20+ things to do in London in September 2025
September in London marks the transition from the height of summer into early autumn. As the crowds of August ease and the city’s cultural calendar gathers pace, both visitors and locals can look forward to a wide range of artistic, cultural, and community events across the capital. This month brings the return of the London Design Festival and Open House Festival, the much-anticipated Marie Antoinette exhibition at the V&A, UK premieres from Rambert and Ballet National de Marseille in collaboration with (LA)HORDE at the Southbank Centre, and the grand finale of the BBC Proms with its Last Night celebrations — plus much more. Here is our guide to more than twenty great things to do in London in September 2025.
London Design Festival 2025
Lee Broom Beacon, LDF 2025
#FLODown: The London Design Festival returns for its 23rd edition from 13–21 September 2025, with the city once again serving as a global stage for creativity, innovation, and collaboration. This year’s programme explores how design can address today’s most urgent challenges, with highlights including Paul Cocksedge’s What Nelson Sees in Trafalgar Square, Lee Broom’s monumental lighting installation Beacon, and a major exhibition at the V&A examining design’s response to crisis. Across London, the Design Museum, Space House, and a network of Design Districts will present exhibitions, fairs, and events showcasing pioneering ideas, sustainable materials, and cross-cultural collaborations. Alongside these headline projects, the Global Design Forum will host talks from leading voices in the field, while the annual London Design Medals will celebrate outstanding talent. Click here for the full programme of events.
Date: 13–21 September 2025. Location: across London. londondesignfestival.com
We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon
We Should Have Never Walked On The Moon, France, Paris, 2022-11-02. We should have never walked on the Moon, performative and danced exhibition of (LA)HORDE with the Ballet National de Marseille BNM at the National Dance Theater of Chaillot. Photographie de Amaury Cornu / Hans Lucas.
#FLODown: Rambert and Ballet National de Marseille, in collaboration with (LA)HORDE, present the UK premiere of We Should Have Never Walked On The Moon, a large-scale production that takes over the Royal Festival Hall and the wider Southbank Centre site. Featuring a cast of 50, including dancers, DJs, and a limousine, the show explores the role of the body in a post-internet age of information and communication, while reflecting on the influence of mainstream American culture and how movement can homogenise expression. Audiences are invited to move freely through the building and outdoor spaces, experiencing performances in the auditorium, backstage areas, the Undercroft, and terraces. Choreography is by (LA)HORDE, Benoit Swan Pouffer, Lucinda Childs, Cécilia Bengolea & François Chaignaud, and Oona Doherty.
Date: 3 – 6 September 2025. Location: Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Price: from £37 + £3.50 booking fee. Book now
A Day On The Lane: Marylebone Village
A Day on the Lane at Marylebone Village returns,13 September 2025.
#FLODown: Marylebone Village will pedestrianise Marylebone Lane on 13 September for A Day On The Lane, a lively celebration of food, music and community. Visitors can enjoy alfresco dining, pop up bars and street food stalls, along with live music, wellness activities and creative workshops including flower arranging, pot painting, knitting and embroidered mending. Local shops and restaurants will host exclusive activations, tastings and demonstrations, while a dedicated wellness corner offers Breathwork and Soundbath sessions with Third Space. Supporting the Young Westminster Foundation, the event also showcases the area’s independent shops and eateries.
Date: 13 September 2025. Location: Marylebone Lane, London. Price: Workshops & Prices: Flower arranging £44, Flower pot painting £27, Knitting £16.95, Embroidered mending £22.38.marylebonevillage.com
Material World
Spirit Dance, 2024 Nnenna Okore
#FLODown: Material World is a festival at Kew Gardens’ iconic Temperate House that explores the intersections of art, fashion, and plants. The exhibition examines the connections between textiles, nature, and sustainability, drawing on Kew’s renowned scientific collections. Highlights include monumental works by Nnenna Okore, a horticultural installation by Lottie Delamain showcasing the living origins of textiles, innovative sustainable fashion displays from the London College of Fashion, UAL, an immersive audio-visual exploration of cotton’s history by Michael McMillan, and the celebration of traditional crafts and Indigenous knowledge in the League of Artisans. Material World offers insight into the intertwined threads of nature, culture, and creativity, and will include Material World After Hours, featuring live performances, fashion shows, music, and food.
