London events in January

London galleries and museums churned out hundreds of excellent exhibitions and art shows in 2025. And our critics were on the ground to see a lot of them. Lucky for you, there’s the chance to catch the tail end of a few of these shows in January 2026. From Dirty Looks at the Barbican, to Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World at the National Portrait Gallery, and Secret Maps at the British Library, see these exhibits in Jan before it’s too late. 

Joining a crowd of over 8,000 people might not sound like the best cure for your NYE hangover, but its hard to stay miserable when you’re surrounded by the mirth of the London New Year’s Day parade. The route will move from Piccadilly, through Regent Street and St James’s, along Pall Mall and through Whitehall, ending at Westminster. Along the way, there’ll be Pearly Kings and Queens, street dancers, brass bands, samba bands and much more making the first day of the new year an absolute blast. Updates on the logistics and performers will be posted on the LNYDP’s website and social media. 

Low and no-alcohol is bigger than ever, and London has never had so many options for having a tipple, without actually having a tipple. So if you’re thinking of doing Dry Jan, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be stuck with a month of watching MAFS on the sofa every weekend. You still go out! And we recommend heading to one of London’s best alcohol-free bars, from Raven Records, to Club Soda, there’s loads to choose from. 

Immersive theatre legends Punchdrunk returned in 2025 with a ‘stealth based exploration game’ based on ‘videogame mechanics’ that saw audiences deployed in teams of four onto an alien planet to try and find out the fate of the titular landing vehicle, which has disappeared mysteriously. It closes on February 1, so January is your last chance to play. 

London might always be bustling with fun things to do and, come winter, a jam-packed calendar of unmissable events, but sometimes you just need a break from it all. When the capital’s hustle and bustle leaves you feeling a little drained, you can find some escape from the crowds and hordes of tourists by getting up and getting out just for a day. In dire need of crisp country air, a relaxing spa day or a gorgeous, long walk? These day trips from London are all under two hours from Zone 1 and will give you the relief you need this winter.

RECOMMENDED: The best day trips from London

Trying a plant-based diet this January doesn’t have to be boring. Whether you’re after a lavish night of culinary theatre, a delicate Middle Eastern spread, a Michelin-star winning tasting menu, or brisket at a vegan smokehouse, creative chefs are showing off their prowess with plants across the city, creating pitch-perfect imitations of meaty comfort food classics, or dreaming up new vegetable-based delights.

In 1824, the young King Liholiho and Queen Kamāmalu travelled across oceans from their kingdom, Hawaiʻi, to seek an alliance with the British Crown. This winter British Museum will shine a light on the lesser-known story about the historical relationship between Hawaiʻi’ and the United Kingdom, showing artefacts and treasures created by Hawaiian makers of the past and present. You’ll be able to see everything from feathered cloaks worn by chiefs, to finely carved deities, powerful shark-toothed weapons, and bold contemporary works by Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) artists.

Burns Night always falls on January 25, the day Robert Burns was born in South Ayrshire way back in 1759. With this year’s celebration falling on a weekend (Sunday, to be exact), you can probably expect this year’s festivities to be even more raucous than usual. Whether you want to get sweaty at a ceilidh, pipe in a haggis, or have a classy time at a whisky tasting or indulgent Burns supper, read on for all sorts of suggestions for a kilt-raising good time this January.

Akram Khan’s remarkable reinterpretation of Giselle is back on at the Coliseum for a very short run. One of the most interesting takes on a classical ballet to come out of London in the past decade, Khan's electric choreography combines with Vincenzo Lamagna's earthier take on Adolphe Adam’s wildly romantic score, played live by English National Ballet Philharmonic.

This is your last chance to see Toby Jones as the slippery Iago and David Harewood as Othello in the production directed by War Horse co-director Tom Morris at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. While we called this slick production overly-polished, we though Jones and Harewood were both exellent. 

Yes, it's cold out. It's also quite wet. The leaves have fallen from the trees and turned the pavements into a slimy, slippery ice rink. But we're lucky to have some amazing, huge, parks in London, and walking around in them on a crisp winter's day is genuinely one of life’s great joys. Whether you're a Royal Parks stan or a fiend for Hampstead Heath, there are loads of parks to choose from. So, get out there. 

When the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, its members included two women, yet there would not be another female academician until Dame Laura Knight was elected in 1936. Despite this institutional exclusion, women artists in Britain continued to train, practice and exhibit during this period, particularly in the field of landscape watercolours. The Courtauld Gallery’s upcoming exhibition seeks to bring to light some of these women artists. Focussing on 1760-1860, the showcase will take you through the work of 10 artists over 100 years of landscape drawings and watercolours including some of the first ever depictions of the ethereal Lake District. 

Is there anything more wonderfully wintry than wrapping up warm, pulling on some ice skates and gliding around a frosty slab of ice with your loved ones? Each winter, London fills up with pop-up rinks, from the legendary Somerset House to the newer Glide at Battersea Power Station. At all, you’ll find festive vibes ramped up to the max, especially come December – and a lot of fellow Londoners vying for a spot on the ice. Book in advance to guarantee you can show off your best ice moves (or your ability to stay upright, at the very least). Here are some of the best rinks to soar across this winter.

