What Is SoulFire? FirstMove's Premium London Event Series Explained

SoulFire is FirstMove's own live event series in London — and it's unlike anything else in the city's social events calendar.

Where most events put people in proximity and hope connection happens, SoulFire is engineered for it. Every element of the experience — the venue, the format, the technology, the curation — is designed with a single purpose: helping people meet others they'll actually want to know.

Here's everything you need to understand about what SoulFire is and why it's become one of London's most talked-about social event formats.

The Problem SoulFire Is Solving

London has more social events than any person could attend. It also has epidemic levels of loneliness. These two facts are not as contradictory as they seem.

Most social events in London put you in a room with people but give you no real mechanism for meeting them. You can approach strangers cold, which most people find anxiety-inducing. You can stay with your existing friends, which defeats the purpose. Or you can stand at the bar hoping the right person makes eye contact.

SoulFire is built on a different premise: that meeting people should be intentional, mutual, and engineered — and that good technology can make it feel natural rather than forced.

The Core Mechanics

The 3-Way Handshake is SoulFire's most distinctive feature. During the event, you can indicate interest in meeting other attendees through the FirstMove app. If they indicate interest in you, the app makes the introduction. Both parties have confirmed they want to meet. The awkward cold approach — the thing that stops most people from meeting anyone at social events — is gone.

The "3-Way" element refers to the three-stage confirmation: you express interest, they express interest, and the app confirms the match before facilitating the introduction. Nobody is approached uninvited. Nobody is rejected publicly. The connection only happens when it's genuinely mutual.

The Ritual Blueprint is SoulFire's event format — the structure that guides the evening. Rather than leaving attendees to navigate an unstructured social environment, the Ritual Blueprint creates a sequence of experiences that naturally moves people through the event, exposes them to different attendees, and builds the kind of momentum that makes genuine conversation easier.

The Ritual Blueprint isn't a rigid programme. It's a designed experience. The difference is that you feel guided without feeling managed.

Ephemeral Profiles give attendees control over their information. Your profile is visible to other attendees during the event. After the event closes, it disappears. FirstMove doesn't sell or retain your profile data. You show up fully, connect genuinely, and leave without being indexed.

The SoulFire Experience

SoulFire events are held at premium London venues. De Arc Lounge has been a recurring home for the series — an intimate, atmospheric space that serves the social purpose well. The acoustics allow for conversation. The layout encourages movement. The atmosphere is elevated without being intimidating.

The events are held in the evenings and typically run for three to four hours. The format means the time passes quickly — you're engaged throughout rather than clock-watching.

Tickets are around £15, which is deliberately accessible. SoulFire is designed to be something you attend regularly, not a special occasion that requires budgeting weeks in advance.

Who Attends SoulFire

SoulFire attracts young London professionals who are serious about expanding their social and professional networks — and who've grown tired of the standard event formats that don't deliver on that.

The attendees tend to be:

• In their mid-twenties to late thirties
• Professionally engaged and ambitious
• Living in or regularly visiting central and east London
• Socially confident but aware of the limitations of cold-approach social environments
• Interested in genuine connection rather than surface-level networking

The curation is informal but consistent. People who are drawn to the SoulFire format tend to be a specific kind of person — curious, engaged, and invested in the quality of their social life.

What Makes SoulFire Different

There are plenty of social events in London. SoulFire is different in a few specific ways:

• It's designed, not improvised. The Ritual Blueprint means the evening has intention behind it. Every element has been considered.
• The technology is integral, not bolted on. The 3-Way Handshake isn't a gimmick — it fundamentally changes how introductions happen.
• Privacy is built in. Ephemeral Profiles are a genuine commitment to attendee privacy, not a marketing talking point.
• The price is accessible. Premium experience at an accessible price point is a deliberate choice.

Upcoming SoulFire Events

SoulFire events are listed on FirstMove's events page and through the app. The series runs regularly in London throughout the year.

If you're curious about what a SoulFire evening actually feels like, the best way to understand it is to attend one. The format is something you experience more than describe.

Attend SoulFire

Tickets for the next SoulFire event in London are available now. Around £15 and worth every penny.

Get Your SoulFire Ticket