Date: 20 September – 2 November 2025; 20 September – 25 October, 10am–5pm; 26 October – 2 November, 10am–3pm. Location: Temperate House, Kew Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3AE. Price: Adult tickets cost £22, after 4 pm £11, and child tickets £0 (must be accompanied by an adult).Book now
GLUE Book Fair and Creative Programme – ICA London
GLUE, the ICA’s new artist book fair opens 13 - 14 September 2025
#FLODown: GLUE is the ICA’s brand-new artist book fair, bringing together over 70 publishers for a weekend of exhibitions, talks, and workshops. The fair celebrates artists, publishers, and DIY book makers across visual arts and contemporary culture, showcasing experimental and cross-disciplinary creative practice. Alongside the publishers’ presentations, GLUE features special exhibitions, discussions, workshops, and parties, emphasising the role of creative communities and networks in sustaining artistic practice. A special ICA archive sale, offering iconic film posters, rare zines, and other materials, will also be available.
Date: 13–14 September 2025. Location: ICA London, The Mall, London WC2B 5HU. Price: Free, booking recommended. Click here to discover full programme of events.
celebrASIA at Battersea Power Station
celebrASIA at Battersea Power Station. Image credit Charlie Round-Turner
#FLODown: celebrASIA returns to Battersea Power Station from 5 September 2025, to celebrate South East Asian culture with street food, live music, dance performances, artisan markets, and interactive arts and crafts. The 2025 festival introduces a Feasting Tent with long-table dining by renowned chefs Budgie Montaya, Abby Lee, and John & Desiree Chantarasak, alongside offerings from 29 South East Asian eateries. Additional highlights include craft workshops such as batik, beadwork, and pewter dish making, traditional games in Malaysia Square, Breaking masterclasses with B-Boy Sunni, and live performances from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia, complemented by an interactive Grand Tour exploring South East Asian countries.
Date: 5 - 7 September 2025. Location: Battersea Power Station, London SW11 8BJ. Price: Free entry. batterseapowerstation.co.uk
The British Art Fair 2025
Cristina Schek - Time to Crow, 2025, Archival Pigment Print, Digitalism edition of 5.
#FLODown: The British Art Fair 2025 returns to the Saatchi Gallery from 25 to 28 September, uniting more than 80 leading UK dealers for a major showcase of Modern and Contemporary British art. Works by David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Frank Auerbach, Gwen John and Tracey Emin will sit alongside fresh talent in a programme that includes Unsung, curated by Colin Gleadell, spotlighting overlooked Modern British artists; SOLO Contemporary, celebrating one living artist per gallery; and Digitalism, an expanded platform for cutting-edge digital art. In partnership with Hospital Rooms, the fair also supports a new charity initiative with a limited-edition print by Sutapa Biswas, offering visitors a chance to explore, collect and engage with the very best of British creativity today.
Date: 25–28 September 2025. Location: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York HQ, King’s Road, London SW3 4RY. Price: Collectors’ Preview £60, General Admission £25, Concessions £22, Under 16s free (booking required). Book now
Step inside 25 Weekend
The Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, Somerset House. Image credit Kevin Meredith
#FLODown: Somerset House will open its doors to the public in September, offering a unique opportunity to explore previously unseen areas of the iconic building. Guests can experience Tai Shani’s large-scale project The Spell or the Dream and the Virtual Beauty exhibition, which reflects on the impact of digital technologies on traditional ideas of beauty, while the Peanuts-inspired A Story in 4 Panels workshop invites participants to create new comic panels with the beloved characters. Emerging talent from Talent 25, Somerset House’s new artist development programme led by Yinka Ilori, will display their work, ranging from sculpture to fashion, alongside portraits by photographer Jennie Baptiste. Additionally, the Illuminated River project will light Waterloo Bridge in Somerset House blue, with a free walking tour exploring the history and art of the bridges, and the programme concludes with a CUTE-inspired disco, celebrating sounds from 1980s and 1990s pioneers.
