August events in London

For a lot of Londoners, Notting Hill Carnival on the August Bank Holiday Weekend flashes by in a blaze of feathers, Red Stripe and tinnitus. To those who make it happen, it’s a year-round operation to create one of the biggest and oldest street parties in the world. This Carnival weekend, it's expected that more than two million people will flock to west London to dance in the streets of W11. It’s free to join family day on the Sunday and the Monday which is for the hard partiers. It’s a celebration of freedom and Caribbean culture, with an iconic parade showcasing the best of mas, soca, calypso, steel bands and soundsystems. What are you waiting for? 

All Points East returns to Vicky Park for its seventh edition in 2025. Since debuting in 2018, the festival has garnered a reputation for building some of the most exciting line-ups in the UK. Its headliners are often indie or dance-focused big-hitters, while its undercards are packed with cult heroes and rising stars you can say you saw first. If your music preferences lie in the Venn diagram of indie and electronic then this is the festival for you, with the likes of Barry Can't Swim, Confidence Man, Shygirl, RAYE , the Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Cribs, and Nilüfer Yanya on the bill this year. And as well as the ticketed weekend events, look out for All Points East In the Neighbourhood, the festival’s free midweek programme of community activities including film screenings, live sports, theatre, family fun and more. 

The RA’s annual showcase of all the artists you need to know about right now will return this June to brighten up the summer holidays. Now in it’s 257th year, the world’s oldest open submission exhibition (which means anyone can enter their work to be considered for inclusion) is curated by a different member of the Royal Academy each year. The artist tasked with the big job in 2025 is British-Iranian architect Farshid Moussavi. The great thing about the Summer Exhibition is that it’s open to all, and the selectors pick from thousands of entries. That means that your mate’s mum’s weird little whittled sculptures of George Michael might be shown alongside something by Antony Gormley. It’s a good opportunity to spot an art star of the future, but it also still knows how to get the big art names in. And there’s a huge amount to see. From miniature paintings to enormous canvases, architectural models to photography, the exhibition features literally hundreds of works, meaning there’s something for everyone. And hey, most of it is for sale, so you may just be able to nab a bargain.

Boiler Room's summer festival returns to south London for another massive open-air celebration. Its 'lethal program of talent' comes led by some of the country's most influential dance crews. The party-starters have curated their own stage of world-class talent. That includes producer extraordinaire Joy Orbison and the iconic DJ Theo Parrish leading the charge. On the Places + Faces stage, you've got Kendrick Lamar collaborator Mustard, superstar DJ Kenny Beats, legendary beatmaker The Alchemist and Time Out cover star DJ AG, among other big-hitters. Meanwhile, you've got Dialled In coming through with DJ sets from the likes of Kahani vs Kunal Merchant and Yuné Pinku, and Recess enlisting Dlala Thukzin and Crazy Cousinz pres. Funky House All Stars plus many, many more. 

Beer gardens are one of the best things about London. There’s no finer way to spend a sunny (or even not-so-sunny) afternoon in the capital, than supping on a couple of cold boys under the city’s azure-ish sky. If you’re looking to sink some pints in the breezy great outdoors, we’ve got you covered with our tried-and-tested list of the city’s best beer gardens.

Seasoned London festival-goers have been singing the praises of this 10,000-capacity Southwark Park festival since it debuted in 2023, thanks to its boutique size, community vibe and collaborative line-ups created with help from some of the city’s best culture venues. So we’re pleased to note that Rally is returning for its third edition in August. Headlining in 2025 are electronic DJ and producer Floating Points and Brit Award-winning rapper CASISDEAD, with south London-born experimental outfit Speaker’s Corner Quartet, DJ Ben UFO, Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep and indie rockers Porridge Radio also on the bill. 

This summer, some contemporary dance music greats will take up residence at a stunning venue. Labyrinth On The Thames – masterminded by promoter Labryinth – will see different artists from the world of electronic music takeover the Old Royal Naval College (a UNESCO World Heritage Site!) for six days of unmissable performances. Three headliners have been confirmed so far; South African DJ and producer Black Coffee kicks off the double-weekender with his mix of house, soul and traditional African rhythms on Thursday July 31 and Friday August 1, before legendary techno DJ Solomun plays a marathon 5-hour set on August 8, Australian tech-house producer Fisher headlines on Saturday August 9 and London-based dance music label Anjunadeep – whose artists include Lane 8, Yotto, and Dusky – curates the line-up on Sunday August 10. 

This 1947 musical from My Fair Lady writers Lerner & Loewe has faded out of fashion in recent years, presumably largely because its premise of a couple of American tourists stumbling across a magical Scottish village that only appears every couple of hundred years is actually pretty patronising to the Scottish. That’s presumably why top Scottish playwright Rona Munro has been brought in to update the book of the first major UK revival since 1988, which will see Drew McOnie direct his in augural production as Open Air Theatre artistic director. The exact nature of the update is TBC, but it appears that lost-in-the-Highlands American protagonists Tommy and Jeff have been changed from game hunting tourists to crashed WW2 fighter pilots.

Having outgrown its first home in Hackney Wick, London’s queer nightlife festival Body Movements levelled up last summer, making a dazzling debut in Southwark Park with five stages showcasing the great and good of the LGBTQ+ party scene in the capital and beyond. It was easily the best edition yet of the groundbreaking festival, so we’re thrilled that the great and good of the London queer scene will once again come together in the same location for its 2025 edition. A host of new and returning queer nightlife collectives feature, from London stalwarts like Adonis, Pxssy Palace and Little Gay Brother to international crews including Berlin’s Power Dance Club and Brooklyn’s Function. The likes of I.Jordan, HAAi and Mura Masa will be DJing, while there’ll also be live sets from US rapper Cakes da Killer, experimental Parisian artist Coucou Chloe and anonymous London pop maverick Lynks.

Nothing says summer quite like the towering stalks and glowing yellow petals of the noble sunflower. Get neck-deep in heliotropic heaven at these golden fields full of custard-yellow blooms, which are at their peak from August to September.