What’s on in London this week: 7 - 13 September 2026
Discover our pick of events in London this week: 7 - 13 September 2026.
London Design Festival
The 24th edition of London Design Festival returns this week, running from 12–20 September. Exhibitions, installations, talks and events will take place across 11 design districts and at venues including the V&A and Barbican, exploring how AI and digital design are shaping the future of creativity alongside traditional craft and making.
Click here to read our guide to the exhibitions, installations, talks and events to see across the festival.
Date: 12–20 September 2026. Location: Across London.
London Design Festival 2026, Courtesy Pentagram & London Design Festival.
Last week of the BBC Proms
This week marks the final week of the BBC Proms 2026, with performances at the Royal Albert Hall from the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Jules Buckley Orchestra and Mahler Academy Orchestra. The season culminates on Saturday 12 September with the Last Night of the Proms, featuring pianist Yuja Wang, tenor Nicky Spence, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Singers, conducted by Sakari Oramo. Expect a spectacular finale of much-loved classics, flag-waving and traditional Proms favourites including Rule, Britannia!, Jerusalem and Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance.
Click here for the full progamme.
Golden Boy
Opening at the Almeida Theatre, Golden Boy is Clifford Odets’ powerful drama about ambition, identity and the price of success. Directed by Olivier Award winner Sam Yates and starring Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor, the play follows gifted young violinist Joe Bonaparte, who turns to professional boxing in Depression-era New York in pursuit of fame and fortune. Torn between his passion for music, family expectations and the seductive promise of success, Joe must decide how much he is willing to sacrifice to achieve his dreams. The production features a live string quartet and promises a gripping revival of an American classic.
Date: Tuesday 8 September – Saturday 31 October 2026. Location: Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, London N1 1TA. almeida.co.uk
Rehearsal Image, Golden Boy, Almeida Theatre, Image credit Marc Brenner.
Waterworks Extended 2026
Following the cancellation of Waterworks at Gunnersbury Park, Waterworks Extended takes over The Cause this weekend for a one-off 36-hour marathon of electronic music. The event will feature seven spaces hosting DJs and live performances throughout the weekend, with Daniel Avery, Midland, Eris Drew, Sofia Kourtesis, Octo Octa, Leon Vynehall and Alex Kassian playing on Saturday, followed by Anz, DJ Storm, DjRUM, Novelist, Tim Reaper, Tash LC and Special Request & Sully on Sunday.
Date: 12–13 September 2026. Location: The Cause, 60 Dock Road, London E16 1YZ. Price: From £17.30. Book now.
Image courtesy of Waterworks
Creative Intelligence
Creative Intelligence takes over the Southbank Centre this weekend, exploring how AI and digital innovation are shaping the future of creativity. Across three days, the programme features free art, performances, live demonstrations, workshops, music and talks, with events including Holly Herndon’s Listening Session, Julianknxx & THABO’s Bantutronic – Finding 15 Live, live-coded electronic music at Algorave, discussions on AI and authorship with Jack Thorne, as well as the all-important Creative Intelligence Summit.
Click here for the full programme of events.
Date: 11–13 September 2026. Location: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. southbankcentre.co.uk
Clive Myrie with Clare Clark; photograph Roger Green. Chiswick Book Festival. Image courtesy of Chiswick Book Festival
Chiswick Book Festival
Chiswick Book Festival returns this week with a packed line-up of authors, broadcasters and public figures. Highlights include 60 years since The Beatles filmed at Chiswick House, a discussion marking Queen Elizabeth II’s centenary, and appearances from Nick Clegg, Jacqueline Wilson, Ben Macintyre and more. The festival will also screen Quartermaine’s Terms at Chiswick Cinema.
Date: 9–14 September 2026. Location: Various venues across Chiswick, including Chiswick Cinema, Chiswick Library and Hogarth’s House. Price: From £4; individual events vary. Book now.
Click here to discover more book festivals in London this autumn 2026.
Our Eyes Looking for God
A groundbreaking opera exploring Black British experiences will open at the Barbican’s The Pit this week. Our Eyes Looking for God tells an urgent story of identity, state violence, love and joy, combining music, drama, movement and storytelling. Written and directed by TD Moyo during the 2020 global racial reckoning, the production features music by award-winning composer Renell Shaw and performances from British-Nigerian soprano April Koyejo-Audiger.
Date: 9–13 September 2026. Location: The Pit, Barbican, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS. Price: From £25. Book now.
Our Eyes Looking for God to open at The Pit, Barbican Centre. 9-13 September 2026.