Date: 13 - 14 September 2025. Location: Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. Price: Free. somersethouse.org.uk
David Bowie Centre
Internal render view showing the David Bowie Centre in V&A East Storehouse. Image: © IDK.
#FLODown: The David Bowie Centre opens at V&A East Storehouse on 13 September 2025, offering unprecedented access to Bowie’s archive and creative legacy. The centre features nine rotating displays showcasing unrealised projects, personal photographs, handwritten lyrics, costumes, instruments, and other archival items, alongside guest-curated selections by award-winning musician Nile Rodgers and Brit Award-winning band The Last Dinner Party. One-on-one sessions with archive items allow an in-depth exploration of over 90,000 objects documenting Bowie’s artistic process and influence across music, fashion, and culture. The centre features permanent and rotating displays, study rooms, and interactive installations, providing both a museum experience and a working archive.
Date: 13 September 2025. Location: V&A East Storehouse, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Parkes St, London E20 3AX. Price: Free. vam.ac.uk
Caroline Guiela Nguyen: LACRIMA
LACRIMA, directed by Caroline Guiela Nguyen. © Christophe Raynaud de Lage / Festival d’Avignon
#FLODown: LACRIMA, the UK premiere from acclaimed French-Vietnamese director Caroline Guiela Nguyen, reveals the intense labour, hidden pressures, and secret struggles behind the creation of a royal wedding dress, a garment that will only spend minutes in the spotlight. Spanning continents, the production is staged cinematically with split-screen projections and live video, performed in French, French Sign Language, English, and Tamil, highlighting the often-invisible workers who sustain the global fashion industry. Nguyen, founder of Les Hommes Approximatifs and Artistic Director of Théâtre National de Strasbourg, brings her internationally celebrated vision to the Barbican following premieres in Avignon, Germany, Japan, and Canada.
Date: 25–27 September 2025. Location: Barbican Theatre, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: from £16 (excludes £4 booking fee). Book now
Acosta Danza: A Decade in Motion
Acosta Danza - Llamada © Ariel Ley
#FLODown: Acosta Danza celebrates its 10th anniversary this September with A Decade in Motion at Sadler’s Wells, bringing the energy and spirit of Havana to London. Founded by Carlos Acosta, the acclaimed Cuban company showcases its range in a programme featuring two UK premieres: Javier de Frutos’ 98 Días, inspired by Federico García Lorca’s joyous stay in Cuba during the 1920s, and Goyo Montero’s Llamada, an exploration of sexuality, rage and faith. The evening also features George Céspedes’ La Ecuación, a work of sharp, rhythmic precision rooted in Cuban social dance, and De Punta a Cabo by Alexis Fernández and Yaday Ponce, a full-ensemble piece set against the backdrop of Havana’s iconic Malecón esplanade. From pointe shoes to salsa rhythms, the programme celebrates Cuban culture in all its vitality and flair.
Date: 23 – 27 September 2025. Location: Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R. Price: from £15.00 + £4.00 building maintenance fee. Book now
The Kanneh-Masons and Friends: Carnival of the Animals
The Kanneh-Masons
#FLODown: All seven Kanneh-Mason siblings come together for a special evening in aid of music education charity Music Masters. The family, aged 15 to 28, will perform a selection of chamber works including Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, Isata Kanneh-Mason’s original piece Hiraeth, and a reprise of their 2021 BBC Proms performance of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, narrated by Michael Morpurgo. Leading musicians will join them, and a pre-concert talk with the Kanneh-Masons runs from 6.15–6.45pm. All proceeds support Music Masters’ mission to bring exceptional music education to children across the UK.
