Things to do in London in June in 2025
June in London ushers in the golden month of summer, as the city prepares for a mix of festivals, exhibitions, and public celebrations. From world-renowned art showcases to design summits and community-led cultural events. Highlights include the return of the Serpentine Pavilion, London Gallery Weekend, Meltdown Festival at Southbank Centre, and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The month also features standout events such as the London Festival of Architecture and the London Design Biennale. Whether you’re into architecture, contemporary art, outdoor performances, or exploring hidden gardens, June is one of the best times to experience London at its liveliest. Here’s our guide to ensure you don’t miss a thing.
Meltdown Festival 2025
Little Simz. Image Credit. © Thibaut Grevet.
#FLODown: Curated by the Mercury Prize-winning rapper Little Simz, this year’s Meltdown Festival will celebrate boundary-pushing music and creative expression. Expect a hand-picked lineup spanning soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative, and jazz, including live concerts, DJ sets, and multidisciplinary performances across Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Riverside outdoor stages.
Date: 12–22 June 2025. Location: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. Price: varies by event; many from £15 – £45, with free events outdoors.Location: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. Book now
Click here to discover more festivals happening in London in June, including LIDO Festival, Hampton Court Palace Festival, and BST Hyde Park.
London Design Biennale 2025
Hong Kong, 'Human-Centred. Design: Visuospace' © H.S. Choi.
#FLODown: With over 50 countries, cities, and territories exhibiting, the 2025 edition of the London Design Biennale takes on the theme “Surface Reflections”. This cross-cultural event is a must-see for anyone interested in design thinking, innovation, and future-focused creativity. Explore striking installations, thought-provoking design interventions, and global responses to sustainability, technology, and equity in design. Somerset House’s historic courtyard and galleries will be transformed into immersive, interactive spaces—featuring everything from the role of AI in shaping our public environments to the use of indigenous materials and ecological storytelling.
Date: 5–29 June 2025. Location:Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. Price: from £22. Concessions available. Book now
Royal Academy of Arts: Summer Exhibition 2025
Installation view of the Summer Exhibition 2024. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
#FLODown: A London tradition since 1769, the RA Summer Exhibition remains the largest open submission art exhibition in the world. Thousands of pieces—from painting and sculpture to photography and architecture—are selected by a committee of artists and presented across the RA’s historic galleries. It offers a democratic showcase where amateurs and renowned professionals alike exhibit side by side. Proceeds from sales go to support the RA Schools, the UK’s oldest art school. Expect bold themes, surprises in medium and presentation, and a vivid reflection of current artistic dialogue.
Dates: 17 June – 17 August 2025. Location: Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. Price: From £23.50. Concessions available. Book now
Click here to discover more art exhibitions opening in London in June 2025.
London Festival of Architecture 2025
The Colour Palace, created by Pricegore architects and designer Yinka Ilori, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London Festival of Architecture 2019.
#FLODown: The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) 2025, returning in June, embraces the theme “Voices,” spotlighting the diverse perspectives that shape our built environment. With over 450 events across the city—including exhibitions, walking tours, installations, and workshops—this year’s programme amplifies underrepresented voices, fosters community-led initiatives, and encourages public participation in reimagining the city.
Click here for our guide to what to do and see at the London Festival of Architecture 2025.
Date: 1 - 30 June 2025. londonfestivalofarchitecture.org
London Open Gardens 2025
London Open Gardens. Image credit MTotoe.
#FLODown: For one special weekend, London Open Gardens unlocks hidden green sanctuaries usually closed to the public. Discover rooftop gardens, historical squares, private estates, and contemporary ecological havens. Expect guided walks, plant sales, talks by horticulturists, and live music. It’s a unique peek into the capital’s green heart.
Date: 7–8 June 2025. Location: Over 100 private and rarely seen gardens across London. Price: £24 (weekend pass) + £2.40 booking fee. londongardenstrust.org
Serpentine Pavilion 2025: Marina Tabassum: A Capsule in Time
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). Design render, exterior view. Photo © Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) Courtesy: Serpentine.
#FLODown: This year’s Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, is a meditative structure exploring temporality, cultural memory, and the climate crisis. Created from modular elements and sustainable materials, A Capsule in Time is both a gathering space and a poetic form. Visitors can attend architecture talks, performances, and workshops throughout the summer, with the pavilion serving as a platform for global dialogue.
Date: 6 June – 26 October 2025. Location: Kensington Gardens, London, W2 3XA. Price: Free. serpentinegalleries.org
London Gallery Weekend 2025
Anna Higgins, Sunset (Afterimage), 2024 and Light (Afterimage), 2024. © Anna Higgins Courtesy of the artist and IONE & MANN
#FLODown: Now in its fifth year, London Gallery Weekend (LGW) is a city-wide celebration of contemporary art and one of the most accessible art events in Europe. Over 125 galleries participate across three major zones—Central, South, and East London—each with its own day of spotlighted programming. The weekend offers open exhibitions, guided Curated Routes, and over 60 free public events including artist talks, performances, and workshops.
Date: 6 – 8 June 2025. Location: Across 125 participating galleries in Central, South, and East London. Price: Free entry to all exhibitions and events. londongalleryweekend.co.uk
Camberwell Arts Festival 2025
Camberwell Arts Festival returns on 14 June 2025.
#FLODown: Studios, cafés, parks, and galleries in Camberwell open their doors this June for a community-rooted celebration of creativity. The 2025 theme for Camberwell’s Arts Festival, “Free For All,” celebrates accessibility in the arts with an inclusive programme: artist-led walks, live performances, installations in shop windows, and a bustling opening weekend market. With a focus on local voices and intersectional stories, it’s a great expression of the SE5 creative identity.
