London events in October 2025

Now in its 69th year, the BFI London Film Festival is the UK’s biggest film event, an 11 day bonanza of movies, big and small, at cinemas and venues across London and other major cities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Very much not a festival that’s just for the critics, snobs and VIPs, the LFF remains the most accessible of the world’s big film festivals. Which means you’ve got every chance of scoring seats to its packed line-up of new movies at the festival, which this year runs from Wednesday, October 8 to Sunday, October 19.

The programme for the 2025 edition of the festival is yet to be announced, but as usual audiences can expect several major world premieres, plus a whole bunch of indie gems, shorts programmes, TV show previews and expanded reality offerings. The first programme announcements typical arrive in July, with the full programme coming in early September, so check back here in due course for our take on what to see in 2025. 

You probably already know that October is Black History Month. But did you know that you'll find special events in almost every borough of London, covering every base from walking tours to special exhibitions to movie screenings to culinary delights? We're tracking down some of the most exciting events on the line-up of this much-needed festival of Black culture, which this year is themed around themed around ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’. Click through for talks, tours, workshops and performances celebrating London’s Black history. 

Fashion model-turned-photographer Lee Miller tirelessly pursued her artistic vision in a world that was hostile to female artists, becoming an avant garde luminary in New York, London, Paris and Cairo. 2025 will see the launch of the most extensive retrospective of her photography in the UK, celebrating the trailblazing surrealist as one of the 20th century’s most urgent artistic voices. Around 250 vintage and modern prints will be on display – including some previously unseen gems – capturing her unique vision and spirit.

Charge the steins! You don’t have to travel all the way to Germany for a lederhosen-clad knees-up this Oktoberfest. 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.

The work of director Tom Morris has been little seen in London since he co-directed War Horse and then went off to run the Bristol Old Vic, but now he’s back with a bang, as this production marks the start of a five year partnership with Chris Harper Productions to direct Shakespeare plays for the West End. This revival of Shakespeare’s great tragedy of race and jealousy won’t get a fraction of the attention that the 2025 Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal production received, but there’s every hope it’ll be the better Othello. 

Of course you need names for West End Shakespeare, and Morris’s cast is headed by Black British star David Harewood. This is his second time doing it: as a young man he was famously the first Black actor to play the role at the National Theatre, in 1997, and he’s indicated he’s looking forward to returning to the part without all the cultural baggage and weight of expectations.

He’ll be joined by Toby Jones as Iago, while Desdemona will be played by US actor Caitlin FitzGerald, probably best known here for her role as Kendall’s troubled girlfriend Tabitha in Succession, and there will be music by indie legend and enthusiastic theatre score writer PJ Harvey. 

Is that the saccharine scent of pumpkin spice in the air? Surprised to see lots of orange orbs taking over your local supermarket? It can only mean one thing: autumn is upon us in all its crispy-leafed, russet splendour. 

From glowing sunsets, to bracing walks and cosy pubs, there are lots of things that make up the ultimate autumnal day trip and London has them in spadefuls. Whether it’s nestling up in an old-school whisky tavern with a wee dram, collecting up armfuls of pumpkins from the city’s premier markets or exploring Gothic cemeteries. 

David Byrne’s Royal Court seasons have proven almost aggressively eclectic so far, with surefire commercial smashes rubbing up against stuff that comes across as genuinely quite mad. Coming a year after West End transfer Giant made its debut, Nick Payne’s The Unbelievers certainly looks like another big hit: the great Marianne Elliott (War Horse, Curious Incident) will make her debut at the venerable new writing theatre, in Payne’s first Court play since his huge hit Constellations, with design by the legendary Bunnie Christie. The cherry on the cake is the marvellous Nicola Walker, who will star as a woman whose son disappeared seven years ago and for whom time has now fractured, causing her to experience every minute of every year gone by simultaneously. Okay, that’s a pretty mad concept, but if anyone can pull it off it’s this A-Team of theatrical talent.

When the days are a-darkenin’, London is being over-run with giant arachnids and the supermarkets are filling up with pumpkin-plastered merch, it can only mean one thing: Halloween, Tuesday October 31 2023, is almost upon us. So dust off your cape, comb out your synthetic wig and get searching for a ‘beginner friendly’ face painting tutorial on YouTube. Here are the best Halloween events happening in London this year. 

