The best autumn events in London for 2024

The comically grotesque world of Tim Burton – the esteemed director behind ‘Corpse Bride’, ‘Edward Scissorhands’ and ‘Dark Shadows’ – is put under the spotlight at this exhibition, which concludes its decade-long world tour with a stint at Kensington’s Design Museum this autumn, shortly after his much-anticipated sequel ‘Beetlejuice 2’ lands in cinemas. Curated in collaboration with the famous goth himself, the collection draws from Burton’s personal archive of drawings, paintings, photographs, sketchbooks, moving-image works, sculptural installations, set and costume designs to shine a light on his distinctive, darkly humorous aesthetic. 

This year’s BFI London Film Festival will kick off on Wednesday, October 9 with Steve McQueen’s World War II drama Blitz at the Royal Festival Hall and cinemas across the UK.

From there, the UK’s biggest film festival will be pressing play on 11 days and nights of movies, big and small, at cinemas and venues across London and cities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

Charge the steins! You don’t have to travel all the way to Germany for a lederhosen-clad knees-up this Oktoberfest – and you don't even have to wait until October. Munich’s world-famous beer festival is very much on in London and starting this September; with big steins of beer, platters of excessively long wurst and loud oompah bands blowing brass like they don’t give a schnitzel. 

Whether you’re after a traditional take on the event or want to cut loose with some raucous table dancing, authentic Bavarian beers or east London craft IPAs, you can find the perfect Oktoberfest for you right here in London. Give yourself a warm willkommen at one of these London Oktoberfest events. 

RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in London this autumn.

As the nights get longer, the weather gets colder and the atmosphere on London’s streets gets spookier, Halloween comes ever closer. Before you know it, the whole city will be awash with pumpkins, spooky characters, scratchy wigs and events that will help you make this year’s fright-fest go off with a bang. Here’s how to get into the spirit and make the most of Halloween 2024.

Anyone who’s ever stepped inside the Royal Albert Hall will understand that it can’t be filled with just any old music – it needs scale and drama. And every year it gets exactly that with the BBC Proms, one of London’s best-loved and most dazzling cultural festivals. 

The Promenade Concerts (as they’re also known) have taken place in the RAH throughout the summer since way back in 1895. They’ve been organised by the BBC since 1927. 

The likes of Pete Tong, Stormzy, Kylie Minogue and even Dame Judi Dench have all made appearances at the Proms in the past, and this year the likes of Florence + the Machine and Sam Smith are set to perform. It’s not all orchestral renditions of classic classical pieces of music (although there will be plenty of that, too). 

There's been a gaping chasm, an unfillable abyss, in London's recreational heart ever since the Trocadero finally closed its doors in 2011. It has left the city crying out for an arcade experience, somewhere to go and lose yourself in gaming. And now, Power Up is here to answer all of your RPG prayers. Admittedly, it doesn't have a rocket-shaped escalator or countless dark corners for snogging, but what it does have is bank after bank of classic videogames.

They've made an attempt at education with a wall of consoles from throughout history, from the Amiga to the Xbox, but you can ignore all that if you want and just concentrate on turning your eyes square.