London events in July 2024

The National Theatre’s River Stage returns to the South Bank for a month of outdoor live music, dance, performance, workshops and family fun. Weekend evenings will see a varied programme of entertainment take place in front of the theatre, with special take-over weekends from The Glory, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, Rambert and the NT itself. The takeover weekends will be The Glory, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, Rambert and the National Theatre.

The spectacular goals, missed penalties and euphoric wins of the UEFA Euros are back. Our boys are battling it out in Germany for a chance to become the UEFA Euro 2024 winners. Whether you’re a die hard footie fan or just hoping for an excuse to neck a few pints, you’re going to want to know all the best spots in London to catch the matches.

Nothing says summer like the tennis whites, strawberries and cream and Pimms of Wimbledon. Missed out on tickets in the Wimbledon Tennis Championships (July 1 to 14)? Can’t face camping out on the street for day tickets? No problem. London is a city that gives back and this summer it will be peppered with big screens showing all the Murray Mound (okay, Henman Hill) action in so much blown-up high-res glory that you might as well be court-side. There’s a screen for everyone, with some offering special-edition cocktails and finger food and coming with pop-up tennis lessons. 

Director Dominic Cooke's stellar National Theatre revival of Sondheim's ‘Follies’ had much to recommend it, but one of its highest points was Imelda Staunton's performance as a wistful former showgirl, haunted by regrets. Now, Staunton and Cooke are reuniting for a crack at another classic musical, ‘Hello, Dolly’, which hasn't had a London revival in over a decade. Staunton will play the eponymous socialite matchmaker who finds a bride for her millionaire friend, then embarks on a hunt for a love of her own. It's got music and lyrics by Jerry Herman (‘La Cage aux Folles’) including the wonderful title number, plus 'Put on Your Sunday Clothes' and 'Before the Parade Passes By'.

The UK's largest Latin Music festival returns for its eighth year this summer, showering Latin love all over West London's Walpole Park. Enjoy five stages showcasing the best UK-based Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese artists and indulge in Latin street food, immersive experiences, cocktail bars, kids zone and more. Located just 12 minutes from the West End on the Elizabeth Line, this festival couldn’t be easier to get to!

Returning to London on July 20 - 21, the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Food Festival is set to offer food lovers a taste of some of the world’s most exciting culinary destinations. Book now and get two Sunday tickets for £25 while the offer lasts. 
You can expect everything from masterclasses, where you will learn how to make Indonesian tempeh and Georgian khinkali to guided tastings of wines from Georgia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and beyond in the Wine & Spirits Theatre. 

It’s time for some discomfort. This BFI’s summer season is dedicated to films that make you grimace. The film institute has put together a brilliantly toe-curling programme including David Lynch’s ‘Eraserhead’, screened with an extended intro by curator Kimberley Sheehan, ‘The Lost Weekend’, a 1945 venture into alcoholism, and Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Requiem for a Dream’, a study of drug addiction. 

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a hot air balloon! This July, London’s skies will be filled with glorious flying balloons as the Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta returns to the capital for the first time since 2019. There’s a catch though: the regatta can only take place if the weather is good enough. Fingers crossed July is a sunny one. If all goes according to plan, this year the balloons soar past landmarks including Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

Trafalgar Square will turn pink and blue on July 27 as London Trans+ Pride celebrates its sixth year. The event is a vital coming together for trans people in the city, giving space to resist the encroaching threats on trans rights around the world, and come together to celebrate the community in the capital.

John Steinbeck’s 1939 masterpiece about a desperate Oklahoma family forced to migrate to California to escape the ravages of the Dustbowl is one of the most famous books of the twentieth century. And Frank Galati’s award-winning 1990 adaptation is pretty much agreed upon as the definitive stage version. Throw in the great American actor Cherry Jones as the family matriarch Ma Joad and you have a very handsome summer blockbuster indeed for the NT, which will be directed by the reliable Carrie Cracknell. Further casting – including the central role of Tom Joad – is TBA.

After a decade or so away, cult Argentine physical spectacular Fuerza Bruta returns to London in a new guise. Following the brooding machismo of its previous incarnation, ‘Aven’ is, apparently, an upbeat burst of sunshine and light: ‘we abandoned any note of darkness, we got rid of every trace of intellectual or aggressive strife. And we decided to create the happiest show we have ever done’, quoth artistic director Diqui James. It will surely be a visually stunning tour de force.

