulated medical device that could be deployed in some of the world’s most challenging environments.
Why this matters now
Ukraine is currently the only health system in the world adopting trauma innovation at the pace the crisis demands. Medevac delays are costing lives daily. A new generation of evacuation‑ready technologies is urgently needed — and this event marks the first public discussion of how they could be deployed.
22/05/2026
🚀 Space Geopolitics — Panel Discussion
19.00 Wed 27 May 2026 · Frontline Club, London Tickets🎟: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-discussion-the-return-to-the-moon-tickets-1987515152323?aff=oddtdtcreator
After decades of silence, the race to the Moon is back and this time it's not just nation states. Private companies, new space powers and competing visions for humanity's future are all converging on our nearest neighbour.
Join us for a frank discussion on what's driving this resurgent passion for space, what states and corporations are really after, and the geopolitical fallout that could follow.
19/05/2026
💬Panel TONIGHT ⏱️19.00🗓️Tuesday 19th May 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London 🎟️ Tickets https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1988578933120
TONIGHT’S PANEL FEATURES SOME OF THE MOST RESPECTED VOICES IN CYBER, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM & DIGITAL SECURITY. 🔥
🎤 Geoff White — Investigative journalist, author & cybercrime expert known for exposing global hacking, fraud, and digital crime.
🎤 Lizzie Dearden — Award-winning journalist and author specialising in security, extremism, crime, and online threats.
🎤 Glenn Wilkinson — Ethical hacker, cybersecurity speaker, and security specialist helping organisations stay ahead of digital threats.
🎤 Jen Ellis — Cybersecurity advocate and community leader focused on cyber resilience, ransomware awareness, and the future of digital security.
This is more than a panel — it’s a conversation about the real-world impact of cybercrime, technology, media, and the future of online safety.
19/05/2026
**SOLD OUT** 📽Screening +Q&A ⏱️19.00🗓️Monday 18 May 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London 🎟️ Tickets https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989092968614?aff=oddtdtcreator
Louis Theroux embeds himself in the West Bank, meeting prominent settlers - including the ‘godmother’ of the movement, Daniella Weiss - and travelling throughout the territory to understand the consequences of their activity.
Louis also meets Palestinians whose lives have been impacted by settlers moving into their communities. As the world focuses on Gaza, where at least 50,000 Palestinians are estimated to have been killed by Israeli forces since 7 October, Louis discovers that the settlers are already making plans to move into that territory, too.
What was once a fringe movement has now won support at the highest levels of government, with their supporters holding key positions in the cabinet and able to influence not only the role the military plays but also the future of this conflict.
The film became a national talking point and won The Rose D'Or, The Broadcast Press Guild Award and has been nominated for a BAFTA.
In person Q&A with Louis Theroux and Josh Baker, moderated by Hind Hassan.
14/05/2026
A special Frontline shout out for a special individual. Applications are invited for the Richard Beeston Bursary 2026, offered in association with The Times. Richard was a distinguished foreign correspondent for 30 years, reporting on wars, revolutions and natural disasters. When he died of cancer at the age of 50, he was the Foreign Editor of The Times. The bursary represents an opportunity for an aspiring foreign correspondent at the beginning of his or her career to receive a grant of £6,000 to spend six weeks abroad, researching and reporting on a foreign news story for The Times.
Applications must be submitted by 9am on Tuesday, May 26.
For information about how to apply: richardbeestonbursary.com
14/05/2026
***SOLD OUT*** 💬Talk ⏱️19.00🗓️Thursday 14th May 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London
Award-winning reporter Katrina Manson’s new book Project Maven explores how the US military and tech giants turned AI warfare from theory into reality — and what’s really inside the black box of AI targeting.
From Palantir’s Maven Smart System to battlefield AI backed by Amazon, Microsoft, and Anthropic, AI is already reshaping modern war. Supporters call it the future of defense. Critics warn of civilian deaths, escalation, and unreliable technology.
One thing is clear: AI warfare is no longer coming — it’s here.
14/05/2026
TODAY! Thursday 14th May 2026 A private pre-release screening of a new documentary about proposals to introduce US-style whistleblowing bounties in the UK. THIS FILM WILL BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC ON THURSDAY 22ND MAY 2026.
