London events in July 2025

As soon as June hits, London is packed with parades, parties and protests for Pride Month to mark the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. The London Pride parade is traditionally the focus of festivities, but there are plenty of other LGBTQ+ events taking place both before and after it. Over a million people take to the streets of London for the celebration each summer, with this year’s event scheduled for Saturday July 5.

Recommended: Everything you need to know about the London Pride parade 2025.

Wireless returns to Finsbury Park for 205 with a line-up of Drake, Drake and more Drake. No, we're serious.

Join Champagne Papi for London's biggest hip-hop, R&B and grime festival as he headlines the long weekend with three different setlists to reflect the show's 20th anniversary. The line-up is very much TBC but it currently includes a few special guests (Drake's pals) and teases 'many more acts still to be announced'.

From the look of things, the days have been grouped by vibe/genre, with Summer Walker and PARTYNEXTDOOR suggesting that Friday will lean into R&B and Sunday having slightly more of a reggae, dancehall and Afrobeats vibe with Burna Boy and Vybz Kartel.

Saturday? Well, when Drake first announced 'The Mandem' we were all taking wild guesses. Turns out it's the return of Boy Better Know – who are making their first live appearance in eight years.

Tickets are pretty much gone (it was the fastest-selling Wireless in history) but we'd recommend keeping an eye out in case of resells. 

The last Lyttelton theatre show to be programmed by Rufus Norris prior to his departure looks like a good one: following the Jodie Comer-fuelled West End smash Prima Facie, writer Susie Miller and director Justin Martin join forces with a new star for for follow-up Inter Alia. Rosamund Pike has had a good few years with screen hits Saltburn and The Wheel of Time, and now she makes her National Theatre debut to star as Jessica Parks, a maverick high court judge who precariously balances her work and her home life. We don’t know a lot more about the Miriam Buether-designed show just yet, but the fact Pike will be joined by actors Jamie Glover and Jasper Talbot points to the fact that this won’t be a monologue in the vein of Miller’s last.

It may be known for its sleepy scent and soothing properties, but there’s nothing dozy about the explosion of colour that happens around London’s lavender fields each summer. There are several farms dedicated to the mauve blooms just outside the capital, in Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire. Immerse yourself in a purple haze this summer by visiting one of London’s fragrant lavender gardens, or head out of town on a day trip to find sweeping fields of the stuff.

London, y’all better believe it – Tooting is about to get a cowboy-style glow-up. As part of Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture 2025 celebrations, Country on the Common is pulling out all the stops for a rootin’-tootin’ Sunday of country music, BBQ bites and Wild West chaos. Expect boot-stomping performances from Noah Reid (yes, from Schitt’s Creek), UK Eurovision hopefuls Remember Monday, Kezia Gill, and more. Throw in Taylor Swift tributes, whiskey tastings, lasso lessons and marshmallows roasted over an open fire, and you've got a proper Southern knees-up right in SW17. Giddy up.

Buy £25 Sunday tickets only through Time Out Offers

Up at the top of Ally Pally this summer, you’ll find a multifaceted web of genres. Where else can you while away the day with renowned DJs like Eats Everything, Sara Cox and DJ Spoony, drum and bass legend Goldie and the familiar hits of Faithless? There’s also comedy on the books from Shappi Khorsandi, the Beatles Dub Club, hip hop karaoke and high-energy Shakespear. This is one festival that truly lives up to its name.

Line-up includes: Faithless, Goldie, Eats Everything, Sara Cox, Sleeper, DJ Spoony

Watch out Ally Pally, there’s a new darts extravaganza in town. The Professional Darts Corporation is putting on a brand new darts championship in Hyde Park, aptly named the Hyde Park Darts Championship. It’s a chance to catch bulls-eyeing big hitters like Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Fallon Sherrock. There will also be special guests Olly Murs, Roman Kemp and Dion Dublin in attendance. Tickets will also gain you entry to the mega craft beer festival BREW//LDN where you can sip on suds from 100 indie and established drinks brands. Darts and booze: winner, winner! 

When the sun’s out and the weather’s at its summery best, hiding away in a dark, stuffy room isn’t the most appealing option. Thank god then, for outdoor cinemas letting us get our film fix under the stars and with a sweet summer breeze in our hair. London is home to some brilliant alfresco movie spots, which will be popping up all over the city in 2025, everywhere from docks and parks to rooftops and manicured gardens. Here’s a list of our favourites. 