2-Step Verification: A Night of UK Garage & 2-Step
2-Step Verification lands at Colour Factory this Friday for a late-night celebration of UK garage, 2-step and house. SP:MC takes the decks for a special garage set alongsidey Mike ‘Ruffcut’ Lloyd, with Bubski B2B Steps and Ruggz also on the line-up. Expect a night of classic and forward-thinking sounds from some of the scene’s established names and rising talent.
Date: Friday 11 September, 10pm–4am. Location: Colour Factory, Hackney WicK. Price: from £5.50.Book now.
Mere Mortals: Pandora’s Box Reimagined
San Francisco Ballet’s Mere Mortals opens at Sadler’s Wells this week, reimagining the myth of Pandora through the lens of artificial intelligence, technology and human progress. Choreographed by Aszure Barton, the production brings together contemporary ballet, electronic music and live orchestral performance, with visuals by Hamill Industries. Originally commissioned by Tamara Rojo, the production explores the promises and perils of AI, and what it means to venture into the unknown.
Date: 9–12 September 2026. Location: Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4TN. Price: From £45. Book now.
Yushy. Image courtesy of the Barbican Centre.
Anyone Can Dance w/ DAYTIMERS
DAY-TIMERS takes over the Barbican’s ClubStage this Saturday for a late-night celebration of South Asian sounds, culture and community. The line-up features Shivani, Zaleel & Bollyillusion, BODUR, Chloe Robinson and True Tiger, alongside live performances from Chower, Nine Levels and Lost Souljah. Inspired by the daytime parties that gave young British Asians a space in underground culture, DAYTIMERS continues to champion South Asian artistry and talent.
Date: 12 September, 11pm–3am. Location: ClubStage, Barbican, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS. Price: £18.50. Book now.
Cinema
Sherman’s March
Sherman's March, dir. Ross McElwee, USA 1985, English, 158 min.
Ross McElwee’s acclaimed documentary Sherman’s March screens at the ICA this week from Tuesday to Thursday. Originally intended as a film about General Sherman’s 1864 March to the Sea, McElwee’s project takes an unexpected turn following a recent breakup, as he travels through the American South meeting a succession of women and reflecting on relationships, loneliness and the search for connection. The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at Sundance in 1987.
Date: Tuesday 8–Thursday 10 September 2026Location: ICA Cinema, London, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH. Price: from £13. Concessions available. Book now.
Arts & Culture
Opening this week
Fourth Plinth: Lady in Blue
Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue will be unveiled on London’s Fourth Plinth, marking the 16th commission for the iconic Trafalgar Square site. The bronze sculpture depicts a contemporary ‘everywoman’ in a vibrant blue dress, with lapis lazuli-inspired details referencing the pigment’s long history. Created to represent the energy and diversity of modern London, the work will remain on the plinth until summer 2028. The Fourth Plinth is one of the world’s most prominent public art programmes, bringing contemporary sculpture to millions of visitors for free.
Date: 10 September 2026 – Summer 2028. Location: Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square, London. Price: Free
Tschabalala Self, Maquette of Lady in Blue, 2024. Photo GLA, James O Jenkins.
The Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry returns to England for the first time in nearly 1,000 years, going on display at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027. The 70-metre-long embroidery depicts the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of 1066, offering a fascinating glimpse into medieval life, warfare and culture. Tickets for September–December 2026 have already sold out, with further releases planned for 2027.
Date: 10 September 2026 – 11 July 2027. Location: Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, Room 30, British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Price: From £25; standard tickets £33. Under-16s free with a paying adult. 2027 tickets will be released in stages from October 2026. britishmuseum.org
Liz Larner, Asteroid (Ida), 2021 © Liz Larner
Liz Larner: A Hard Line to Bend
American sculptor Liz Larner makes her UK exhibition debut at Camden Art Centre, bringing together works exploring ecology, materials and form. Working with clay, metal, wood and discarded plastic, Larner draws on mythology and cosmology to consider resource extraction and our relationship with the natural world. The exhibition includes new and recent sculptures, including works inspired by female mythological figures.
Date: 11 September 2026 – 17 January 2027. Location: Camden Art Centre, Arkwright Road, London NW3 6DG. Price: Free. camdenartcentre.org.
Last chance
Helen Marten: This Weather
This week is the final chance to see Helen Marten’s This Weather at Sadie Coles HQ, before the exhibition closes on 12 September 2026. Originally conceived as part of Marten’s opera 30 Blizzards., the film is presented in five chapters exploring childhood, community, sexuality, interiority and loss through a series of poetic monologues. Combining animation by Adam Sinclair with sound and composition by Beatrice Dillon, Marten creates a fragmented world where human experience, nature, materiality and emotion intersect. The work reflects her distinctive multidisciplinary practice, inviting viewers to consider identity, desire, care and connection through an imaginative and constantly shifting visual and sonic landscape.