Date: 14 - 22 June 2025. camberwell-arts-festival.squarespace.com
Connecting Thin Black Lines: 1985–2025
Lubaina Himid, The Thin Black Line, 2022. Digital pigment print on Hahnemühle photo rag paper 308gsm with silkscreen glaze,64 x 45cm, Edition of 75. Photo: Todd-White Art Photography. Courtesy of Institute of Contemporary Arts.
#FLODown: Marking the 40th anniversary of the landmark 1985 exhibition The Thin Black Line, this show curated by Turner Prize-winner Lubaina Himid brings together eleven pioneering Black and Asian women artists. The exhibition not only reunites works by artists such as Sonia Boyce, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Claudette Johnson, and Veronica Ryan, but also expands into new commissions, rare archival material, and a vibrant programme of film, performance, and panel discussions. It critically revisits a pivotal cultural moment while mapping the continuing evolution of political and artistic voices in British art. Installations include Burman’s signature neon works and Marlene Smith’s photo-based sculpture, alongside newly unearthed documents from the original 1985 ICA show. This is a powerful reclamation of space in one of London’s most important contemporary art institutions.
Date: 24 June – 7 September 2025. Location: Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), The Mall, London SW1Y. Price: £7.50; free for members; Pay What You Can daily between 12–1pm. Book now
London Road
London Road returns to the National Theatre from 6 June 2025.
#FLODown: The National Theatre brings back London Road, a trailblazing piece of documentary theatre originally staged in 2011. Created by Alecky Blythe (book and lyrics) and Adam Cork (music), the musical uses verbatim interviews with residents of London Road in Ipswich, recorded in the aftermath of the 2006 serial murders. The score replicates the rhythms and speech patterns of real people, offering a haunting yet unexpectedly uplifting exploration of how an ordinary community responds to extraordinary trauma. The revival revisits a still-controversial moment in British social history, and remains startlingly relevant in today’s media-saturated landscape.
Date: 6 — 21 June 2025. Location: Olivier Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX. Price: from £25 - £99. Book now
Botis Seva / Far From The Norm: Until We Sleep
Until We Sleep © Camilla Greenwell
#FLODown: Until We Sleep is a new Hip Hop dance theatre production by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Botis Seva, running at Sadler’s Wells East from 24–28 June 2025. Performed by Seva’s company, Far From The Norm, the piece is a powerful exploration of the tension between hope and responsibility, set in a dystopian world where a nomad leads a restless community through shifting realms of time. Combining Seva’s signature physical choreography with a haunting soundscape by Torben Lars Sylvest, warrior-like costumes by Ryan Dawson Laight, and stark lighting by Tom Visser, the production presents a struggle for faith, identity and survival. Visceral and poetic, it calls on the human spirit to stay awake in a world that urges it to sleep. After premiering at the schrit_tmacher Festival in 2024, Until We Sleep has toured internationally and will continue to the Colours Dance Festival in Stuttgart following its London performances.
Date: 24 – 28 June 2025. Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes (no interval). Location: Sadler's Wells East, 101 Carpenters Rd, Stratford Cross, London E20 2AR. Price: from £15.00 + £4.00 building maintenance fee. Book now
Eel Pie Island Open Studios
Eel Pie Island.
#FLODown: A true London hidden gem, Eel Pie Island was once famed for its 1960s jazz and blues scene but today is home to a close-knit group of artists and craftspeople. Twice a year, the island opens its gates to the public for a rare glimpse into this bohemian riverside enclave. The Open Studios weekend features over 25 artists exhibiting sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography, jewellery, and ceramics. Expect to encounter eccentric studios, unusual creative processes, and perhaps a pint or ice cream by the water.
Date: 15–16 June 2025. Location: Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, London TW1 (access via footbridge from The Embankment). Price: Free. eelpieislandartists.co.uk
Wandsworth Arts Fringe
A Midsummer Night's Rave at WAF2024 - Photo by Rebecca Cresta
#FLODown: The Wandsworth Arts Fringe (WAF) returns with two weeks of performances and participatory art in unexpected places—from churches and parks to pub cellars and shop fronts. Known for championing grassroots creativity, WAF features work by emerging artists alongside community groups and established companies. The 2025 edition includes immersive theatre, street art, contemporary dance, poetry slams, drag cabaret, and family-friendly happenings. WAF has a proudly inclusive ethos and is a brilliant way to discover hyperlocal culture in one of London’s most diverse boroughs.
Date: 6–22 June 2025. Location: Various venues and public spaces across Wandsworth, London SW18. Price: Varies by event – many are free or pay-what-you-can. eelpieislandartists.co.uk
London Rooftops and Terraces
Image credit Yasmin Soho.
#FLODown: June in London means one thing: rooftop season is officially open. As the city warms up, the skyline becomes the backdrop for cocktails, sunsets, and long, easy evenings. From Frank’s Cafe Peckham with its unbeatable views and relaxed vibe, to the sultry, Middle Eastern-inspired Yasmin in Soho. The Culpeper in Aldgate brings a touch of green to the city with its rooftop garden, where herbs go straight from planter to glass. On the South Bank, Sea Containers Restaurant is teaming up with ST~GERMAIN to add a splash of the French Riviera to its riverside terrace. And for something more refined, Kioku by Endo at OWO Raffles and Sachi London offers sushi, cocktails, and starlit atmosphere. Add live DJs, pop-ups and the occasional heatwave, and you’ve got every reason to take things upstairs this summer.
Date: Open throughout June and summer 2025. Location: Various across London including Peckham, Soho, Aldgate, South Bank, Mayfair, and Marylebone. Price: Varies by venue; no entry fee but drinks and food prices apply.
Click here for our guide to rooftops to visit in London 2025.
