The S Club Carnival 2002 rolls into London for the second time inside a week but initially it's more Redcar than Rio. There's popcorn and candyfloss sellers everywhere while stressed-looking parents, groaning under the weight of several assorted packets of things guaranteed to rot children's teeth, navigate their offspring to their seats.

The lack of good British pop bands at the moment means S Club 7, along with Westlife and Blue, now stand unchallenged at the tops of the pops. And they're determined to stay there, judging by the effort they put in tonight. After seven drummers have banged out an intro, the gang, as if by magic, shoot up from beneath the stage and kick into 'S Club Party'. Bradley may look as if he's auditioning for So Solid Crew and Paul has a distinctly nu-metal goatee but otherwise it's business as usual; dance routines, costume changes and lots of waving at the crowd.

The hits - 'Bring It All Back', 'Two In A Million', 'Never Had A Dream Come True' - are mixed with tracks from their current album 'Sunshine' as the screen behind the stage shows dolphins, city streets at night and, natch, carnival processions. Each member gets a turn in the spotlight, with Rachel shining on 'Show Me Your Colours' and Paul making a decent pass at a solo version of The Beatles' 'The Long And Winding Road', even if it is a blatant time-filler while the rest of the band change outfits.

The 'disco' section of the evening is the most entertaining, with the band's dancers dressed up in all kinds of weird'n'wonderful gear while the band do 'Dance, Dance, Dance' and 'Bring The House Down'. Then a mini-stage is lowered from the ceiling and the 7 climb up above the delirious throng below. Current single 'You' and the cheese-tastic 'Reach' get the aisles moving as streamers and tickertape rain down from the ceiling.

They end, inevitably, with 'Don't Stop Movin', one of last year's most perfect pop singles, and that old Mediterranean disco favourite, Arrow's 'Hot Hot Hot' (the one that goes "Ole Ole, Ole Ole" and your parents always dance to after one Cinzano too many). Suddenly, in a flash of fireworks, they're gone as miraculously as they arrived.

Sneer if you like about manufactured bands and disposable pop but for 90 minutes S Club 7 succeeded in turning a massive warehouse in East London into an indoor street party, full of sound, light and colour. That alone deserves your praise. The fact that they did it while playing some of the best pop songs of the last three years was a double cause for celebration.