Whistleblower Inc explores controversial proposals to establish an ‘Office of the Whistleblower’ – and why such legislation would be a mistake for the UK.
Under this proposed bill, the non-governmental body would decide who counts as a whistleblower. It would decide which companies to fine, and how much – up to £18 million per case, or ten per cent of global revenue. It would also decide how much of that fine to pay to the individual whistleblower. The same body would be funded by the fines it imposes.
The film explores the recent history of whistleblowing in the UK, outlines some of the risks campaigners have raised over these proposals, and looks at claims surrounding the organisation championing this bill, WhistleblowersUK. We hope that this documentary results in a renewed focus on this debate and those MPs inclined to support the Bill will look at it again with an open mind to ensure the best system is adopted in the UK to protect all whistleblowers.
PANEL: Martin Woods is a renowned anti-money laundering (AML) expert and whistleblower known for exposing massive drug cartel money laundering through Wachovia bank in the late 2000s. Martin Woods is the director of Fraud Investigation Training Ltd Eileen Chubb is an authority on whistleblowing, regulatory failure and protection of vulnerable adults. One of the “BUPA Seven” care workers, she founded charity Compassion in Care and co-founded The Whistler with the late Professor Gavin MacFadyen to support whistleblowers in all employment sectors. Christine England raised concerns in the NHS and later in two social care jobs and has direct experience of cover-ups by organisations and politicians. Cat McShane is a documentary producer and journalist, award-nominated for work with BBC Panorama and Channel 4 Dispatches. In 2025, she presented the BBC podcast The Bad Guru, also collaborated with Compassion in Care on a Channel 4 film about LGBTQ+ people facing homophobic and transphobic abuse.
12/05/2026
💬Talk ⏱️19.00🗓️Tuesday 19th May 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London 🎟️ Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-discussion-investigating-hackers-tickets-1988578933120?aff=oddtdtcreator
HACK ATTACKS... Lazarus Group — Sony Pictures (2014); WannaCry (2017)
REvil — Kaseya attack (2021)
Conti — Costa Rica government attack (2022)
LockBit — Royal Mail attack (2023)
Anonymous — Scientology campaign (2008); ISIS ops (2015–2017)
APT28 — DNC hack (2016)
From shadowy ransomware cartels that can cripple hospitals in hours, to anonymous hacktivist collectives launching digital offensives against governments, banks, and global brands, cyber warfare is no longer a distant threat. It’s happening in real time, and the battlefield is everywhere: your phone, your bank account, your city’s infrastructure.
Who are these groups operating in the dark corners of the internet? Are they ideological warriors, profit-hungry criminals, or something in between? And how have loosely connected networks evolved into sophisticated, global operations capable of disrupting entire economies?
Join us at the Frontline Club for a gripping dive into the new cybercrime frontier—where anonymity is weaponised, data is currency, and a single breach can trigger chaos on a national scale. We’ll unpack the rise of organised hacking groups, their shifting motivations, and the escalating digital arms race between attackers and those trying to stop them.
This is the hidden war you don’t see, but can feel in every outage, leak, and headline-grabbing hack.
12/05/2026
SCREENING + discussion ⏱️19.00🗓️Wednesday 13th May 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London 🎟️ Tickets https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/screening-qa-the-hunt-tickets-1987831653988?aff=oddtdtcreator
Why is The Hunt: Into The Grey asks audiences to confront a extremely divisive question:
Could a practice we instinctively reject ever play a role in protecting wildlife and supporting local communities?
Rather than offering easy answers, the film brings together voices rarely heard in the same conversation, from conservationists and scientists to activists and community leaders on the frontlines of human-wildlife conflict.
Provocative, uncomfortable, and deeply human, The Hunt: Into The Grey challenges assumptions and invites debate long after the credits roll.