Date: 12 September 2025. Time: 7.30pm. Location: Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS. Price: £15 - £60 Book now
Marie Antoinette Style
Kate Moss, Fashion. Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Julian d'Ys, The Ritz, Paris 2012. [photographs of Kate Moss at the Paris Ritz for Vogue US April 2012 issue] © Tim Walker.
#FLODown: Marie Antoinette Style at the V&A South Kensington will be the UK’s first exhibition dedicated to the iconic French queen and her influence on fashion and culture. Showcasing 250 objects, including rare loans never before seen outside France, the exhibition will feature personal items such as Marie Antoinette’s silk slippers, jewels, and her final written note, alongside lavish fragments of court dress and intimate objects from Versailles. Contemporary couture by designers like Dior, Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, and Moschino, as well as costumes from Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-winning film Marie Antoinette, will trace the queen’s legacy through centuries of design and media. Through displays, scent experiences, and theatrical staging, the exhibition will explore how Marie Antoinette’s extravagant and controversial style became a lasting symbol of opulence, femininity, and artistic inspiration.
Date: 20 September 2025 – 22 March 2026. Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL. Price: from £23 - £25.Book now
Click here to discover 30+ art exhibitions to see in London in September 2025.
Tate Modern Lates
Tate Modern exterior from the North Bank. © Tate Photography.
#FLODown: Tate Modern is extending its opening hours to stay open until 9pm every Friday and Saturday starting from 26 September 2025. This decision follows a surge in attendance from younger visitors, with 70% of the 76,000 attendees at the May 2025 anniversary weekend under the age of 35. The extended hours aim to provide greater accessibility for those with daytime commitments and to support London’s cultural nightlife. Regular Tate Lates events, featuring DJ sets, live music, creative workshops, artist talks, and short film screenings, will continue to be held at the end of each month, running from 6–10pm.
Click here to discover more about new late openings and upcoming events at Tate Modern.
Open House Festival
10 Downing Street. Image credit Jordhan Madec
#FLODown: The Open House Festival returns to London next month, celebrating the city’s architecture and communities with free access to hundreds of buildings, tours, and events across all boroughs. Visitors will have the chance to explore iconic and normally restricted sites such as 10 Downing Street, the BBC Broadcasting House, and the BT Tower. Beyond the ballot-only landmarks, the festival also opens up historic gems like Leadenhall Market, Barts Pathology Museum, and the Maughan Library at King’s College London. Community and cultural spaces, including the Museum of Homelessness and the Museum of Transology, will also be part of the programme.
Date: 13–21 September 2025. Location: Across London (all 33 boroughs). Price: Free. open-city.org.uk
Totally Thames Festival
SKYE ZONE Burial. Image: Deborah Jaffe
#FLODown: The Totally Thames Festival returns to London throughout September as a month-long celebration of the River Thames, shining a spotlight on its inspiring past, environmental future, and cultural significance. Expect art installations, live performances, community regattas, mud larking adventures, heritage trails, concerts in extraordinary venues like Crossness Pumping Station, and ecological initiatives such as river clean-ups. Click here to discover their full programme of events.
Date: 1–30 September 2025. Location: Along the River Thames across multiple London boroughs. Price: most events are free to attend, though specific activities may require advance booking or tickets. thamesfestivaltrust.org
Film100 Guinness World Records™ attempt
Old Royal Naval College. Image credit Alex
#FLODown: In a landmark celebration of a decade of UK cinematic legacy, the Old Royal Naval College (UNESCO World Heritage Site and the UK’s most filmed heritage location) and Elstree Film Studios (home to Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Shining and more) invite families, film fanatics and set-jetters to dress up for an epic Guinness World Records™ attempt for the largest gathering of people dressed as film and TV characters. From Bridgerton to Bond, Star Wars to Marvel’s Thor, attendees will have photo opportunities with iconic props including the Batmobile, access to film themed food and drinks, and be part of a historic once-in-a-century moment in UK screen culture.