It’s been an exciting fixture in London’s musical calendar since 2013, and it’s back with a line-up of some of the biggest stars on the planet. Taking place across weekends in June and July, Hyde Park will host an upmarket festival vibe complete with food, drink and a posh VIP area. On the line-up in July? Folk-pop artist Noah Kahan, and two nights from 2024 breakout star Sabrina Carpenter, before a final weekend trio for the older funsters, in Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Stevie Wonder and Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra in what will be the band’s final ever live show.

In the sweltering city heat, few things are more inviting than the prospect of plunging into one of London's finest al fresco swimming pools. And everyone knows it. The capital has well and truly caught the open-air bathing bug over the last few years, but that also means that on the hottest days of the year, you’ll need to book well in advance if you want to secure a poolside spot. The good news is that there’s a bounty of places for getting your outdoor swim fix in the city. Heated or unheated, regimented lanes or wide open water, serious fitness or chilled family fun – these are all of London’s best lidos and outdoor swimming pools for whatever floats your boat.

Respectable theatre? Not this month. Plied and Prejudice is Jane Austen gone off the rails — and we mean that in the best possible way. Think corsets, cocktails and chaotic costume changes as five actors tear through 20 roles with a wink, a wobble, and maybe a whisky or two. Expect scandal, silliness, and the wettest t-shirt contest Regency England never asked for. Whether you're Team Darcy or just here for the drama, this one's a riot.

Buy £14 tickets only through Time Out Offers

Somerset House Summer Series is back for another year. Held in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain court, in the enclave of the iconic Neoclassical building, this open-air series of gigs has long held space for both exciting up-and-comers and well-known trailblazers from the UK and beyond. On the bill this year are influential British stars Rizzle Kicks and Giggs, heartfelt singer-songwriters Freya Ridings and Jacob Banks, electro-swing fusionist Parov Stelar, acclaimed folk artist Joy Oladokun, art-rock visionary St. Vincent, Scottish indie band The Snuts, rising R&B trio FLO and Melbourne indie-folk faves The Paper Kites.

Deptford X, SE8’s beloved contemporary visual art festival, is back – but this time with a brand new format. For the first time, it’s going biennial, expanding the festival to 18 days packed with art, exhibitions, events, and a street parade. Plus, fringe art events will leave almost no part of Deptford untouched. An artist callout is currently underway, head to the event website if you fancy applying. Otherwise, watch the space for the final programme.  

Sure, Kew Gardens is maybe London’s most iconic setting to enjoy some horticultural marvels and catch some rays, but it’s also home to this fun little music festival, which is looking to be a proper all-rounder this summer. Craig David will bring his legendary party TS5 to the UNESCO world heritage site, playing all his greatest hits. He’ll be joined on the line-up by UB40, fronted by Ali Campbell, The Human League, DJ Spoony, Alison Moyet, Gypsy Kings and other special guests including Daniel Beddingfield, So Solid Crew and more. 

Women’s football fan collective Baller FC has once again teamed up with craft beer heroes Signature Brew to bring the Women’s Euros to the big screen. Every single England and Wales game will air at the brewery’s Haggerston taproom, as well as a curated pick of group stage clashes and all the knockout stages. This is not just a bunch of screenings, though. This is an all-out month-long footie fiesta. Besides the games themselves, the there’ll be DJs, street skills challenges, foosball contests, karaoke, art takeovers, barber cuts, temp tatts, WoSo-inspired makeovers and the return of Baller’s ‘guess the player by the ponytail’ quiz. No Euros watch party is quite as fun-filled as this one.  

Omnibus Theatre’s 96 Festival has proven to be rich territory for coming across new LGBTQ+ writing, and its headline one-man show ‘Get Happy’ is very much worth discovering. This intriguing debut from Joseph Aldous, sees the writer-actor play Adam, who is fully embedded in a hot gay summer of partying, sex and directionless, but enjoyable, hedonism. That’s until his best friend and housemate, Ryan, gets engaged to his boyfriend. Suddenly, about to turn 30, Adam starts to reassess his life. Can he be just as seemingly happy, settled and secure as Ryan? Written with the Soho Writers’ Lab and packed with a playlist of queer bangers, this debut show navigates the thorny question: how do we ‘get happy’ when we don’t actually know what it looks like? 

