The first week of August in London opens with a highly vibrant lineup spanning from art to sports, outdoor cinemas to open-mic comedy shows. Spreading across the four corners of the city, events offer rich alternatives for both families with children and city dwellers wishing to make the most of summer evenings.
Long-Running Highlights of the Week
For families wishing to spend time with their children in the middle of the summer break, London’s theaters and museums have prepared numerous free options. Sports enthusiasts, meanwhile, meet this week with London Padel Week, the city’s first city-wide padel festival. Taking place across five different clubs from Wembley to Stratford, the festival features workshops, DJ performances, and Italian flavor tastings. On the art and history side, the Royal Geographical Society opens the free exhibition Routes, Ruins and Reconnaissance to visitors, showcasing archival photographs by writer and archaeologist Gertrude Bell.
For the theater and comedy world, August starts on a very energetic note. Running for a full month, the Camden Fringe festival offers a wide selection, from an interview with The Simpsons writer Mike Reiss to interactive comedy-horror shows. Additionally, within the scope of the Roundhouse Comedy Festival, names like Adam Buxton and Sam Campbell take the stage, while the popular culture exhibition Holy Pop! at Somerset House and Upside Down London, a live camera system installed on the terrace of Alexandra Palace, close their doors this weekend. Standing out with its cocktail menu and nostalgic decor, the new cocktail bar Nancy’s in London Bridge also emerges among the week’s venue discoveries.
Weekdays: City Notes from Monday to Thursday
While the first day of the week offers a tranquil start with a classical music lunchtime concert at St Paul’s Church, outdoor screenings of Dirty Dancing and Grease take place in the evening hours at Rooftop Cinema Club in Peckham. On Tuesday, the movie Barbie, to be screened free of charge at the outdoor cinema in Canary Wharf, adds color to the summer evening, while Toulouse Lautrec Jazz Club in Kennington livens up with New Orleans jazz rhythms.
On Wednesday, Coram’s Fields park in Bloomsbury celebrates its 90th anniversary with free children’s activities, while a “Holidays”-themed storytelling evening is hosted at Ritzy in Brixton. On Thursday, the iconic pop-up festival Cocktails in the City brings together 20 of London’s best bars in Bedford Square Gardens. On the same evening, Camden Night Market stalls keep their doors open until 21:00, offering free treats to visitors.
Weekend: Art and Entertainment in the City from Friday to Sunday
On Friday, a historic moment takes place for West End stages; the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles takes the stage at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden to deliver their first-ever London concerts. On the same day, Costa del Croydon, an urban beach built on top of a car park roof in Croydon, opens its doors, while outdoor cinema screenings begin at Gunnersbury Park.
On Saturday, the Thamesmead Festival offers a free music feast with soul-warming R&B, soul, and rap performances across four stages set up in Southmere Park. At Riverside East in Stratford, the London Reggae & Food Festival takes place as part of the Jamaica Independence Day celebrations. On the same evening, The Old Queens Head in Islington livens up the night with R&B and hip-hop rhythms.
On Sunday, free craft workshops are organized at Brixton Windmill Gardens, while the London Spirit and Birmingham Phoenix teams face off at Lord’s Cricket Ground within the scope of The Hundred tournament. Bloomsbury’s second-hand bookstore landmark Skoob Books concludes the week with a special talk and trivia night taking place at The Horse Hospital.
NO-26 Editor’s London Note
Highlights: London Padel Week (August 3–9), Cocktails in the City (August 6–8), Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (August 7–8), Thamesmead Festival (August 8).
