New Year’s resolutions not gone quite to plan yet? Well, there’s another chance to turn over a new leaf as Chinese New Year arrives. Also known as the Lunar New Year, the Spring Festival, Tet and Seollal, it’s the official start of the new lunar calendar, which means a chance to wipe the slate clean and start afresh for a more positive new year. The Year of the Snake arrives right at the end of January, which means that the first weekend of February sees a whole bunch of celebrations taking place across the capital, including the largest celebration in the world outside of Asia as thousands of revellers descend on Tragalgar Square and Chinatown for central London’s annual parade on Sunday February 1.
The first couple of weeks of the New Year can feel like a long old slog, but February is already on the horizon. And if you’ve spent the last few cold, dark weeks hibernating at home (very understandable) we’d urge you to think about going outside again soon, because February’s social calendar is surprisingly busy, with a bunch of important dates packed into its short four weeks including Valentine’s Day, London Fashion Week and LGBTQ+ History Month.
From Cate Blanchett’s return to the West End in The Seagull and Tate Modern’s exhibition on 80s maverick Leigh Bowery, to Young V&A’s second major exhibition Making Egypt and Jonathan Bailey’s star turn in Richard II, there are a healthy number of art openings and big-name stage productions premiering across the month.
And, if you’ve got kids, there’s loads of stuff on to entertain them during the February half-term fun, from the Southbank’s Imagine Children’s Festival to two weeks’ worth of activities for young cinephiles at the BFI.
And there’s plenty more on besides all that. Seize your chance to have some fun this February, with our guide to the best things happening in London over the month.
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