Anyone who’s keen to replicate Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's iconic rendition of a doomed romance in the 1997 movie Titanic will fall head over heels for this new immersive show. It’s a new offering from the makers of the surprisingly good virtual reality spectacular Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition, which uses all kinds of cinematic wizardry to bring its world to life. This time, we’re promised immersive 360° projections, a moving VR tribute to the ship’s brave orchestra, and a 5D Augmented Reality Metaverse walk through theTitanic’s decks. A perfect settling to canoodle with your loved one of choose. Or just get nerdy about the Titanic’s story, with plenty of intricate detail about its plunge from art deco design classic to barnacled wreck at the bottom of the ocean. 

Emily Kam Kngwarray is a renowned artist hailing from Australia who pours her experiences as a senior Anmatyerre woman from the country’s Utopia region into her works. This exhibition will take you into her homelands through textiles, paintings, film and audio, covering both land and ancestral heritage.

Step into the stories shaping our world at the World Press Photo Exhibition 2025! This renowned exhibition showcases award-winning photojournalism from across the globe, capturing urgent, intimate and unforgettable moments from the past year. From the frontlines of conflict to the quiet strength of everyday life, these images demand to be seen.

Get your tickets for just £11.50 to see the World Press Photo Exhibition 2025, only with Time Out Offers.

One of London’s biggest dance music festivals is back to take over Boston Manor Park in 2025. If previous years are anything to go by, you can expect Junction 2 to provide a careful balance of massive names and hotly-tipped up-and-comers across the last Friday, Saturday and Sunday of July. The festival has just released its final lineup, and it’s got some huge names on it. This year you’ve got a stacked selection of house and techno juggernauts like deadmau5, Christian Löffler, Ahmed Spins, Amber Broos and Kolter. They come alongside the likes of Nina Kravitz, Bashkka, Mount Kimbie, Moxie, Midland, DJ Koze and Soul Wax. Basically, it’s the holy grail of raves.

As well as putting on mega stars – with this year’s lineup including Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Zach Bryan – every year BST Hyde Park also hosts Open House, an eight-day-long event that’s mostly free to attend. On this year’s Open House lineup is House Gospel Choir, Dub Pistols, Trojan Sound System, South London Samba and many more. Plus, if you feel like getting raucous there’s a Bongo’s Bingo party. There are plenty of kid-friendly events, such as West End Kids and Brainiac Remixed. And other than the music, BST is hosting eight open-air cinema nights, showing flicks including The Goonies, Wicked singalong, The Fall Guy and Dune Part 2. 

On Saturday July 26, central London will turn pink and blue as London Trans+ Pride celebrates its seventh year. This event will be extra-important this year, as UK trans rights have been jeopardised by a recent Supreme Court ruling. Full details haven't yet been confirmed, but in previous years, a parade has marched through central London, from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park Corner’s Wellington Arch. Since 2019, the event has sought to honour the memory of trans lives taken, uphold the next generation of trans revolutionaries and support crucial trans rights. In previous years organisers have asked people taking part to wear flowers ‘to honour the long legacy of transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming and intersex people who came before us.’

Projection-based performance space The Lightroom goes back to the Cretaceous with its latest show, which is a collaboration with Apple TV and its spectacular CGI dinosaur documentary series Prehistoric Planet. There’s no mention of David Attenborough serving as narrator on this one – which strongly suggests he isn’t, let’s be honest – but there should be considerable recompense from the wonder of being surrounded by gargatuan lifesized dinosaurs. The 50-minute film is a mash-up of the highlights of the show’s two seasons, plus a few new and extended scenes. 

Nothing sums up the best of London’s balmy, thriving summers quite like the noble sunflower. The clue’s in the name, after all: during the part of the year where we’re blessed with the most of those sweet, sweet rays, that’s when we see the most of these golden, spindly, great-vibe giants. There are plenty of dazzling pick-your-own sunflower fields within very easy reach of London. Before you head off on a sunny adventure, make sure to check in with these sites in advance to be sure of fresh crops and full blooms – Mother Nature is an unruly and unpredictable force.

