Various

Want to gawp at some of the masterpieces in the National Gallery but can’t face schlepping to central London? Croydon will be taken over with life-sized reproductions of some of the gallery’s biggest bangers in this free outdoor art exhibition. From Van Gogh, to Monet and Turner, CR0’s town centre will be awash with artwork. Locations to spot the paintings include the Queen’s Gardens, Croydon Minster, Whitgift Shopping Centre and Park Hill Park. Pieces will also be installed in Coulsdon, New Addington, Purley, Thornton Heath and Upper Norwood.

London’s citywide celebration of video games is back for another week of talks, workshops, live performances, markets and networking events celebrating video games and the people who make them.  Highlights include the first-ever London edition of the Games For Change Summit (Apr 15), where game creators and funders, educators and social innovators will be coming together to discuss how best to drive meaningful social, cultural, and educational impact in the gaming industry, and the return of Screen Play (Apr 15), the BFI Southbank’s one-day festival exploring the crossover between games, film, and television. Working on your very own game? The Games Finance Market (Apr 14-15) is a great way to connect with the publishers and investors who can get it out there, while Self-Publishing Toolkit Live Sessions (Apr 15) will equip you with tonnes of great advice if you’re planning to self-publish.  Of course if you want to skip all the lofty chat and just get playing, you can always head to New Game Plus (Apr 16-17) to discover more than 70 exciting new and unreleased games from around the world in a huge showcase at Exhibition White City. 

Your ex-boyfriend’s favourite radio station NTS is turning 15 in 2026, and it’s throwing a massive week-long shindig to celebrate. The seven dayer will see 15 events thrown across London, including live gigs and DJ sets at venues like the ICA, the Barbican, and EartH. Highlights include an Arca live show at Outernet, Yves at EartH and Juana Molina and Weed420 at the ICA. More events are still to be announced, so stay tuned. 

Once again, this boutique west London indie film is gathering and supporting underrepresented voices, with a focus on inclusive storytelling and accessibility. Highlights at the the 2026 Little Venice Film Festival (LVFF) include The Reckoning of Erin Morrigan, directed Gabrielle Russell and telling the story of an ex IRA operative; Alan Walsh’s short One Last Show in Taghmon about three stuntmen who are preparing for their final stunt show; and paralympian documentary by Sheridan O’Donnell Rising Phoenix: A New Revolution. There are also screenings dedicated to female stories, girls in film, disability films, LGBTQ+ voices and youth-focused films. Venues are still TBC, but expect screenings to be staged around Maida Vale and Little Venice. 

In London, we are well past the days of jazz being stuffy dinner party music, because the capital’s jazz scene is dynamic, young, cool and underground. Split across the Truman Brewery, 93 Feet East and nearby venues, the Brick Lane Jazz Festival brings together some of the best and most exciting talent on the flourishing scene, and in the past hast hosted big talent like Nubya Garcia, Ezra Collective and Cherise. In 2026, the festival will programme genre-blending sounds covering jazz, RnB, neo-soul, hip hop, broken beat and electronic music. The first wave of acts announced for the next edition includes IAMNOBODI, Kwame Yeboah, Alexander Flood, TABLE and more. 

Taking place across a whopping 20 venues in and around Queen’s Yard in Hackney Wick – including The Yard, Colour Factory, CRATE brewery and Number 90 – this day-to-night celebration of London’s vibrant dance music scene is becoming a much-loved fixture over the early May Bank Holiday weekend. More than 100 DJs or collectives feature on the whopping line-up, which ranges from beloved local selectors to more established international names playing everything from house and techno to garage and disco. But that’s not all, as there’ll be after-parties kicking off at Colour Factory and Village Underground, too. Artists and collectives include: Percolate, Daytimers, Huns n Roses and Wet Dreamz. Check out the full line-up here.

After a year out, Dialled In is returning to the capital city for its fifth birthday celebrations. Once again, the all-dayer will bring established and emerging artists from all over diasporic and South Asian countries and cities to east London. Unlike past editions, this year’s event will take over multiple venues throughout Dalson, from Café OTO to The Divine to Rio Cinema. It’ll see former member of The xx, Baria, make her first return to the London festival circuit in fifteen years, a rare London live set from rising star Gayathri Krishnan and the London debut of Lifafa, frontman of Peter Cat Recording Co. That’s alongside appearances from the likes of Sarathy Korwar, Mya Mehm, Anish Kumar and Raf Reza. This year will also see the festival expand into the realms of food, film, dance and comedy.