London Summer Events 2025: London Summer Exhibitions and Activities
Al fresco dining, flower markets, picnics in the park, there’s abundance of day-to-day activities to make the most of 2025’s London summer. For those visiting short-term, are new to the city or simply looking to inspire fresh experiences, our shortlist of upcoming London summer events will help to build your perfect itinerary.
Carnival, Notting Hill
Notting Hill’s culturally rich and iconic reputation brings a unique blend of diversity, creativity and charm to West London. The Annual Notting Hill Carnival is a vibrant highlight and one of the most widely anticipated London summer events, celebrating Caribbean heritage and cultural diversity.
Expect parades, dancing and colourful feather-decked costumes, with live performances and booming reggae, salsa, and steel bands. There will be a vast selection of traditional food stalls to try, and of course, the famous carnival rum punch.
This year, Notting Hill’s boutique hotel The Laslett is offering a Carnival themed Bottomless brunch on their Summer Terrace for its carnival goers – reserve your table here.
Date: 23rd - 25th August
Price: Free
The Photographers Gallery, SoHo
The Photography Gallery is part of SoHo’s vibrant cultural scene, exploring the powerful ability to connect, captivate and influence through photography. For the photo-curious, this summer’s Dennis Morris: Music + Life exhibition offers a fascinating retrospective of the British Jamaican photographer.
This London summer exhibition displays Morris’s famous talents in capturing intimate moments, revealing the personalities behind famous artists from Bob Marley to the Sex Pistols. Morris’s early images highlight post-war black British life, depicting themes of authentic daily life within overlooked communities.
Date: 27th June – 21st September
Price: £18
The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, Millbank
One of the most prominent London summer exhibitions, hosted by the Royal Academy of Arts, displays a unique and diverse collection of contemporary paintings, prints, photography and architectural pieces from artists across the globe. The exhibition holds over 1700+ pieces by famous artists to see and buy.
This year’s highlights include British conceptual artist Ryan Gander’s playful installation, featuring five three metre inflatable balls, as well as a host of new paintings by the prominent British contemporary artist Tracey Emin.
Date: June – August
Price: £23.50 - £25.50
Tate, Bankside and/or Millback
Tate Modern and Tate Britain’s selection of London summer exhibitions, performances and collective displays bring us to some of our favourite recommendations over next couple of months:
Leigh Bowery: One of Tate Modern’s largest summer attraction features the flamboyant retrospective exhibition of Leigh Bowery, the boundary-pushing nightclub performer and artist.
Emily Kam Kngwarray: Through a powerful collection of paintings, this celebrated Australian artist tells the extraordinary story of her lived experiences as an Indigenous Anmatyerre woman.
Ed Atkin: Ed Atkin’s immersive retrospective at Tate Britian brings viewers through an emotional journey using digital landscapes, painting, imagery and writing. The exhibition explores themes of intimacy, loss, identity and memory, serving as an emotive and thought-provoking experience.
Date: Varies between February 2025 - January 2026
Price: £18 - £20
Open Air Theatre, Regents Park
Plenty of summer activities in London will take place in the West End, London’s booming hub of theatre and performing arts. Regents Park offers an alfresco alternative with its Open-Air Theatre, including a variety of productions running until mid-late September.
These include ‘Noughts and Crosses’, an adaption to one of the 21st century’s greatest novels by Malorie Blackman, a new production of Lerner & Loewe’s musical classic, ‘Brigadoon’, as well as ‘The Enormous Crocodile,’ co-produced by Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Roald Dahl Story Company and Leeds Playhouse.
Date: June - September
Standard Ticket Price: £25 – £35
Copacabana, Holborn
Copacabana comes to The London Cabaret Club this summer, offering a unique, refined London summer event that blends fine dining with top-tier entertainment. The show offers an immersive show with live samba music and burlesque acts, paired with a Brazilian tasting menu.
A carnival themed special of the Copacabana will run on the 22nd-23rd of August, an unforgettable ending to the weekend’s carnival celebrations.
Date: 3rd July – 27th September
Price: £39.50 - £209.50
Buckingham Palace Summer Opening, City of Westminster
A cultural landmark of Britain’s royal heritage, Buckingham Palace has long been one of London’s top tourist attractions. The doors of the Monarch will be open once again to the public with July’s Buckingham Palace Summer Opening, where visitors can visit and observe its exquisite state rooms and royal gardens.
Date: 10th July – 28th September
Ticket Price: £16 – £32
All Points East, Victoria Park
As one of the most popular London summer events within the music scene, East London’s highly anticipated music festival All Points East will span across two weekends over August. Headlining performances from celebrated artists include RAYE, Barry Can’t Swim, Cleo Sol, and Chase & Status.
The event hosts a range of additional entertainment and activities including Cinema, Food Workshops, Creative Workshops, Pop Up Bars, Sports & Wellbeing, Family Activities and more.
Date: August 15-17 & August 22-24, 2025
Price: £112+
Planning your trip to London this summer? Rich in culture and local heritage, the Laslett brings a luxury boutique hotel stay experience in the heart of Notting Hill. Book your stay this us, or discover the hotel’s own upcoming London summer events.