Feeling thirsty? Desperate for a funky sour, cheeky saison or a fruity IPA? You’re in luck. The Capital’s biggest beer celebration is back for 2025, taking place at events warehouse Magazine London, for four-hour sessions of non-stop-beer-drinking bliss. Set over two days, you’ll get to sample London’s best beers as well as some international standouts, including our faves Gipsy Hill, Verdant, Deya and more. Hungry? The food line up is pretty serious too, this year featuring Meltdown Cheeseburgers, Bone Daddies and Chick N’ Sours. A £64.50 ticket gets you a four-hour session and access to more than 800 beers from over 100 brewers, and there are group discounts available too. All the beer is included in the ticket price. Happy drinking, folks. 

A new wholesome day festival has entered the chat. From the people behind Brainchild, Desire Lines promises to be an all-day extravaganza of DJs, live music, theatre, works-in-progress performances, local craft, zine and art vendors, and a selection of eats from some of southeast London’s finest independent restaurants. It’s taking place at the Shipwright, a multi-purpose venue by the river in Deptford. The line-up is still TBC, with an announcement coming soon. 

You’ve probably heard of ‘Instagram face’. This summer, Somerset House is dedicating a whole exhibition to things like the internet’s inclination for everyone to look exactly the same. In Virtual Beauty, Somerset House will explore the impact of digital technologies on how we define beauty today. The show will display more than 20 artworks from the 'Post-Internet' era, an art movement concerned with the influence of the internet on art and culture. It will feature sculpture, photography, installation, video and performance art, with highlights including ORLAN’s Omniprésence (1993), a groundbreaking performance in which the artist live-streamed her own facial aesthetic surgery, and AI-generated portraits by Minnie Atairu, Ben Cullen Williams, and Isamaya Ffrench. 

Thousands will be descending on SW19 in the first two weeks of July to watch the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in real life. But live screenings will be peppered all over London for thousands more. With a jug of Pimms in one hand and a punnet of strawberries in the other, you’ll hardly know the difference. Even better – most of watch parties won’t cost you a single penny. So, pack your picnic blanket, fill your flask and pull up a pew at a summery screening near you. 

RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to Wimbledon 2025.

Latino Life in the Park is returning to Ealing’s Walpole Park for one day only This epic celebration of Latin culture brings together a world-class lineup of artists and DJs spanning genres from salsa and samba to reggaeton, folk and funk – with delicious Latin street food, cocktails, and family-friendly fun to match. It’s London’s most vibrant one-day getaway, created by Latinos, for everyone. 

Get 20 percent off tickets with Time Out offers. 

There aren’t that many bits of London that are actually secret anymore, but the residents of Eel Pie Island have done a very good job at keeping their island as clandestine as possible. Only accessible by boat or via a little footbridge reaching over the river, a ‘private property’ sign at the entrance usually keeps people out, except for twice a year when the public is allowed to snoop around the place at the island’s Open Studios event. The summer open days are usually a laidback affair and a chance to see inside the workspaces of 26 artists, from painters and potters to sculptors. View, commission or purchase yourself some art or craft and leave having experienced a still-hidden part of the city.

Disney’s newest big budget musical has finally hit the West End. The stage adaptation of Hercules, the 1997 Greek myth-inspired animation, is good looking and high energy. Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah’s book is appropriately big hearted with a handful of very funny gags. The show’s not-so-secret weapon is the retention of the film’s sassy quintet of singing Muses. Here turbocharged into a full-on gospel group, they’re a whole lot of finger snapping, head shaking, quick-changing fun, and also add a note of character to Alan Menken’s likeable but unremarkable Alan Menken-style score.

A new community-led festival is launching in London this summer celebrating the free-form musical genre, taking over De Beauvoir, Islington and Hackney for two days this July. De Beauvoir Jazz Festival will spread over multiple venues, including The Scolt Head, St Peter’s Church and Hoxton hall, with performances from rising stars like Georgia Cecile, and established legends such as the internationally acclaimed clarinetist Adrian Cox. Tickets range from £17 to £88.60 for a day pass, plus on Sunday, July 12 there are a number of free performances and workshops, including dance, drumming and costume workshops, Kinetika Bloco and Grand Union Orchestra in De Beauvoir Square, and Irene Serra in the East and South East Asian Community Centre. 

The RA’s annual showcase of all the artists you need to know about right now is back to brighten up the summer holidays. The great thing about the Summer Exhibition is that it’s open to all, and the selectors pick from thousands of entries. That means that your mate’s mum’s weird little whittled sculptures of George Michael might be shown alongside something by Antony Gormley. It’s a good opportunity to spot an art star of the future, but it also still knows how to get the big art names in. And there’s a huge amount to see. From miniature paintings to enormous canvases, architectural models to photography, the exhibition features literally hundreds of works, meaning there’s something for everyone. And hey, most of it is for sale, so you may just be able to nab a bargain.

