The El Mocambo has just announced that a new version of Toronto’s iconic Speakers Corner booth will return to the city, teasing a dose of ‘90s Queen West nostalgia for a whole new crowd.
In a series of Insta posts, the El Mocambo confirmed that “Speakers Corner Returns to The El Mocambo in 2026… #staytuned.” This was followed up with a short reel noting that “SPEAKERS CORNER HAS ARRIVED! It lives in the Starlight Room Under The Neon Palms… it will come to life in 2026,” adding that “Another piece of Toronto History Now Lives Under the Neon Palms.”
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Details are still a bit hush, and there’s no word yet on exactly how the revived Speakers Corner will work (or whether any of the footage will end up on TV or social channels), but the announcements were enough to send media nerds into full nostalgia mode.
“Stop it. You stop it right now!! How cool is this?!?!” One user commented under the Insta post, while another said, “Thank you for recognizing true history. Looking forward to seeing it in action.”
Well before the days when people could openly speak their minds on social media, Speaker’s Corner was the best place to open up to a bunch of faceless strangers! The original street-level video booth was nestled at the former Citytv/CHUM building at 299 Queen W, and ran as a TV segment from 1990 to 2008. Members of the public would enter and record messages, opinions or even performances. Select clips were then broadcast to Citytv’s Speakers Corner.
If you can’t wait for the legendary box to hit El Mocambo next year, there’s also already a revival of the original booth format called VoxBox at ZoomerPlex in Liberty Village (the best videos appear on TikTok at @SpeakTO.
The El Mocambo is located at 464 Spadina Ave. Follow the iconic venue on Instagram @theelmocambo.
