Things to do in central London, by date

Upcoming in London

Paper-cut walled garden at dusk, a crescent moon and a setting sun over dark trees, bundles of dried herbs tied with string on the wall, a single red rose and a steaming teapot among the leaves

Halloween 31 Oct

Season of the Witch II, Physic Garden

Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road · London

Inside an old railway carriage with wooden slatted benches, two pairs of glowing headphones hanging on chains from the ceiling rail and paper bats overhead

Halloween 31 Oct 18:30–00:00

Halloween Silent Disco at the Transport Museum

London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 7BB · London

Strings of red, yellow and blue paper bunting over a canal lined with orange brick arches and lit market stalls

Halloween 1 Nov 13:00–19:00

Day of the Dead at Camden Market

Camden Market Hawley Wharf, 1 Dockray Place, NW1 8QH · London

Red angels with outstretched wings hung across a curving street of cream stone buildings

Christmas 5 Nov

Regent Street lights switch-on

Regent Street and St James's · London

A wide orange-red oval rink in front of a flat cream neoclassical facade, one small dark figure crossing it, on a warm off-white ground

Christmas 11 Nov

Skate at Somerset House 2026

Somerset House · London

A cut-paper market hall with a glass roof under strings of small paper lights, a tall paper fir tree at its side, on a midnight blue ground

Christmas 12 Nov

Covent Garden Christmas lights switch-on 2026

The Piazza, Covent Garden, WC2 · London

A red paper ceremonial coach under a line of bunting

Procession 14 Nov

Lord Mayor's Show 2026

City of London, from Mansion House · London

A dark cut-paper big wheel and a red-and-white striped tent standing on a white band of snow, a bare tree and two small firs between them, on a warm off-white ground

Christmas 19 Nov

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland 2026

Hyde Park · London

A theatre stage with its red curtain drawn back on a snowy night, a snowman standing in the snow under stars and green northern lights

Christmas 21 Nov

The Snowman at the Peacock

Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street, Holborn · London

A cut-paper teacup the size of a room with a tiny paper figure on a swing hung from its handle, on a dusk blue ground

Christmas 12 Dec

Cirque Alice at the Royal Festival Hall

Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX · London

A ballerina in a white tutu and a wooden nutcracker soldier facing each other on a stage under a tall Christmas tree, a giant mouse shadow on the curtain

Theatre 17 Dec

ENB's Nutcracker at the Coliseum

London Coliseum, St Martin's Lane · London

An empty red armchair standing centre stage between open red curtains

Theatre 8 Feb

Rowan Live at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

Gillian Lynne Theatre, 166 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5PW · London

On now

A garden square seen from above as an open rectangle of ground ringed by flat terraced house fronts

Festival until 31 Oct

Bloomsbury Festival 2026

Bloomsbury · London

Rows of red-and-white striped deckchairs on a rooftop facing a blank outdoor cinema screen, four white power-station chimneys behind

Halloween until 31 Oct

JOIA rooftop Halloween films, Battersea

JOIA, art'otel London Battersea Power Station · London

A tall tapering tower filled with green plants and small lit windows, bats circling its top and a crescent moon in its glass base, above a dark city skyline on a cream ground

Halloween until 31 Oct

Dance of the Dead: Sky Garden Halloween 2026

Sky Garden, 20 Fenchurch Street · London

Three large abstract solids — a red circle, a red block and a charcoal circle — standing together on an open cream ground

Exhibitions until 1 Nov

Frieze Sculpture 2026

The Regent's Park · London

A large green and gold beetle beneath a red paper arch, sitting on top of a small shopfront with a grey awning, on a cream ground

Halloween until 1 Nov

Halloween at Leadenhall Market 2026

Leadenhall Market, Gracechurch Street · London

A lidded honey pot sitting on an open book on a small grassy mound, a round tree beside it and a second book trailing a long page away into the distance

Family until 1 Nov

Winnie-the-Pooh at London Zoo 2026

London Zoo · London

A dark mass of trees filling the left of the frame, a pale path curving away into it and one small red rectangle beside the path