Date: 27 September 2025, activities from 11am. Location: Grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, King William Walk, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NN. Price: Free, VIP: £13.50. Book now
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Eastman Vlaemsch (chez moi)
Vlaemsch (Chez Moi) © Filip Van Roe
#FLODown: Flemish-Moroccan choreographer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaouipresents the UK premiere of Vlaemsch (chez moi) at Sadler’s Wells Theatre from 18–20 September 2025. Rooted in his Flemish heritage, the work draws on the cultural richness of 15th-century Flanders and its grand masters, reimagined through contemporary dance-theatre. Cherkaoui is joined by three Flemish collaborators: visual artist Hans Op de Beeck, known for his large-scale grey-toned installations reflecting the landscapes of Flanders; lute player Floris De Rycker and his ensemble Ratas del Viejo Mundo, who fuse 17th-century polyphony with Arabic musical influences; and costume designer Jan-Jan Van Essche, whose cross-cultural approach emphasises sustainable, locally grounded production. Performed by Eastman, Cherkaoui’s Antwerp-based company, the piece moves between myth and modernity, exploring what it means to be Flemish today.
Date: 18 – 20 September 2025. Location: Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R. Price: £15 + BF. Book now
In Conversation at Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens. Image credit Viola Favaretto
#FLODown: In Conversation at Kew Gardens is a brand-new series of outdoor events running 4–7 September 2025. Visitors can enjoy live talks with popular TV, radio, and podcast personalities including Richard Osman, Alexander Armstrong, Professor Mary Beard, Tom Holland, Adam Frost, Frances Tophill, Anita Rani, Matt Baker and John Craven. The programme mixes lively discussions, quizzes, and cultural insights with picnicking, street food, live music and full-day access to explore Kew Gardens’ 320-acre UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Date: 4–7 September 2025. Location: Royal Botanic Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, London, TW9 3AE. Price: from £47 Ticket includes full-day entry to Kew Gardens. Book now
Kerry James Marshall: The Histories
Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Porch Deck), 2014, Acrylic on PVC panel. 180.3 x 149.9 cm. Kravis Collection. © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London
#FLODown: In celebration of his 70th birthday, The Histories by Kerry James Marshall presents the largest European survey of the acclaimed American artist at the Royal Academy of Arts. The exhibition features over 70 works, including paintings, prints, drawings, and sculptures, spanning Marshall’s career from the 1980s to the present. His large-scale paintings depict the Middle Passage, the legacies of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, and everyday life in Black communities, highlighting daily experiences while placing Black figures at the centre of art history. The show also includes imagined portraits of historical Black figures, monumental contemporary scenes, and a new series created especially for the exhibition, reflecting Marshall’s engagement with art history, contemporary culture, Afrofuturism, and science fiction.
Date: 20 September 2025- 18 January 2026. Location: The Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. Price: £23.50-£25.50. (including donation). Book now
Peckham Festival 2025
Peckham Festival © Yaneva Santana
#FLODown: Peckham Festival returns this September for its ninth edition, celebrating the creativity and community spirit of Peckham. From 19–21 September 2025, Copeland Park and other local venues will host a programme of free events, including art exhibitions, live music, interactive workshops, family-friendly activities, and food markets. Known for its strong local ethos, the festival provides a platform for artists, makers, creators, and community groups, showcasing both established and emerging talent. As a not-for-profit event, Peckham Festival highlights the area’s rich cultural tapestry and its commitment to inclusive artistic expression. Head to their Instagram to keep up to date with events for this year.
Date: 19–21 September 2025. Location: Copeland Park & Peckham Venues, 133 Copeland Road, London SE15 3SN. Price: Free.
