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Southbank Centre

  • Things to do | Cultural centres
  • South Bank
  • Recommended
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Anya Ryan
Written by Anya Ryan
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Time Out says

What is it?

Like a crowd-pleasing superhero, it’s Southbank Centre to the rescue when you need something to do in London and you’re out of ideas. With an astounding programme of cultural events – from visual art and music to literature workshops and performance – views over the Thames, and slap bang in the centre of London - no wonder it’s so many people’s trump card.

The lively arts and entertainment centre is the UK’s largest, putting on over 5,000 events a year. Expect a well-curated line-up that straddles world-class artists, niche poetry, music festivals and everything in between. The London Literature Festival, for example, brings together the greatest literary minds for 11 days of talks, readings, poetry and performance. Meanwhile the EFG London Jazz Festival invites groundbreaking artists onto the Southbank stages each year.

Events take place in multiple venues perfectly poised on the bank of the Thames. The Grade I listed Royal Festival Hall is at the heart of the complex, where you'll find - among many other things - a 2,700 seater auditorium and the National Poetry Library.

Why go?

With a full and varied programme of arts events, the Southbank Centre sits right at the cultural heart of London. Alongside the concerts and festivals, there are talks from the likes of Caroline Lucas and plays in every season. 

Don't miss:

Southbank Centre is not just for the culture vultures and is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat. Food fans circle the food market for their weekly helping of inspired street food, booze, coffee and artisan produce. The Southbank Centre restaurants are incredibly popular too, with big names like Wagamama and Las Iguanas feeding the masses, while off-beat joints like Topolski sling pizzas and prosecco to a smaller, savvy crowd. Head to the Queen Elizabeth Rooftop Garden in the summer months for drinks with views of the river and beyond. 

When to go: 

The Southbank Centre is open Monday and Tuesday 10am-6pm; and Wednesday-Sunday 10am-11pm

Ticket info:

Tickets for individual events are available via the Southbank Centre website.

Time Out tip:

The neighbouring Hayward Gallery is a stunning piece of brutalist architecture, and plays host to a range of inspiring and adventurous artists. We say, do both in one day!

Details

Address
Belvedere Road
Waterloo
London
SE1 8XX
Transport:
Rail/Tube: Waterloo; Tube: Embankment
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What’s on

Dance Your Way Home

Southbank Centre comes alive as the temperatures soar, and this summer that's more true than ever. This year's big festival is themed around dancefloors of every kind, and the magic that happens when people of every age and every culture get moving. Dance Your Way Home is curated in collaboration with Emma Warren, who wrote a book of the same name - in celebration of the type of ordinary, messy dancing we do in kitchens and bars, not the rarified kind that happens on the stages of the Royal Opera House. That means the line-up is full of opportunities to get involved, many of them free. Enjoy a micro disco anytime at Annie Frost Nicholson's installation Discoteca, which creates a bright pink dancefloor for one. Dealing with loss? Shake it out to a line-up of female DJs at Grief Rave (Aug 3). Learn African-derived social dances at A Dance Floor Journey (Aug 1). Or take a dance journey through the decades with History of Hip Hop (Aug 25), with a host who'll link together sounds from soul to funk to grime. Feeling shy? There are also plenty of dance performances you can simply watch: like Icelandic artist Ásrún Magnúsdóttir's Listening Party (Aug 2-3), which explores how teenagers use movement to connect, or Alex Baczyński-Jenkins's Untitled (Holding Horizon) (Jul 31-31) which explores queer embodiment and desire. Or browse an exhibition by poet Iris Colomb, in response to the festival's themes. Browse the festival's full line-up for more inspo, and you're bound to find...

London Literature Festival

Each year, London Literature Festival aims to bring together readers of all ages to ‘celebrate the power of the written and spoken word’, with a big name celebrity curator leading the charge. And excitingly, the 2025 edition will have singer songwriter Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka Self Esteem) in the hot seat, in a festival that runs from Tuesday October 21 - Sunday November 2. She'll be joined by Dolly Alderton for an event to launch her debut book, A Complicated Woman, followed by a night of music and poetry alongside multi-disciplinary artists Tom Rasmussen, Marged, Travis Alabanza, Seraphina Simone and Pam Ayres.  Elsewhere in the festival, there'll be appearances from massive literary and cultural figures including Sebastian Faulks, Jimi Famurewa, Zadie Smith, Adam Buxton, Malala Yousafzai, Claire-Louise Bennett and Reese Witherspoon & Harlan Coben. There'll also be a focus on international women's voices, with celebrations of new work from Sayaka Murata, Chris Kraus, Alexis Wright, Bora Chung and Olga Ravn. And the poetry line-up will Pfeature Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, Out-Spoken, Rachael Boast and the National Poetry Library open day. As ever, there'll be plenty of opportunities for kids to get involved too, with events with the children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce and a run of Mog the Forgetful Cat. Visit the Southbank Centre's official website for full details. 
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