New year, new wardrobe? Get inspired at the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition of the trailblazing 20th century photographer Cecil Beaton's work. There are decadent gowns and chic ensembles galore, ready to tempt you to cast off the beige and go out robed in glittering style. 

High Noon is a haunting classic of a Western film, designed to be an allegory for Hollywood blacklisting. Will this dialogue-heavy movie work on stage? Hard to say, especially since it concludes with an epic gunfight. But this team should be in with a shot: it includes cult US actor Billy Crudup and Denise Gough, in a screenplay from Academy Award winner Eric Roth (Forest Gump; Dune).

Not had enough fun this New Year? Get yourself down to KOKO for a special edition of Glitterbox, Defected’s long-running party, for the first big bash of the year. The lineup is still TBA, but if you’re looking for an inclusive, welcoming and uplifting place to let your hair down, you can’t go wrong here.

For centuries, female artists were largely absent from the Royal Academy. But this institutional exclusion doesn't mean they weren't painting, training, and exhibiting their works all over the UK. The Courtauld Gallery’s upcoming exhibition seeks to bring some of these forgotten women artists to light. Focussing on 1760-1860, the showcase will take you through the work of 10 artists over 100 years of landscape drawings and watercolours including some of the first ever depictions of the ethereal Lake District. 

If you’re one of the many unsuspecting pub-goers who got swept up by Luke Littler-fuelled darts mania last winter, this epic World Championship Final screening is for you. Walthamstow’s 14,000-capacity beer hall Big Penny Social is promising the electric atmosphere and raucous fun of Alexandra Palace without the hefty ticket prices at this free screening of the final on January 3. Will the kebab-loving teenage sensation retain the trophy, or will Luke Humphries, Michael Van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting or an underdog contender be victorious instead? Whoever makes it to the final, there’ll be plenty of pints , 180 cards for celebrating perfect rounds, a group fancy dress competition and post-show DJs til late at this elecric screening that’s the next best thing to watching live at the (long since sold out) Ally Pally. 

Find out what the UK's most promising fine art graduates have been up to in this annual showcase of up-and-coming talent from across the UK, which is now in its 76th year. Featuring 22 exhibitors selected by renowned artists Pio Abad, Louise Giovanelli and Grace Ndiritu, the London leg of the exhibition this year takes place at Camberwell’s South London Gallery

The ultimate sadgirl ballet is returning to the Royal Opera House in winter 2026. Wayne McGregor’s sweeping and expressive ballet exploring the life and work of Virginia Woolf, accompanied by Max Richter’s haunting original score, has been one of the Royal Ballet’s big hitters over the past decade. First staged in 2015, the dance triptych inspired by extracts from Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves picked up an Olivier award for best dance production. 

If you've been depleted by a December of office parties, omnipresent treats, and mulled wine on weeknights, then help is at hand. New festival Equanimity is designed to help Londoners reset and recharge in the heart of King's Cross. The centrepiece is Slomo's pop-up spa, which offers two wood-fired saunas, three cold plunge pools and a roaring fire, offering a corner of Scandinavia in Lewis Cubitt Square. With an hour in the sauna costing just £12, it's definitely gentle on your worn out January bank balance as well as your body.

London’s established winter art fair features over 120 international galleries showing modern art, photography, sculpture and everything in between. The 2026 edition of the London Art Fair will feature large-scale installations and thematic group displays from some very influential 20th and 21st century artists, including Tracey Emin, Barbara Hepworth, Francis Bacon, William Kentridge and Louise Bourgeois, while a Platform section will be presenting work from artists ‘redefining the boundaries between craft, applied art, and fine art, and challenging artistic expectations around materials’. A new partnership with the National Trust will see the conservation charity present an exhibition of surrealist and post-war abstract works from the collections of The Homewood and Erno Goldfinger’s 2 Willow Road, never before exhibited outside these iconic modernist homes.

Gecko’s fantastic dance-theatre production The Wedding is back on in London. Surreal, funny and full of heart, The Wedding takes a poke at the marriage contract, takind the audience on a wild trip through a dystopian world where we are all brides, wedded to society. Part of MimeLondon, this production will be a stripped back imagining of Gecko’s beloved production. 

Metatheatrical mischief maker Tim Crouch directs his first original production for the Globe, a a high concept version of The Tempest in which he will star as exiled magician Prospero. In it, Propero, his daughter Miranda and his supernatural servants Ariel and Caliban are exiled with no hope of escape. Instead they gather once a month to tell stories of how they might be rescued – with the plot to Shakespeare’s play just one of them. It’s certainly an arresting concept

Settle in for a night of poetry as your host Ian McMillan introduces ten talented wordsmiths, who have been shortlisted for the prestigious TS Eliot Prize for poetry. It’s a chance to hear some of the most exciting verse coming out of the UK and Ireland right now and to make your mind up about who you think should win the much-coveted accolade. This year’s shortlist features Gillian Allnut, Isabelle Baafi, Catherine-Esther Cowie, Paul Farley, Vona Groarke, Sarah Howe, Nick Makoha,  Tom Paulin,  Natalie Shapero and Karen Solie.