Halloween until 1 Nov

Halloween at Kew 2026

Kew Gardens · London

An open cut-paper book on a warm grey ground, its pages lifting into a small flock of white paper birds

Festival until 1 Nov

Dua Lipa's Literature Festival

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX · London

Four crenellated tower shapes standing in a row, three red and one charcoal, above a dark band

Halloween until 1 Nov

Halloween at the Tower of London 2026

Tower of London · London

Two tall cream slab towers edged in red against a black night sky with a crescent moon, a small pale figure standing in the gap between them and a red door in the dark terrace below

Architecture until 13 Dec

Barbican Ghost Tours 2026

Barbican Centre, Silk Street · London

A red paper crown with gold and red points standing on a cream ground against a black wall, a small white microphone on a cable leaning against it

Exhibitions until 17 Jan

Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things at the V&A

V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL · London

Past London events

Two cut-paper figures seen from behind on a stage, arms raised, one with a guitar, red and charcoal streamers arcing overhead

Music 28 Oct Past

Tokio Hotel at Wembley

OVO Arena Wembley, Arena Square, Engineers Way, HA9 0AA · London

Three carved pumpkins of different sizes standing on open ground, with bare trees behind them

Halloween 27 Oct Past

Discovery Days: Hair Raising Halloween 2026

Hyde Park Learning Centre · London

Four small red oil lamps burning in a row on a warm off-white ground

Festival 25 Oct Past

Diwali on the Square 2026

Trafalgar Square · London

Illustration of an American football with Wembley Stadium's twin towers rising under evening lights

American football 18 Oct Past

Houston Texans vs Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley

Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London HA9 0WS · London

Two red fair tents standing side by side on an open cream ground

Exhibitions 14 Oct Past

Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2026

The Regent's Park · London

Illustration of an American football beneath stadium floodlights, with the arch of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium behind it

American football 11 Oct Past

Philadelphia Eagles vs Jacksonville Jaguars in London

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 782 High Road, London N17 0BX · London

A fanned stack of red paper rectangles with a dark aperture ring resting over them

Festival 7 Oct Past

BFI London Film Festival 2026

BFI Southbank and other cinemas · London

Seven narrow paper banners in red and charcoal hanging from a rod against a pale ground

Festival 4 Oct Past

Japan Matsuri 2026

Trafalgar Square · London

Pierre Bouvier singing into a microphone with an acoustic guitar slung across him, a screen glowing behind

Music 3 Oct Past

Simple Plan at Wembley

OVO Arena Wembley, Arena Square, Engineers Way, HA9 0AA · London

Anastacia on stage in a black jacket with gold chain detail, pointing off to her right

Music 26 Sept Past

Anastacia at Wembley

OVO Arena Wembley, Arena Square, Engineers Way, HA9 0AA · London

A red paper bunting line strung across a warm off-white ground above two charcoal market stall shapes

Festival 19 Sept Past

Bermondsey Street Festival 2026

Bermondsey Street, SE1 · London

André Rieu playing the violin at the right of the Johann Strauss Orchestra, the players in ball gowns and tails behind gilded music stands

Music 17 Sept Past

André Rieu at Wembley

OVO Arena Wembley, Arena Square, Engineers Way, HA9 0AA · London

A long charcoal rail across a cream ground with five garments hanging from it, two of them red

Fashion 17 Sept Past

London Fashion Week September 2026

London

A grid of paper furniture silhouettes in red and charcoal

Festival 12 Sept Past

London Design Festival 2026

Across London · London

Layered paper building facades with one small red door standing open

Architecture 12 Sept Past

Open House Festival 2026

All 33 London boroughs · London

A paper river winding under a bridge span

Festival 1 Sept Past

Totally Thames 2026

Along the Thames · London

A tall red paper feather plume above scattered confetti

Carnival 29 Aug Past

Notting Hill Carnival 2026

Notting Hill, W11 · London