Date: 27 May – 12 September 2026. Location: Sadie Coles HQ, 17 Savile Row, W1S. Price: Free. sadiecoles.com
© Helen Marten. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London. Photo: Katie Morrison
Art News
London Sculpture Week returns to the capital this September
London Sculpture Week will return for its fifth edition, bringing together major public art programmes across the city including The Fourth Plinth, Frieze Sculpture, East Bank, Sculpture in the City and The Line. Highlights will include the unveiling of Tschabalala Self's Lady in Blue on the Fourth Plinth, Frieze Sculpture's hybridity-themed display in Regent's Park curated by Fatoş Üstek, an East Bank walking tour of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park's public sculpture, a food-and-art pairing event with Sculpture in the City, and free walks and screenings along The Line. The week will close with a symposium at The Warburg Institute examining the changing role of public monuments today.
Date: 19–27 September 2026. Location: Citywide, London.
Click here to discover more about London Sculpture Week
The Line. Antony Gormley, Quantum Cloud 2000. Image credit Emily Lovell
#FLOFavourites: Pick of the Week
Free event of the week
V&A East Museum's Thursday Lates
V&A East b2b, 2026 © Photograph by Ella Mitchel.
V&A East Museum's Thursday Lates continue this week, with the museum open until 10pm. BBC Radio 6 Music host Zakia will be playing on the Upper Ground on 10 September. Also on, Café Jikoni's pop-up bar serving cocktails, beer, non-alcoholic drinks and snacks, and the terrace with views across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It's also an opportunity to see the museum's current exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story, which traces 125 years of Black music-making in Britain through figures including Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Joan Armatrading, Craig David, JME, Massive Attack, Stormzy and Tems, exploring the musicians, movements and sounds that have shaped British culture.
Date: Thursday 10 September 2026. Location: V&A East Museum, East Bank, 107 Carpenters Rd, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London E20 2AR. Price: Free. Discover more.
Food of the week
Bon Bao
Bon Bao, Soho London. Image credit IDattenberg-Doyle
Bon Bao, a new grab-and-go bao counter, has opened on Tisbury Court in the heart of Soho, officially launching Friday 18th September. Founded by Nelson Yang and inspired by his childhood in China, the spot serves two classic bao styles, pan-fried Sheng Jian Bao (crispy-bottomed, soft-topped) and steamed Zheng Bao, all handmade fresh daily. The menu includes hearty options like the OG Pork and slow-cooked Beefed Over among the pan-fried picks, and Cheeky Chicken, Beefed Up, and the molten salted-egg Golden Hour among the steamed range, with a veggie option too, the Pickle Party, a spicy vegetarian bun made with tofu, pickled mustard root, spring onion and chili.
To mark the opening, Bon Bao will be giving away 1,000 tote bags with discount coupons on the streets of Soho on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September.
Location: 4 Tisbury Court, Soho, London W1D 6BG. Website:bonbao.co.uk. Instagram:@bonbao.uk
Interview of the week
In conversation with Anna Maja Spiess
Anna Maja Spiess. Image credit Lilika Strezoska. Courtesy of ROOM 13.
Anna Maja Spiess brings two decades of art-world experience, from blue-chip galleries to cultural partnerships, into three pursuits, strategic advisory UponRequest.art, member club ROOM13.art, and her own artistic practice. Founded in Miami in 2024 on a belief in genuine community, ROOM13 has since connected artists, collectors and curators across cities including London, Paris, Berlin and New York. Read the full interview to hear her take on connection, kindness and the art world's unwritten rules.
Click here to read the full interview.
Cause of the week
KEEN London
KEEN London
KEEN London is a small but growing charity dedicated to a simple belief: no child should miss out on sports, games, and fun because of a disability. It's the only charity in London offering free, one-to-one supported activity sessions for children with additional needs, from autism and cerebral palsy to non-visible disabilities and global development delay, supporting over 100 "athletes" alongside adventure weekends, trips like ice-skating and canoeing, and a Coach Apprenticeship Programme for young people ready to give back. Volunteers are the true heart of the organisation, as "KEEN Coaches" deliver 1:1 support during sessions, while others contribute behind the scenes with tasks like flyer design, all while building skills in leadership, communication, empathy, and teamwork.
Click here to discover more about volunteering.
Set of 4