Tucked away inside the five-star Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street lies one of London’s most atmospheric hidden spaces: a Masonic Temple steeped in history and mystery. Between October 11 to January 31, award-winning magician Tony Middleton ‘Sonic’ (as seen on ‘Penn & Teller: Fool Us’) is opening the doors for a series of special performances that takes audiences deep into a world of deception, codes and illusion.

‘Sonic’, an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle and creator of the long-running hit The Magic Hour, invites you into a world of deception, codes and whispered secrets. Expect intimate illusions performed just feet away, clever sleight-of-hand and stories that blur the line between history and mystery. With its marble columns, flickering candlelight and rich sense of drama, the temple is a fitting stage for an evening of intrigue. 

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Some of superstar director Michael Grandage’s first London shows were at the Almeida Theatre. But that was all a long time ago: he’s not been back this century. Until now: as part of Rupert Goold’s final season, Grandage returns to direct a very juicy prospect indeed. The Line of Beauty is rising star playwright Jack Holden’s adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s classic novel of Thatcherite Britain, set in 1983 as it follows protagonist Nick as he gets sucked into an alluring, disconcerting world of extreme privilege in a rapidly changing country. There’s no word on casting yet, but you wouldn’t put it past Grandage to land a name – though his own and that of the book are doubtless quite enough to sell out the show. 

Sure, they're cheaper in the supermarket. But if you want to truly embrace the joys of pumpkin season, get down to an actual field and pick one straight out of the mud (wellies advised). Here are some of the best spots to snag a squash, ready for carving, soup-making, or simply marvelling at in all its amber glory. 

London’s cultural institutions are having a love affair with the New Romantics this year. First there was Outlaws, the Fashion and Textile Museum’s exhibition on the subversive fashion trends of 1980s London. Then the Tate Modern announced a major retrospective on pioneering fashion maverick Leigh Bowery. Now it’s the Design Museum’s turn to direct its attention towards the most flamboyant subculture of its era, via this exhibition on the Blitz club, the iconic (and we really don’t use that word lightly) Covent Garden nightclub where New Romanticism was born in 1979. Forty years after it closed, the trailblazing club’s atmosphere will be recreated through a ‘sensory extravaganza’ incorporating music, film, art, graphic design and some very ostentatious outfits. This will include several items that have never been on public display before, while some of the scene’s key figures have been involved in the development of the exhibition. Time to liberally apply the kohl eyeliner, fish out your frilliest shirt and whack on some Spandau Ballet: the 80s are back, baby!

It’s not that long ago that British art bigwigs Gilbert & George grew so frustrated with what they saw as a lack of attention from the UK’s art institutions that they set up their very own museum dedicated to themselves. That big whinge seems a bit premature now that the Hayward is giving them a big exhibition looking at their work since the turn of the millennium, a period that has seen them satirising everything from hope and fear to sex and religion.

Fashion lovers will lose their heads over the V&A’s big autumn 2025 exhibition, focusing as it does on the sartorial tastes of one of history’s most notable bonce droppers. Marie Antoinette Style will look at the ill-fated French queen’s enduring impact on fashion, design and culture, as well as ‘the origins and countless revivals of the style shaped by the most fashionable queen in history’. The V&A’s art collection features two portraits of Antoinette by Jean-François Janinet and François Hubert Drouais which we’d imagine will feature in the exhibition, while visitors can also expect to get up close to some serious couture pieces too; Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Moschino, Dior and the exhibition’s sponsor Manolo Blahnik have all created past collections inspired by the guillotined French Revolution monarch. Let them eat ’fits!

Sunday lunch. There’s nothing quite like it. An elemental meal, one that Londoners take incredibly seriously. Debates about what constitutes the ‘perfect’ Sunday roast have been known to last for hours. There is no shortage of top roasts in London.

We’ve rounded up the city’s best Sunday meals from a host of pubs, restaurants and breweries all around town. What makes a good roast? For us, it’s simple; a welcoming room is a good start, maybe in a pub with an open fire. Then it comes to the plate – we need perfect roast potatoes, well-cooked lamb, beef or pork and a decent plant-based option too. A Sunday roast is more than just lunch - it’s self-care. 

From snug neighbourhood staples to more bijou gastropubs, and even a heavy metal boozer in Camden, we’ve got something for every taste (if that taste is for comforting mounds of roast meat/plant based goodness, lashings of gravy and carbs for days). A lot of these places get quite busy, so you’re always advised to book ahead to avoid disappointment. 

