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March
Photograph: Steve Beech / Shutterstock

London events in March

Our guide to the best events, festivals, workshops, exhibitions and things to do throughout March 2024 in London

Rosie Hewitson
Written by
Rosie Hewitson
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Say hello to March. Finally, the days are getting lighter and spring is here brightening up London with colourful flowers and plenty of opportunities for sunny park walks. The month also packs in a whole host of big events from St Paddy’s to Mother’s Day

This means it’s time to finally come out of winter hibernation and set about exploring the city’s fantastic parks and gardens, world-class museums and galleries, and unbeatable restaurant and bar offerings. Watch Oxford and Cambridge take each other on in the historic Boat Race; settle down and watch great LGBTQ+ cinema at BFI Flare and the UK’s biggest queer film event. 

RECOMMENDED: Things to do in London this week.

The best London events in March 2024

  • Things to do
  • Film events
  • South Bank

The UK’s largest queer film event, BFI Flare returns to the BFI Southbank (and to the BFI Player online) for its 38th edition this month, showcasing the best new LGBTQ+ cinema from around the world over ten days. This year’s festival kicks off with London-based drag performer, screenwriter and director Amrou Al-Kadhi’s debut feature film ‘Layla’. Other special presentations include ‘Lady Like’, Luke Willis’s documentary on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ contestant Lady Camden and ‘Close To You’, in which Elliot Page plays a man returning home for the first time since transitioning, in his own first major film role since coming out as trans in 2020. As usual the festival’s extensive programme features several different strands encompassing shorts, documentaries and feature films, and there’ll also be plenty of enriching events alongside screenings, including talks with actors and makers and DJ nights in collaboration with London nightlife crews. Check out the jam-packed full programme here

  • Theatre
  • Drama
  • Charing Cross Road

Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ is at the very least a strong contender for the greatest American play of all time. It concerns the Tyrell family, headed by father James, an actor who achieved success by squandering his talent and playing a single commercially successful role repeatedly for most of his life. The story follows the family’s implosion over the course of a single day. Jeremy Herrin directs Brian Cox in what may or may not prove his stage swansong, but should in any case be a monumental night at the theatre.

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  • Museums
  • Kensington

Italian artist and furniture designer Enzo Mari’s simple but ingenious creations have inspired generations of creative types. This retrospective at the Design Museum is a comprehensive showcase of his resonant and timeless projects. Debuting at the Triennale Milano in 2020, just days after the designer’s death, the exhibition spans his 60-year career, bringing together furniture, product design, children's books and conceptual installations curated by influential art critic and Serpentine Galleries art director Hans-Ulrich Obrist, with Francesca Giacomelli. 

  • Things to do
  • Film events
  • South Kensington

Back for its fourteenth edition, the Cinema Made In Italy festival will once again grace the screens at Ciné Lumière in South Kensington. On the programme? Look out for a screening of ‘Adagio’ a crime drama which is a favourite of the Venice Film Festival, and ‘La Chimera’, a period drama about an English archeologist (played by Josh O’Connor) who’s newly released from prison, searching for a door to the underworld to reconnect with his late sweetheart. 

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  • Theatre
  • Musicals
  • Soho

In an unusual but undeniably intriguing meeting of minds, British national acting treasure Sheridan Smith stars in a new musical adaptation of John Cassavetes’s classic indie film ‘Opening Night’ created by globally renowned leftfield Belgian director Ivo van Hove and US baroque pop legend Rufus Wainwright. Smith’s recent well-documented personal struggles seem perfect fuel for the fire of Cassavetes’s story about Myrtle Gordon, a renowned actress struggling with alcoholism and old age as she prepares to take on the starring role in a new play. 

  • Things to do
  • Aldwych

Fancy eating your sad office sarnies in a cacoon of bamboo? Somerset House is turning its bombastic neoclassical courtyard into a garden full of the panda food which you can frolic about in for free to enjoy a quick picnic, a moment of calm in your busy work day, or an inevitable photo-op. The immersive installation is a new large-scale commission from Hong-Kong based artist Zheng Bo that ‘invites visitors to temporarily disconnect from their fast-paced, hyper-connected everyday lives by immersing themselves in the biosphere’. 

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  • Things to do
  • Sport events
  • Putney

The famous and historic London rowing contest between the UK’s oldest two universities returns for its 169th edition on Saturday March 30, when crews from Oxford and Cambridge go head-to-head in eight-oared rowing boats across the Thames.

