When Jonathan Williams and James Bull went on their first date together, it is doubtful their hopes for the night involved ending up on the front page of a national newspaper (see Guardian), appearing on national radio (see Radio 5Live) and becoming social networking heroes (Twitter, Facebook).

After enjoying a meal in Covent Garden, the couple had headed for the John Snow pub in Soho – supposedly the capital's "gay village". After sipping on the pub's Samuel Smith cider, they tentatively locked lips for the first time. Young love was blossoming.

But that young love was shattered when a man claiming to be the landlord asked them to refrain from their tender embraces. Williams and Bull declined, but were apprehended again by a female member of staff, who described their lip-locking as "obscene". Williams took to Twitter to register his discontent, and an internet storm was born.

Tonight over 400 people have committed to a 'kiss-in' at the John Snow, where the sage began. "Please remember THIS IS A LOVE REVOLUTION," the Facebook event page reads. "Just lip balm, fresh breath, and kissing. it's all about being fun and sexy."

Will you be kissing in a tavern tonight? Are you planning your own snogging event in defiance of prudish publicans?

Share your plans below, and follow all the latest kissing news live.

So currently there are two kiss-athons/kiss-ins/snog fests planned in reaction to the John Snow ejection, both set to take place at the pub itself.

'Gay kiss-in' starts at 7pm tonight, while the less orientation-specific 'Kiss-in Protest Against Homophobia at John Snow pub, Soho' is scheduled for 5pm on Thursday 21 April.

But this isn't just a London issue. We're guessing there are pubs outside the capital where osculation is also frowned upon.

This map by James Gretton shows the locations of all UK based Samuel Smith's pubs. Where will you be snogging tonight?

In the comments Wisdom Holder is living up to their name:

The homophobic are just frightened of their true desire... to be with a human of the same sex. They are just frightened that their homophobic friends will disown them... well they actually wish to have sex with them...

While Wallytrinkets is also talking a lot of sense...

Personally I think anyone kissing in public should be pelted with rotten vedge until they stop.

Particularly straights.

Although not about everything.

The author appears to have lego hair - Just an observation...

BREAKING: Kiss couple will go on a second date, I've been told. More shortly.

James Bull, one half of the kissing duo who've taken the nation by storm, has confirmed to the Guardian that he and Williams will meet again.

"We'd already made plans for the second date before we got to the John Snow," Bull said.

Cautious of the pressures inherent with conducting a relationship in the public eye, Bull said he would "rather not say" where the rendezvous will take place, but confirmed it will happen at some point after Easter.

Bull also revealed further details about the fateful night itself.

"We went to Fire and Stone, near Covent Garden, and both had pizzas," he said, adding that he could not remember what toppings they selected.

Exiting the restaurant, Bull and Williams then enjoyed Belgian chocolate crêpes at Crêpeaffaire, before heading for the John Snow.

I've just telephoned the John Snow pub to get their reaction to the planned event tonight, although unfortunately the phone was put down when I asked to speak to the landlord.

Yesterday I was told to "stop calling this number please, or we'll have you done for harassment," by a member of staff, so perhaps this latest strategy is an improvement.

Samuel Smith's brewery are yet to respond to questions and requests for a statement.

I've just spoken to Paul Shetler, who has set up tonight's 'gay kiss-in' at the John Snow (currently 531 people attending).

"It was the obvious thing to do," Paul says, adding that the response has been "overwhelming".

"I heard about the couple being kicked out the other night, at 1 o'clock in the morning, from a friend of mine on Twitter. [...] The friend and I were discussing what would be the most appropriate response, and it seemed rather than us just sort of accepting that we should just go there instead and have a massive kiss-in.

The Daily Mash has its own take on the events of Wednesday evening, under the headline "Kissing lesbians offered free bottle of wine".

"Two lesbians who kissed in a pub were offered a free bottle of white wine in a bid to crank things up a notch," it begins.

The women, on a first date, became intimate in a pub in central London, forcing the landlord to rearrange the lounge bar into a makeshift mini theatre. As the kissing progressed, angry customers demanded the women be given free alcohol and plenty of room. Tom Logan, who saw the whole thing, said: "I immediately complained that their glasses were almost empty and if we weren't careful they would go somewhere else. "I just came in for a quiet pint. I didn't expect to see bar staff just standing there letting some impromptu girl-on-girl action slip through their fingers like a bunch of morons." [...] Regular, Wayne Hayes, added: "Personally, I was disgusted. People wouldn't get out of my way. "I kept saying 'you're crowding them - let them lie down' but everyone was shouting and I got stuck behind this really tall bloke."

Below the line, Agamemnon1 writes:

Why is everyone assuming that the obscenity was them being gay and thus reacting as if this is some kind of bigotry? If (and I say if) they were being over the top (which is entirely possible - drinking at dinner, drinking in a pub, first date excitement) then the landlord is perfectly within his/her rights to throw them out. What gets to me on threads like this is that just because they are gay, people assume they are victims. Some gay people are idiots/selfish/inappropriate etc as much as anyone else

Thomas Lion, on the other hand, believes "this is totally awesome".

At times like this, prejudice is held up to scrutiny, and shot to pieces by the overwhelming force of reason and tolerance. It's these moments that form the milestones by which social progress is measured. Thank you, Jonathan Williams and James Bull, for making a stand for your right to be treated as anyone's equal.

LGBTory, the Conservative Party affiliated LGBT group, has shown its support for the kiss-in on Twitter:

@LGBToryUK Please join the kiss-in protest tonight at the John Snow pub, Soho in support of @jpw84 and @jamesisies - http://p.ink.cx/ifNGAP

We're going to scale down our snogging coverage now, but rest assured the Guardian will be at the John Snow kiss-in, lips pursed and ready for action, from 7pm tonight.

I'll be tweeting from the pub @AdamGabbatt, and we'll have a story on the event later today.

Just as we start scaling down our coverage, there's an important development. It's become clear that the John Snow pub has closed its doors, presumably fearful of the avalanche of snogging that was about to descend upon it. One Twitter user, who works opposite, reports that a TV crew has arrived and is "filming the locked door whilst bar staff peer from upstairs window".

The Press Association has managed to get a few words with Thomas Paget, the licence holder of the pub. He again refused to comment on the row. Asked whether the pub had been the victim of a "misunderstanding", he told PA: "I don't have anything to say."

The PA report says he refused to say whether he had been in the pub at the time of the alleged incident, whether it is pub policy not to allow people to kiss on the premises or whether the pub would be closed ahead of the planned protest. No one in the brewery's Tadcaster head office was available for comment, it said.

And with that, we really are wrapping up this live blog for the day. Thanks to everyone who has commented. See you outside the John Snow for a snog later.