Every October, the great, good and filthy rich of the art world descend on London for Frieze, a massive fair held in Regent's Park. Frieze is full of the latest works by hyped contemporary artists, while its less frenzied sister fair Frieze Masters is all about works pre-2000, and stretching back to ancient times. Both involve shelling out more than a hundred quid for a ticket, but if you want to get your art fix for free, turn up to Frieze Sculpture, where you can see massive outdoor works in leafy surroundings.

Modernist art was a means of rebellion and self-expression for midcentury Nigerian artists as their country fought against, and ultimately escaped British colonial rule in 1960. As well as unearthing works from across Nigeria, this new Tate exhibition also looks further afield to London, Munich and Paris, exploring how artists reimagined European techniques to create an aesthetic all of their own.

Korean music isn’t just about K-pop and the return of K-Music Festival – now in its 12th year –will help you discover a whole range of the country’s diverse aural culture at iconic venues including the Barbican, the Southbank Centre, the Royal Albert Hall, and Kings Place. Highlights of this year’s programme include Seoul-based post-rock outfit Jambinai joining forces with the London Contemporary Orchestra for a one-off orchestral spectacle, composer Won Il delivering Dionysus Robot, an immersive piece merging sound, shamanic rhythm and drag, and genre-hopping quartet Gray by Silver bringing an idiosyncratic blend of contemporary, jazz and classical music incorporating Korean folk instruments to the Royal Albert Hall’s Late Night Jazz Series. Check out the full programme here. 

Photography fans will want to train their lenses east this October. Annual month-long festival PhotoMonth is celebrating the printed image in venues from Mile End to Clerkenwell to Hackney to Deptford. An eclectic array of spaces will exhibit photography, including big institutions like Whitechapel Gallery, indie venues including Four Corners, and unusual locations such as shops, restaurants and cafes.

The festival’s hub is at Art Pavilion in Mile End, which will display a group exhibition called ‘Longing’. There'll also be a new exhibition from Zed Nelson called ‘The Anthropocene Illusion’, which interrogates the troubled relationship between humans and the environment. There’ll also be around 50 pop-up exhibitions at locations across east London: download the fest’s interactive map to find them all. 

Cecil Beaton was a jack of all trades and master of many, bringing his inimitable touch to the worlds of fashion illustration, photography, costume design, writing and more. While most exhibitions covering his glittering career touch on all sides of his creative world, none has ever looked solely at his ground-breaking fashion work – until now. ‘Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World’ will do just that via some of his most dazzling outfits that defined the Jazz Age or shone on screen in the likes of ‘My Fair Lady’.

Peter Doig is one of the greatest living painters, an artist whose approach to hazy, memory-drenched figuration has had an enormous impact on the visual landscape of today. For his show at the Serpentine, he’s going well beyond the canvas, filling the gallery with speaker systems to explore the impact of music on his work. Does DJ-set-meets-art-exhibition sound like your idea of hell? Mine too, but it’s Doig, so it just might work. Maybe.

If you were fascinated by pirate treasure maps as a kid, this new British Library exhibition will take your interest to the next level. With a line-up of fascinating documents including top secret D-Day documents, censored Ordnance Survey maps and hidden treasure maps, Secret Maps at the British Library will show that putting landscapes on paper is anything but black and white. 

Canary Wharf shakes off its business image a little with the return of its long-running ice rink this winter. From October through to late February, you’ll be able to spin and drift around the 1,200-square-metre arena, so whether you’re looking for a pre-Christmas activity or a fun way to kick off the New Year, this bad boy’s got you covered. Talking of covered, the whole thing is under a canopy that means not even the unpredictable British weather can spoil a sesh here. There’ll also be a ringside bar and themed DJ nights to ramp the good vibes up even higher. 

You don't have to be a classical music buff to love the bombastic delights of ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ by the George Frideric Handel. In a new exhibition, the Foundling Museum will explore how this exhilarating piece of classical music is still a banger today. Handel incorporated its joyful sounds into an anthem he created specially for the Foundling Hospital that premiered in 1749 to help raise money for the charity. Now, the museum is digging through the archives to tell its story, from its first performance to the present day.

The Imperial War Museum might have a name that references the British empire, but that doesn't mean it takes a misty-eyed view of this country's colonial past. Emergency Exits is its first-ever exhibition on the wave of independence movements against British rule that followed World War II. Exploring the conflicts fought in Malaysia (then Malaya), Kenya and Cyprus, Emergency Exits is a much-needed look at global struggles for freedom.