Beginning in 1829 for chaps and 1927 for ladies, the annual fixture now attracts around 250,000 spectators to south-west London every year. The four-and-a-quarter mile course runs along the Thames from Putney Bridge to Mortlake and takes around 16 to 18 minutes (Cambridge’s men hold the course record of 16 minutes 19 seconds, set in 1998).

Spectators can watch the BBC’s coverage of the race large screens at two riverside Fan Zones in Hammersmith and Fulham, where they’ll also find covered seating, street food vendors, bars and toilet facilities.

  • Things to do
  • Film events
  • London

Watch the very best of Polish filmmaking at the 22nd edition of this fim fest which has curated a programme featuring the work of contemporary directors as well films from the past and will be showcasing them across London’s venues. The Opening Gala at the BFI Southbank will screen ‘Green Border’, a moving depiction of debates on migration in Europe and the Closing Gala at the BFI IMAX will show ‘The Peasants’, a Polish box office smash-hit accompanied by live music. 

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  • Things to do
  • Concerts
  • South Kensington

Apart from during the Blitz and the pandemic, this Good Friday performance has taken place every Easter weekend since 1876, and 2024 marks its 148th year. The Royal Choral Society’s rendition of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ (an English-language composition written way back in 1741) is without a doubt one of London’s greatest Easter traditions, and thanks to its accompaniment by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, it promises to be a rather wonderful way to spend Good Friday afternoon.

  • Things to do
  • Quirky events
  • Forest Hill

The Horniman Museum and Gardens’ Spring Fair is maybe the most efficient way to cram as much Easter fun into a single day as possible. The gardens will be taken over by a ridiculously busy programme, with everything from a Spring Time Disco (11.30 am - 1.30 pm) to an Easter Bonnet Parade (1 pm). But there’s plenty more: think circus skills, singalongs, fete games and seed planting, all fuelled by some cracking cuisine from the roster of food stalls. Maame T’s African inspired food, Lapecoraso Churros and Picks Organic Farm are just some of the kitchens that’ll be rustling up food – you better grab your ticket!

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  • Things to do
  • Brixton

Got a thing for finger lickin’ chicken? Some of London’s best spots in the fried thigh biz are going head to head to battle it out for the title of the best fried chicken in the city. Hosted by top notch Indian restaurant Kircket Brixton, chefs from the likes of Coqfighter, Smoking Goat, Thunderbird Fried Chicken, Chicken Shop, Kanada-Ya, Studio Kitchen, Soho Hotel, Daffodil Mulligan, Tonkotsu and Black Bear will be trying their luck with judges including Top Jaw’s Jesse Burgess, Professor Green and Zena Kamgaing deciding who cooks up the best dish. Will Rogers, of sister bar Soma, will be on hosting duties, while guests will be able to chomp on an abundance of Keralan Fried Chicken and drink two complimentary beers courtesy of Harbour Brewing Company for the price of the £20 ticket. 

  • Things to do
  • Exhibitions
  • Brick Lane

London will soon be blessed with an enormous immersive LEGO experience, thanks to Exhibition Hub (the ones behind the Van Gogh Immersive Experience). In partnership with events company Fever, ‘The Art of the Brick’ will feature 90 works by Nathan Sawaya, an artist who creates sculptures and mosaics entirely out of LEGO bricks. Expect the likes of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ and Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ to be reimagined in iconic little building blocks. In total, the experience contains more than a million LEGO bricks, and there’ll be bits of music and 3D video, too.

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  • Museums
  • Lambeth

Is your flat full of houseplants? Did you start growing vegetables in lockdown and now have a lifetime’s supply of Lamb’s Lettuce? You’re not the only one. Writer and editor Alice Vincent set out to discover why women grow plants and vegetables and in 2022 she compiled her stories into a book. This exhibition brings the tales to life with original recordings of interviews from guests like Margaret Howell, Sarah Raven, Rukmini Iyer and Poppy Okotcha and accompanying photography by Siobhan Watts.

  • Things to do
  • Film events
  • South Kensington

Back for its fourteenth edition, the Cinema Made In Italy festival will once again grace the screens at Ciné Lumière in South Kensington. Ten new releases and the restored version of a classic have been curated by Adrian Wootton OBE, an esteemed producer and Chief Executive of Film London, and there’ll be Q&As with the filmmakers. On the programme? Well, there’s a screening of ‘Adagio’ a crime drama which is a favourite of the Venice Film Festival, and ‘La Chimera’, a period drama about an English archeologist (played by Josh O’Connor) who’s newly released from prison, searching for a door to the underworld to reconnect with his late sweetheart. More info about the programme can be found on the website.

