The Time Out London blog team

Harry Potter fans already have more stuff to tick off in London than you can shake a wizarding wand at. What to check out first? Platform 9 ¾ in King’s Cross? The Cursed Child theatre show? The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter? OK, that last one is technically in Hertfordshire, but you get the idea. Before magic-loving muggles hop their broomsticks to check out those must-sees, though, they’ll soon be able to spend their hard-earned gold Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts at the Harry Potter Oxford Street store, which is due to open this autumn. Though there are already official Harry Potter shops in the likes of New York, Chicago and Harajuku (Tokyo), this will be the UK’s first flagship Harry Potter shop.  Owned by Warner Bros., the new store will cover two floors and encompass 21,000 square feet – or, just under a quarter the size of a full Quidditch pitch. It’ll open its doors at the Ribbon, 134-140 Oxford Street, close to Tottenham Court Road station. It will be conveniently located for fans who’ve watched The Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre, around a 10-minute walk away. In four-star review, Time Out described the show, which was co-written by Adolescence writer Jack Thorne, as ‘an absolute hoot, a joyous, big-hearted, ludicrously incident-packed and magic-heavy romp that has to stand as one of the most unrelentingly entertaining things to hit the West End’. Photograph: cktravels.com / Shutterstock.com Harry Potter Oxford...

2026 continues to be Harry Styles’ year. After a massive Wembley residency that sold out in minutes, a Manchester ‘One Night Only’ show that sold out even quicker and a dapper performance at the BRIT Awards that set the internet alight, this week the former One Direction star will release his highly anticipated fourth studio album. That record will be titled Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. and come out on Friday (March 6). To crank up the hype yet another notch, a bunch of Harry Styles pop-ups are coming to cities around the world – and, excitingly, one of them is here in London. The pop-up won’t just be a chance to experience Harry’s new album in full: it’ll also have an exclusive merchandise range. Merch will feature pretty much anything that you’d want emblazoned with Harry Styles. Clothing items include t-shirts, crewnecks, hoodies, polos, hats, socks and baby tees. Image: Supplied But it won’t just be clothes. Other goods on offer at the pop-ups include tote bags, towels, mugs, slip-mats and clocks (yep, tell the time with your own Styles timepiece), as well as ‘limited edition media’. We’re assuming the latter means records, CDs, tapes etc of the new album. The pop-ups are all in partnership with American Express. Amex cardholders will get various perks ranging from early access (getting in one hour early) and a dedicated checkout line to their own exclusive items. When and where is the Harry Styles pop-up in London? The Kiss All the Time. Disco,...

When Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Barbican Centre in 1982, she declared it ‘one of the wonders of the modern world’. Some 44 years on, the brutalist icon looks set to become more wondrous still, as the City of London Corporation has formally approved a planning application for upgrades worth a whopping £231 million. London’s architecture geeks have known about these plans for a while. Upgrades for the Barbican Centre date back to at least 2024, with more details released around this time last year. Renders of the project were revealed last May, while December saw news that the works would result in a year-long closure of the arts centre. The latest update has seen the Barbican Centre’s era-defining makeover get official approval. The City Corporation Planning and Design department worked with the Barbican Renewal Team and its design team, led by Allies and Morrison, a London-based practice of architects and urbanists. The City of London Corporation described the resulting plan as ‘sensitive, conservation-led, yet future facing’. Last year, the proposed changes, which will not add any new space to the venue, received 90 percent of public support.  Image: Kin Creatives for Allies and Morrison and Asif Khan Studio So, what’s actually being done to the brutalist beast? Well, changes will be made to the Barbican’s famous Conservatory, beloved among Londoners for its lush greenery, to address long-standing maintenance issues and to improve accessibility. This will...