01/05/2026
💬Talk ⏱️19.00🗓️Tuesday 12th May 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London
🎟️ Tickets on our website www.frontlineclub.com OR 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-discussion-imprisoned-by-russia-tickets-1988416857347?aff=oddtdtcreator 👈
Ukraine and Russia conducted a prisoner of war swap on April 24th, sending back 193 captured personnel each in an exchange both sides said was facilitated by the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The vast majority of Ukrainian prisoners who had in the hands of the Russian Federation and Russian-affiliated armed groups reported that they had been interned in dire conditions and subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including beatings, threats, dog attacks, mock executions, and torture. Several women and male prisoners were threatened with sexual violence and subjected to degrading treatments. Yet, thousands of Ukrainian and foreign prisoners of war (POWs) remain in Russian captivity. Despite recent high-profile exchanges, official estimates indicate that the vast majority of those captured since 2022 have not yet returned home.
The event will include a fundraiser to support Hayden Davies, a former British soldier who has recently been sentenced to 13 years in a Russian prison after fighting for Ukraine. His case was held in the occupied city of Donetsk, and he has incurred many costs including legal fees in his fight for freedom. Hayden is being wrongfully prosecuted for participating in hostilities, which is illegal under international law. The Russian government has used this illegal case to create propaganda against Ukraine and the international movement to support it. The Russian government has appealed to extend his sentence to 16 years, which means that Hayden’s lawyer must take the expensive journey to occupied Donetsk in order to fight the appeal.
30/04/2026
Images from the world’s frontlines will go on public display in London later this month in an exhibition that shows the escalating risks faced by freelancers— and the growing cost of bearing witness. ‘Being There: Witness, Truth & Trust’, is…
30/04/2026
💬Talk ⏱️19.00🗓️Wed 6th May 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London
🎟️ Tickets on our website www.frontlineclub.com OR 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987317301546?aff=oddtdtcreator 👈
For decades, the Gulf has been treated as a pocket of stability in the Middle East: glittering cities where the region’s wars could be forgotten. But the war in Iran has brought the Gulf face to face with a new reality, one in which they are no longer insulated from conflict but on the front lines of it. The event will explore what that change means. How secure is the alliance with America that has underpinned the Gulf for decades? Are Gulf states beginning to reshape old alliances or forge new ones? Has the perception of the Gulf changed in Britain and Europe? And where do these states fit into the changing landscape following the Gaza and Iran wars? From high politics to everyday life, our expert panel will examine how war is changing power, risk and the future of the Gulf.
29/04/2026
💬Panel Discussion ⏱️19.00🗓️Thursday 30th April 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London
🎟️ Tickets on our website www.frontlineclub.com OR 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-discussion-sudan-three-years-of-conflict-tickets-1987317599437?aff=oddtdtcreator👈
Three years into a brutal war, Sudan has slipped from the world’s attention, but the crisis is only deepening. Millions remain displaced, communities are fractured, and hunger is rising as aid struggles to keep pace. For many, survival has been reduced to the bare minimum.
With no clear resolution in sight, what comes next for Sudan? Drawing on recent first hand reporting, our panel explores the current reality on the ground, the forces prolonging the conflict, and whether there is any viable path toward peace, or if Sudan risks becoming a permanently forgotten war.
28/04/2026
💬Discussion ⏱️19.00🗓️Tuesday 28th April 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London
🎟️ Tickets on our website www.frontlineclub.com OR 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987506048092?aff=oddtdtcreator👈
The panel unpacks the power of human-centered storytelling in shaping how we understand conflict across the Middle East - from Lebanon, Gaza/Palestine, and Syria to the Gulf and Iran, the discussion will focus on how narrative-building and humanization can shift public perception and policy, and the real consequences when these perspectives are absent from coverage.
At a time when war reporting often strips away lived experience, this panel aims to explore why that gap exists - and why it matters. Fundamentally the aim is to bring a strong focus on the power of storytelling, humanisation of the nuanced societies and dynamics at hand in each country, and why these narratives matter more than ever.
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27/04/2026
💬Discussion ⏱️19.00🗓️Tuesday 28th April 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London
🎟️ Tickets on our website www.frontlineclub.com OR 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1986072240535?aff=oddtdtcreator 👈
The South Caucasus sits between two active conflicts—Russia’s war in Ukraine to the north and the US-Israeli war against Iran to the south—and the pressure on the region is mounting. Running through this narrow corridor is infrastructure Europe depends on for trade and energy connectivity to the East, with no viable alternative route.
