Party time for expats and election junkies

The climax to the elections will be watched by tens of thousands of expatriates at parties across the UK until dawn tomorrow.

The hottest ticket will be an invitation to the Quadrennial Presidential Election Celebration at the US embassy in Grosvenor Square. The carefully vetted guest list of at least 1,000 names drawn up by the charge d'affaires, David Johnson, includes scores of diplomats and, in the event's non-partisan tradition, about 100 invites each for Democratic and Republican Party members. To calm the nerves, live music will be provided by a bluegrass group and two barbershop quartets.

Also in London, around 700 Americans are expected to cram into the Montague Pyke pub on Charing Cross Road for a night organised by the non-partisan London Expat American Meet Up Group. Paying up to £50 per head, including a champagne dinner, guests will be surrounded by the set of a campaign headquarters and can take part in a mock election.

Other events include an American students' night at Planet Hollywood in Leicester Square, a non-partisan party for 250 students at the Oxford Union, and scores of house parties at the universities of York, Cambridge, St Andrews and Edinburgh.

With the election still considered too close to call, partygoers are expected to be glued to live coverage with some of the first results expected at 6am.