Did a visit to see Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ at the National Gallery fail to provide your flower fix? Get neck-deep in heliotropic heaven at these golden fields full of custard-yellow blooms. 

Aussie writer and performer Yve Blake scored a cult domestic smash in the immediate pre-pandemic era with ‘Fangirls’ (aka ‘FANGIRLS’), a subversive musical that she wrote the book, lyrics and music for, and even initially starred in. Inspired by interviews with actual pop star fangirls, the musical follows Edna, a 14-year-old Australian girl madly in love with one ‘Harry’, a member of a massive-selling pop group (hmm, rings a bell). When the band comes to Sydney she’s determined to meet Harry – at any cost.

Edinburgh isn't the only place with a bursting, brilliant fringe, and indeed as the Scottish capital’s iconic event becomes ever more expensive, the once scrappy outsider Camden Fringe looks ever more like a serious alternative for the London-based. Returning for its eighteenth edition, it’s smaller than Edinburgh by a long shot, but still boasts hundreds of events all over Camden, taking in everything from the expected stand-up sets and experimental theatre to kids’ shows, dance, and even magic. Runs tend to be for a night or two rather than the entire month, and prices are bargain basement by London standards, usually less than a tenner. 

The final show of Timothy Sheader’s Open Air Theatre reign is – what else – a musical, a form he’s done so much to champion since taking over the hitherto Shakespeare-centric venue almost two decades ago. Sheader won’t himself be directing this revival of Bock and Stein’s immortal musical following the life of Teyve, a Jewish milkman living in the shtetl in the early twentieth century. Nor do we know anything about Jordan Fein’s revival, conceptually speaking. But you can be sure of a crowdpleaser, with much-loved songs like ‘If I Were A Rich Man’ and ‘Tradition’ all present and correct. 

South Facing might still be a fledgling festival only in its third year, but it’s continuing a lineage of over 150 years at Crystal Palace Bowl. The venue has played host to some of music’s most legendary names, from Elton John and Bob Marley to Vera Lynn and the Sex Pistols. South Facing brings the same level of thrilling eclecticism with its line-ups, hosting its bill in a space that feels intimate. There’s a diverse mix of headliners on the line-up including disco icon Grace Jones, indie auteurs Future Islands, dancehall legend Popcaan, hip-hop pioneers The Roots, amapiano trailblazers Major League DJz, London jazz luminary Yussef Dayes, pop queen Jess Glynne, and reggae royalty Damian Marley.

When the sun’s out and the weather’s at its summery best, hiding away in a dark, stuffy room isn’t the most appealing option. Thank god then, for outdoor cinemas letting us get our film fix under the stars and with a sweet summer breeze in our hair.

London is home to some brilliant alfresco movie spots, which will be popping up all over the city in 2022, everywhere from docks and parks to rooftops and manicured gardens. Here’s a list of our favourites. 

One of London’s biggest dance music festivals is back to take over Boston Manor Park in 2024. If previous years are anything to go by, you can expect Junction 2 to provide a careful balance of massive names and hotly-tipped up-and-comers across the last Friday, Saturday and Sunday of July. This year you've got a stacked selection of house and techno juggernauts like Richie Hawtin, DVS1 b2b DJ Nobu, LSDXOXO Hot Since 82 and Kölsch live. They come alongside the likes of Barry Can't Swim, The Blessed Madonna, Honey Dijon, Joy Anonymous and The Martinez Brothers. Basically, it's the holy grail of raves.

It’s going to be very very hot indeed this week. So, there’s no better time to cool off in one of London’s brilliant outdoor swimming pools. Here’s a list of our favourite alfresco bathing spots, however, our desire to paddle around under a sunny sky does mean that it’s important to book ahead if you want your open-air swim fix. So no rocking up to try your luck. 

It may be known for its sleepy scent and soothing properties, but there’s nothing dozy about the explosion of colour happening right now in London’s lavender fields. Here are the best places to treat your eyes and nose to this year’s epic summer blooms.

A reincarnation of Zoo Lates (which ended in 2015), Zoo Nights returns to bring ‘after hours’ fun to ZSL London Zoo. Attractions entrial a packed street-food market, live music, an after-hours look at the reptile house in ‘The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians’, and a ‘The Birds and the Bees’ tour where experts will shed some light on animal sex. For the extreme animal enthusiasts out there, you can even opt for a Zoo Nights VIP Sleepover and rest your head in one of the zoo’s nine lodges. Time to unpack that elephant onsie?