The region's internal dynamics compound the risk. Russia continues to exploit frozen conflicts and project influence across the South Caucasus. Georgia, once the anchor for Western engagement in the region, has drifted back into the Kremlin’s orbit. In Armenia, the fragile aftermath of the U.S.-mediated peace agreement with Azerbaijan is reshaping domestic politics ahead of June parliamentary elections, which will reflect how far Yerevan's Western pivot can hold under pressure. The potential for the war in Iran to spill northward adds a further layer of instability the region is ill-equipped to absorb. Europe has significant interests here—from energy security to trade connectivity to regional stability—but has yet to develop a coherent strategy to protect them. This panel brings together leading experts to assess the risks and examine what meaningful European engagement would look like.
Panel: Grigor Atanesian is a BBC journalist and a BAFTA-winning documentary filmmaker. Tom de Waal is a senior fellow with Carnegie Europe, specialising in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region.
Victor Topouria is the International Communications Manager at the Tbilisi-based policy think tank Geocase and the Co-Founder of Topouria Group, a strategic communications and risk consultancy focused on connecting organisations in the South Caucasus and Central Asia to European investors, policymakers, and consumers.
20/04/2026
💬Panel Discussion ⏱️19.00🗓️Thursday 23rd April 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London 🎟️ Tickets https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-discussion-hungary-rejects-orban-whats-next-tickets-1984882898180?aff=oddtdtcreator OR on our website www.frontlineclub.com
After sixteen years, Hungary has chosen a new leader. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was defeated by Péter Magyar. There was a record turnout for this election.
This election has sent shockwaves throughout Europe via Washington and Moscow as Magyar's election offers a new chance for a break with changes wrought by illiberal regime.
Mr Magyar wants a closer relationship with the EU and Ukraine. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, congratulated Magyar on his "resounding victory", promising to work with the country's new leadership.
Our expert panel will discuss the result of Hungary's latest elections and unpack what the outcome means for the country’s political trajectory, its place in Europe, Russia's influence and the war on Ukraine.
20/04/2026
**SOLD OUT** Screening+Q&A 19.00 Wednesday 22nd April 2026 at the Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London
Ticket Links in Bio OR on our website www.frontlineclub.com
Searching For Satyrus is a profoundly moving documentary by acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Rena Effendi, charting her personal journey to find a rare and endangered butterfly named after her late father.
Her search leads her into a heavily militarised borderland between Armenia and Azerbaijan — a landscape shaped by decades of conflict, displacement, and ecological devastation. As she retraces her father’s footsteps through ruined towns and dangerous terrain, the film becomes an exploration of memory, identity, loss, and survival. Blending personal memoir, political history, and environmental inquiry, the film offers an intimate and globally relevant portrait of how conflict impacts both human lives and fragile ecosystems. It is a story of beauty persisting in the most unlikely places.
17/04/2026
📚Booktalk ⏱️19.00🗓️Tuesday 21 April 2026 📍Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place W2 1QJ London 🎟️ Tickets https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1986072195400?aff=oddtdtcreator
Simukai Chigudu is one of the most compelling voices writing about empire, identity, and the long aftermath of colonial rule. A Professor of African Politics at the University of Oxford, his work sits at the intersection of history, politics, and deeply personal storytelling.
His new book, Chasing Freedom, is unlike anything else published this year. Profound and moving, this is a book about Zimbabwe, about Britain, about inheritance, and about what we do with the stories we are handed before we are old enough to question them. Join us for a deeply moving book talk with Simukai Chigudu, author of Chasing Freedom, in conversation with Zoe Flood.
17/04/2026
Frontline Club founder Vaughan Smith has launched True Regard, a weekly Substack applying a new framework to the question at the heart of everything we cover – why do institutions keep failing the people they were built to protect?
His latest piece, The Rot at Scale, looks at the architecture of the Iran war.
Under the 2015 deal, breakout time was twelve months. By the time the bombs fell in February, it was one week. Most analysis blames Trump. This piece shows the architecture.
Vaughan has spent four years building a framework that runs through his forthcoming book, The Extraction Pattern: They Knew. They Didn't Care. Read it free. Link in the first comment.
First comment: https://trueregard.substack.com/p/the-rot-at-scale
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