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  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Dulwich

Vintage furniture dealers and top modern designers come out in force for this excellent mid-century fair, featuring classics of British, American and Scandinavian 20th-century design from Eames to Ercol. It’s a very stylish showcase of high-quality, highly covetable furniture, lighting, art and homeware that you can buy direct from the 85 stands of vintage dealers and modern designers. There’ll be some stunning vintage and modern jewellery too and with food vans on-site you won’t go hungry. Please note: event is free after 3pm (and last entry is at 3.30pm), buggies must be kept in the buggy park; dogs are not permitted except for guide dogs.

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  • Museums
  • Greenwich

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) was founded in 1824 and over the last 200 years it’s helped save 144,000 lives at sea. This exhibition shines a light on the role the institution's female volunteers have played in rescuing people from perilous situations on the waves. Forty-two photographs by Jack Lowe will be on display, all portraits of women who volunteer for the RNLI alongside their lifeboat station’s slipway. There’ll also be oral histories to listen to and visitors will get a deep dive into the role women have played in fundraising and volunteering for the organisation over its long history. 

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Haggerston

Turning Earth is returning this spring, but not just for its regular (but fabulous) ceramics market – this one is a homecoming. That’s because it’s the organisation’s 10th anniversary, and it’s making a celebratory return to its very first Hoxton studio, where the original market was held. More than 120 makers will come together for two days of selling to celebrate a decade of this community’s growth, and the weekend will be infused with live folk music by singer-songwriter Theo Bard, street food, delicious coffee and craft beer, too.

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  • Things to do
  • Concerts
  • Westminster

This year’s collection of dazzling lunchtime and evening concerts, organised by St John’s Smith Square and Southbank Sinfonia, has been announced and it’s kicking off with a free lunchtime performance by the Civil Service Choir. The Purchell Singers will perform that same evening, and there’s also a concert by the National Youth Choir on March 28. For more information about each show in this marvellous little festival, have a look at the St John’s Smith Square website below. 

  • Things to do
  • Film events
  • Barbican

The Barbican and Rich Mix cinemas will be once again taken over by this remarkable festival for a week in March, with a programme full of moving, insightful documentaries and feature films. Each screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers, activists and human rights experts. Opening night will show ‘Mediha’, a film by the award-winning Hasan Oswald which documents a Yazidi girl’s return from ISIS captivity. ‘Summer Qamp’, the funny, uplifting work of non-binary filmmaker Jen Marovitz, will close the festival. You can read more about the full programme on the festival’s website.

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  • Theatre
  • Shakespeare
  • Covent Garden

Unstoppable acting legend Ian McKellen and revered director Robert Icke join forces for this incredibly exciting new show, Icke’s own adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’ Parts 1 and 2 starring 84-year-old Sir Ian in the great role of dissolute knight John Falstaff. It will be McKellen’s sixth play since turning 80, a remarkable workrate at any age, but his willingness to team up with auteur Icke to take on such a demanding role feels like some serious legacy-building.

  • Things to do
  • Literary events
  • Alexandra Palace

Grade II-listed north London icon Alexandra Palace plays host to the inaugural edition of this brand new literary festival, which promises four jam-packed days of readings, panel discussions, workshops and book signings. Celebrated authors in attendance include former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen, ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ creator Lemony Snicket, bestselling crime writer Erin Kelly and Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlistee Natalie Haynes, while the programme promises something for all genres and ages, presenting ‘a rich tapestry of the UK’s thriving literary scene’. 

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  • Museums
  • Lambeth

Even if you don’t know the name Jean-Marie Toulgouat, you’ll notice something immediately familiar about his work in this Garden Museum exhibition. That’s because Toulgouat was the great-grandson (by marriage) of the iconic Impressionist painter Claude Monet. Monet’s themes and colours seep into the oil paintings on show which capture Toulgout’s relationship to the landscapes of Giverny where he was born.

  • Museums
  • South Kensington

The hot, humid conditions of West Africa and India in the 1940s were likely incomparable to anything many of us have ever experienced, even during British ‘summers’, and surviving them comfortably is largely thanks to architectural style which developed throughout the era. The V&A’s Porter Gallery, accessible via the Cromwell Road entrance, will transport us through a world of Tropical Modernism, which truly emerged after independence was granted in India and Ghana, when the nations wanted to begin distinguishing themselves from colonial culture. The collection includes illustrations and photography to demonstrate this architectural symbol of modernity and progress, with thanks to scholars, architects and filmmakers, and it sure looks worth a visit.

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