London Festival of Architecture, throughout London
Marvel at the capital’s best buildings this June, as the world’s biggest architectural festival returns to London. The theme this year is boundaries; an idea which will be explored through more than 400 events including workshops, tours, talks and debates, as well as installations and exhibitions. This year’s programme will predominantly take place in and around four main festival hubs: the City of London, London Bridge, the Royal Docks and the Heart of London which covers St James’s, Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. There will be Studio Lates every Friday throughout June, where architects’ practices will be open to the public.
READ MORE: INSIDE LONDON FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE
Date: 1-30 June Website: londonfestivalofarchitecture.org
Frank Bowling Retrospective at Tate Britain, Westminster
The first major retrospective of Frank Bowling is on display at Tate Britain, bringing together a lifetime of large-scale artworks. Bowling moved to London from Guyana at the age of 15 and is renowned for his intensely colourful and expressive works. The exhibition includes Bowling’s beguiling series of Map Paintings, as well as rare pieces from private collections. Alongside the exhibition, the gallery will host a celebratory programme of film screenings, talks, tours and dinners.
Great Thames IV 1988-9
Date: 31 May-26 August Time: 10am-6pm Price: £13 (under 12s free) Location: Tate Britain, Millbank SW1P 4RG Closest Station: Pimlico
Website: tate.org.uk
Education, Education, Education, Trafalgar Studios
Calling all kids of the nineties. The Wardrobe Ensemble’s latest production is a paean to the decade, set in a classroom ahead of a pre-GCSE ‘muck-up day’. References span Tamagotchis, Teletubbies and the Macarena, supported by a nostalgic soundtrack of Spice Girls, Oasis, Katrina and the Waves and Take That. This upbeat play explores the politics and language barriers, as well as passing fads and timely topics that are as relevant now as they were 20 years ago.
Date: 31 May-29 June Time: 2.30pm and 7.30pm Price: From £25 Location: Trafalgar Studios 1, 14 Whitehall, SW1A 2DY Closest Station: Charring Cross
Website: trafalgarentertainment.com
Opera Holland Park, Holland Park
Opera Holland Park – an independent charity – presents another summer of staged productions, within a canopied auditorium in the picturesque Holland Park House. Puccini’s Manon Lescaut leads this year’s dynamic programme, which includes five new productions. There are food and drink pop-ups on site, alongside hospitality options and plenty summertime cheer.
Date: 4 June-3 August Time: Varies Price: Varies Location: Opera Holland Park Theatre, Ilchester Pl, Kensington, W8 6LU Closest Station: Holland Park
Website: operahollandpark.com
Secret Cinema, Secret Location
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will take place this summer, as Secret Cinema returns with James Bond. The Casino-Royale based experience, which is the biggest spectacle that Secret Cinema has executed to date, promises to blur the lines between fiction and reality as guests become secret agents in their very own mission. Prior to the event, guests will receive an alias, dress code and training suggestions to help prepare for a night of high stakes, sophistication and deception.
Date: 5 June-22 September Time: 6pm-11pm (Wednesdays-Saturdays), 4pm-9pm (Sundays) Price: From £49 Location: Secret Location
Website: secretcinema.org
Cinderella at the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
Glass slippers, carriage rides, and happily ever after – the story of Cinderella comes to the Royal Albert Hall this June. Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s adaptation of the classic fairytale will be performed by the English National Ballet at the prestigious venue. Set to a sublime score by Sergei Prokofiev, more than 90 dancers will tell the story of the kind-hearted, badly-treated girl, a Fairy Godmother and the handsome prince.
Date: 6-16 June Time: 2pm,2.30pm,7.30pm Price: From £15 Location: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, South Kensington, SW7 2AP Closest Station: South Kensington
Website: royalalberthall.com
Hampton Court Palace Festival, Kingston
Jools Holland, Nile Rogers and Kylie Minogue are among stars playing this year’s Hampton Court Palace Festival, which returns this June. Live acts will play in the historic grounds of the palace, against the dramatic backdrop of Henry VIII’s Tudor courtyard. Guests can pre-order a Fortnum & Mason picnic or tuck into one of the many street food options, and quench their thirst at the PIAFF Champagne tent.
Date: 7-19 June Time: From 8pm Price: From £45 Location: Hampton Court Palace, Molesey, East Molesey KT8 9AU Closest Station: Kingston
Website: hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com
RA Summer Exhibition, Mayfair
This year’s Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition features leading artists and Royal Academicians as well as new and emerging talent. British painter Jock McFadyen is co-ordinating this year’s show, and will curate a selection of works shown in the main gallery, where paintings such as Polly Morgan, Charles Avery and Mat Collishaw will go on display. Artworks by Tracey Emin, Yinka Shonibare and David Nash will also be among the 1,200 pieces exhibited, which have been selected from 16,000 entries. The Summer Exhibition is the world’s oldest open submission exhibition – which means that anyone can enter work to be considered for inclusion.