Théâtre Picasso
Pablo Picasso, The Three Dancers 1925. Tate. © Succession Picasso / DACS 2024
#FLODown: Marking 100 years since Picasso’s The Three Dancers (1925), Theatre Picasso at Tate Modern explores the theatrical spirit that infused the artist’s work throughout his life. Featuring around 50 pieces, including paintings, sculptures, collages, and textiles, the exhibition highlights how Picasso crafted his public persona and found inspiration in performers, outsiders and popular entertainment. Curated in collaboration with contemporary artist Wu Tsang and writer Enrique Fuenteblanca, the show stages Picasso’s art as performance, with live responses from choreographers and dancers. Anchored by iconic works from Tate’s collection and major loans from French institutions, Théâtre Picasso presents a dynamic, critical and celebratory portrait of one of modern art’s most mythologised figures.
Date: 18 September 2025 – 12 April 2026. Location: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG. Price: from £14. Concessions available. Book now
The 2025 Rick Mather Lecture: Barrault Pressacco: Architecture on Stage
Image credit Barrault Pressacco
#FLODown: French architectural firm Barrault Pressacco presents this year’s Rick Mather Lecture, celebrating architects making key contributions to sustainable design. Known for their innovative approach, the firm’s research project Wallness rethinks building construction in response to insulation demands, while their RIVP apartments in Paris demonstrate how traditional stone construction can meet contemporary housing needs. The lecture is part of the Architecture on Stage series, presented by The Architecture Foundation in association with the Barbican and The Architectural Review.
Date: 3 September 2025. Time: 7pm. Location: Frobisher Auditorium 1, Silk St, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DS. Price: from £15 + BF. Book now
Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (GDIF)
The Weight of Water presented by Panama Pictures will take place at Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (GDIF) from 5-6 September 2025
#FLODown: In the final week of GDIF, Talawa Theatre Company presents Fragments of Us, a dance-theatre piece celebrating brotherhood and community. Go Grandad, Go! is a playful outdoor performance for all ages, and The Weight of Water explores human connections and environmental themes along the Thames. These shows offer a mix of theatre, movement, and storytelling across Woolwich and Thamesmead.
Dates: 1–6 September 2025. Location: Various outdoor venues across Greenwich, Newham, and the City of London festival.org
Last Night of the Proms 2025
Royal Albert Hall. Image credit Samuel Regan-Asante.
#FLODown: The BBC Proms, the world’s largest classical music festival, concludes with the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on 13 September 2025. Conducted by Elim Chan and featuring soloists like Alison Balsom and Louise Alder, the evening includes symphonic classics, festive favourites such as Rule, Britannia!, and new works by Camille Pépin and Rachel Portman. Tickets are in high demand, and the concert is also broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Two, bringing the celebration to audiences across the UK and beyond.
Date: 13 September 2025. Location: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP. royalalberthall.com
ALIVE : LDN
The “Coachella of social wellness”, the ALIVE : LDN festival from Daybreaker, will be taking place in London on 7 September 2025
#FLODown: ALIVE: LDN is London’s first large-scale alcohol-free festival, taking place at Hackney Bridge on 7 September 2025. Hosted by global wellness brand Daybreaker in partnership with BRITA, the event combines music, movement, and mindfulness for a full-day wellness experience. Attendees can enjoy morning yoga, a 5k run, breathwork classes, saunas, cold plunges, and non-alcoholic cocktails. The festival’s music line-up features Groove Armada, Sam Divine, FACESOUL, Kiran Gandhi, Sarah Story, and Madam X. Designed as a space for radical joy, intentional connection, and authentic self-expression, ALIVE : LDN offers a family-friendly environment where guests can immerse themselves in wellness activities while celebrating music and community.
Date: 7 September 2025. Location: Hackney Bridge, Units 1-28, Echo Building, E Bay Ln, London E15 2SJ. Price: from £29. Book now
