5 festive things to do in London this weekend (20-22 December 2019)

16 Dec 2019 | Updated on: 19 Jan 2023 |By Natasha Afxentiou

Warm up your vocal chords: Christmas carol concerts abound in London this weekend, plus a bottomless champagne afternoon tea and an immersive light display in Notting Hill

Bottomless Champagne Festive Afternoon Tea at The Cavendish, St James’s (all weekend)

The Cavendish in St James’s has launched a bottomless Champagne afternoon tea for the Christmas season. Free-flowing champagne is served alongside an array of festive-themed finger sandwiches, scones and pastries, in the surrounds of the beautifully decked out Petrichor restaurant.

Date: Until 5 January 2020 Time: Served daily from 1pm to 6pm Price: From £42.50 per person Location: The Cavendish London, 81 Jermyn Street, St James’s, London, SW1 Y6JF Closest Station: Green Park

Website: thecavendish-london.co.uk

Carols at The Royal Albert Hall (from Saturday)

Enjoy Christmas carols within a quintessentially British setting this weekend at The Royal Albert Hall. Performed by the National Youth Choir of Britain and the Royal Choral Society, with music from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, this splendidly festive evening is one of the capital’s finest and most renowned carol concerts, which this year includes solo performances by Tommy Blaize and Joe Stilgoe.

Carols at The Royal Albert Hall © Andy Paradise

Date: Saturday 21 December – Tuesday 24 December 2019 Time: 11am, 2.30pm, 4pm, 7pm Price: Tickets from £20 Location: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP Closest Station: South Kensington

Website: royalalberthall.com

The Snowman with Mozart Symphony Orchestra at Cadogan Hall (Saturday)

Sit back and enjoy timeless classic The Snowman on the big screen at Cadogan Hall this weekend, accompanied by a live performance from the Mozart Symphony Orchestra. We challenge you not to get watery-eyed when 11-year-old soprano Alice Mackenzie sings Walking in the Air.

© Snowman Enterprises Limited

Date: Saturday 21 December 2019 Time: 1.30pm and 4.30pm Price: £15-32 Location: Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, London, SW1X 9DQ Closest Station: Sloane Square

Website: cadoganhall.com

Carols by Candlelight at Barbican Hall (Saturday)

For a carol concert with a difference, head to the Barbican this weekend. Performed by Mozart Festival Chorus with conductor Steven Devine at the helm, Christmas classics are sung by candlelight in full staged in full 18th-century costume for a dramatically atmospheric evening.

Date: Saturday 21 December 2019 Time: 8pm Price: From £16.50, Members offers also available Location: Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS Closest Station: Barbican

Website: barbican.org.uk

Luce Art Display at Daniel Benjamin Gallery, Notting Hill

A new sensory exhibition at the Daniel Benjamin Gallery in Notting Hill explores the relationship between architecture and light, featuring works by emerging female artists Liz West and Jemma Appleby. A resplendent light installation by West will beam through the gallery’s windows, lighting up the surrounding streets for an immersive and mesmerising experience. Downstairs, Appleby explores human conceptions of space through her trademark charcoal drawings, which toy with the idea of architecture acting as an accessory to light.

Liz West, Our Spectral Vision, 2016 © Hannah Devereux

Date: 19 December 2019 to 15 February 2020 Time: 10am-6pm Location: Daniel Benjamin Gallery, 120 Kensington Park Road, London W11 2PW Closest Station: Notting Hill Gate

Website: db-gallery.com

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