Inside the Royal Academy’s 2025 Summer Exhibition

Missed out on Mighty Hoopla? No worries. Because As One In The Park is back in 2025, providing fun, fab, affordable sets for a day of pride, diversity and celebration. This year, headliners include drag superstar Bimini, DJ Fat Tony, Glitterbox head honcho Melvo Baptiste, and season four champion of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Danny Beard will return for the second year in a row. There will also be more cabaret, drag artists, comedy and dancers. Street food and booze pop-ups will keep you fuelled, and you can even get yourself doused in body glitter. What’s more, you can nab a ticket for £20 (instead of £39!) with Time Out Offers. 

Get your discounted ticket here.

While we await the futuristic new trains promised for the Piccadilly line, London Transport Museum is offering people the opportunity to ride the dark blue line on an actual art deco Underground train that dates all the way back to 1938. The locomotive will chug along three different Picadilly routes across three days, with journeys lasting around 90 minutes. You’ll have to buy a ticket in advance, with prices differing according to each day (although all kids under three go free). 

After six years of being halted by a pandemic and poor weather conditions, could the 2025 edition of the Lord Mayor’s Balloon Regatta take off without a hitch? The fleet wasn’t able to fly on the day it had planned to back in May, so will be giving it another go on July 20 and, if necessary, July 27. Should they be able to take off, you’ll be able to spot them soaring past some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, from Buckingham Palace and the London Eye to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. The regatta isn’t just an excuse to brighten up London’s skyline, but part of a charity initiative that has raised more than £250,000 since 2015.

The only straight up play this season at the Open Air Theatre is this revival of Dominic Cooke’s acclaimed 2007 adaptation of the Malorie Blackman dystopian smash. Here directed by OAT associate Tinuke Craig, the story concerns a future in which the darker-skinned Noughts rule over the lighter-skinned Crosses, and follows the complicated, clandestine friendship between Nought Sephy and Cross Callum, who has been allowed to attend her prestigious school. 

After 25 years of trading, the legendary, family-run Thai canteen shut down its Leytonstone location in autumn 2024. But last month it made a momentous return and now calls Shoreditch it’s home. Singburi gained semi-mythical status due to its famous blackboard specials menu, and dishes such as their phenomenally good crispy fried pork belly moo krob. Chef-patron Sirichai Kularbwong will be joined by chef Nick Molyviatis (previously at Oma, Agora, Speedboat Bar, Plaza and Kiln) for Singburi 2.0, with Kularbwong’s parents - who ran the original Singburi - retiring from the kitchen. 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Cocktails in the City, a pop-up festival unfolding over two weekends (July 10–12 and August 7–9). Every summer, cocktail-loving Londoners flock to Bloomsbury’s Bedford Square Gardens, which are taken over some of the city's very best bars, mixologists, and booze brands. Enjoy a complimentary welcome drink on arrival, then start exploring creative concoctions from a star-studded roster of top mixologists. Experimental Cocktail Club, Vesper Bar, Archive & Myth, and Viajante87 are just a handful of the celebrated London bars on the line-up, while guests will also be able to check out live music, street food, ice carvings, and masterclasses within the picturesque private gardens. 

Roaming performers, street food and live bands will take over the Greenwich Peninsula on July 26 for a free-to-attend day of jazz and delicious eats. Musical acts include Steamdown, Shunaji, Knats, Queer Jazz, vinyl sets from community radio station LOOSE.fm, DJs Tim Garcia and Tina Edwards and more. Fueling the action will be food and drink in the form of fresh oysters, bites from the Shotengai Japanese Market, natural wines, New Orleans-inspired small plates and plenty of cocktails. 

Dig out your best cosplay for this annual festival bringing a touch of Tokyo to London. Hyper Japan is the UK’s largest celebration of Japanese culture – across three days, there’ll be Japanese arts and crafts workshops, martial arts classes, performances from acclaimed Japanese musicians, a treasure trove of Studio Ghibli merch, lots of Japanese garb for sale and, of course, an irresistible banquet of Japanese food to sink your teeth into.