Image by Chris Orr
Date: 10 June-12 August Time: 10am-6pm/10pm on Fridays Price: £16 Location: Burlington House, Piccadilly, Mayfair, W1J 0BD Closest Station: Piccadilly Circus
Website: royalacademy.org.uk
Cartier Queen’s Cup Semi-finals and Final, Windsor
Stamp the divets in style this June at the Cartier Queen’s Cup, which takes place at the Guards Club in Windsor’s Great Park. Guests can buy grandstand seats and Clubhouse hospitality packages for both the semi-finals and the final, which is historically played in the presence of HM The Queen. Considered one of the hottest tickets in London’s sporting calendar, the Cartier Queen’s Cup Final draws stars from the worlds of fashion, film, sport and high society, from Pierce Brosnan and Poppy Delevingne to Edward Enninful and Lily Collins.
Date: 12-16 June Time: Varies Price: From £30 Location: Guards Polo Club, Egham TW20 0HP Closest Station: Sunningdale
Website: guardspoloclub.com
Live at Down Hall, Essex
This June, Down Hall hotel is hosting a weekend of music and merriment, set in 110 acres of beautiful woodland on the Hertfordshire/Essex border. Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra will headline Saturday evening, while James Morrison will perform on Sunday evening. Guests can enjoy a bounty of street food options or an afternoon tea spread, or take time out in the ESPA Spa therapy tent. For those wishing to make a weekend out of it, VIP overnight packages start from £690 for two.
Date: 15-16 June Time: 4pm-10pm Price: from £75 per person Location: Down Hall Hotel & Spa Matching Road, Hatfield Heath Essex CM22 7AS Closest Station: Sawbridge Worth
Website: liveatdownhall.co.uk
Royal Ascot, Berkshire
Head to leafy Berkshire this June for five days of world-class racing, fine dining and pageantry. Royal Ascot sees the world’s finest racehorses and their riders compete for more than £6.5 million in prize money, alongside live music, entertainment and scene-stealing hats. Cheer on the action each day from a choice of four enclosures and join in a champagne-fuelled sing-along around the bandstand.
Date: 18-22 June Time: Varies Price: From £37 Location: High St, Ascot SL5 7JX Closest Station: Ascot
Website: ascot.co.uk
Taste of London Festival, Regent’s Park
Taste of London will once again transform Regents Park this June for a five-day culinary extravaganza of dining experiences, artisanal offerings, masterclasses and more. Feast on dishes from a vast selection of London’s top restaurants including Smokestak, Hoppers, Bun House, Trishna and Wildflower. You can also sip champagne in the Laurent-Perrier garden and enjoy intimate demonstrations by some of the world’s leading chefs including Yotam ottolenghi, Tom Aikens, Dominique Ansel and Melissa Hemsley.
Date: 19-23 June Time: Varies Price: From £23 (adult), £10 (under 16) Location: Regent’s Park, NW1 4NR Closest Station: Regent’s Park
Website: london.tastefestivals.com
Serpentine Pavilion, Kensington
This year’s prestigious Serpentine Pavilion commission has been awarded to Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, who will erect a cave-like, slate roof over Kensington Gardens at the end of June. The creation by the Tokyo-based architect has been designed to show that nature and architecture can exist harmoniously beside one another, which is a reoccurring theme throughout Ishigami’s work.
Serpentine Pavilion 2019, Design Render, Interior View, © Junya Ishigami + Associates
Date: 21 June-6 October Price: Free Location: Kensington Gardens, W2 3XA Closest Station: South Kensington
Website: serpentinegalleries.org
Masterpiece, Chelsea
This June, Chelsea welcomes the return of London’s leading cross-collecting fair, Masterpiece. Setting up residence in the Royal Hospital Chelsea for one week only, the event will unite more than 150 collectors of art, design, furniture and jewellery.
Richard Green at Masterpiece London 2019, Pissarro
Date: 27 June-3 July Price: From £38.50 Location: South Grounds, The Royal Hospital, SW3 4LW Closest Station: Sloane Square
Website: masterpiecefair.com
The GANT Championships, Roehampton
After a hugely successful last year, the GANT Championships will be held again in 2019 at the Roehampton Club, the exclusive private members’ sports club. Built on the history of the of the popular Roehampton Cup in the late ’90s, this intimate pre-Wimbledon international tennis event attracts the world’s top players over three days. Past players have included Richard Gasquet, Fernando Verdasco; this year sees the mighty Jo Wilfred Tsonga battling up-and-coming talent. With an expected 800 guests each day, every seat will be close to the action giving spectators a unique view of world class grass court tennis.
Win tickets to the GANT Championships
Date: 27-29 June Location: Roehampton Ln, London SW15 5LR Closest Station: Barnes
Website: gant.co.uk
