Looking for the best things to do in London in September? Look no further
You’re in plenty of time to book tickets to the best events in London, from theatre shows to art exhibitions, and there are always pop-ups opening across the city, but our handy guide features the best of what’s on in London in September so you won’t miss a thing. It’s big back-to-school vibes in September, even for those of us who haven’t set foot in a classroom in years. All the summer-focused pop-ups start to wind down and the major cultural institutions open big blockbuster events, like a Silk Road exhibition at the British Museum and a new Infinity Room from Yayoi Kusama. In fact, it’s a bumper month for design fans with Open House, London Fashion Week and London Design Week all in the calendar, and as it’s also Secondhand September, it’s a great chance to make moves to live an even more sustainable life.
1. Visit This Massive Formula 1 Exhibition
You’re locked in every Grand Prix weekend, you’ve binged Drive to Survive and now you need a new way to feed your F1 obsession – we’ve got just the thing. The Formula 1 Exhibition is pulling into the ExCel London this summer after being on display in Europe and Canada, and it’s going to be the biggest and best version yet.
From Sun 1st September 2024
ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL
f1exhibition.com
2. Snoop Around London With Open House Festival
For two weeks in September hundreds of buildings in the capital, many of which are usually closed to the public, swing open their doors and let you have a look inside. The charity Open City, whose mission is to make architecture and spaces more accessible to the communities that live around them, runs Open House Festival to encourage people to visit new places and help them engage with the city they live in. The festival encompasses hundreds of sites across all 33 boroughs of London and draws in tens of thousands of visitors, and this year is set to be its biggest edition yet.
Sat 14th – Sun 22nd September 2024
Various London locations
openhouse.org.uk
3. Eat at Eggbreak Without Making the Trip to Notting Hill
Eggbreak is one of Notting Hill’s best brunch spots and now east Londoners can get in on the action without having to cross town as the restaurant is popping up at The Hoxton, Shoreditch. Open every day from 7am – 4pm for six months, the Eggbreak pop-up at The Hoxton Grill will feature all signatures, including the Eggybreak Melt (a potato bun stuffed with roasted red pepper jam, cheddar and scrambled eggs), Turkish Eggs with dill yoghurt, Hot Honey French Toast with poached eggs and labneh, Ari’s Pancakes with banana and salted caramel butter, and Nutella French Toast.
From Sun 1st September 2024
81 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HU
eggbreak.com
5. Step Inside Yayoi Kusama’s New Infinity Room
If you missed out on Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room exhibition at Tate Modern, which closed in April after an extended run, then we’ve got some good news. She’s bringing another one to London this autumn and it’ll be FREE to attend. Kusama is returning to the Victoria Miro gallery in Islington this September, somewhere she’s exhibited several times, most recently with her signature bronze pumpkins and polka dot paintings in 2021. It’s also the gallery that hosted a free mirror room show in 2016, which resulted in massive queues.
From Weds 25th September 2024
16 Wharf Road, London N1 7RW
victoria-miro.com
5. Watch Ben Whishaw in Waiting for Godot
He’s been in Paddington and James Bond and now Ben Whishaw is starring in another iconic production, playing Vladimir in Samuel Beckett’s existential masterpiece Waiting for Godot, which is the very play that inspired him to drop out of university over two decades ago and switch to studying acting instead. Lucian Msamati (his co-star in the BBC’s Hollow Crown series) will be taking the other lead role of Estragon in the play, which is being directed by James Macdonald. A study on the purposelessness of life and suffering as part of the human condition, the play sees the two characters wait for the titular Godot, who never arrives.
From Fri 13th September 2024
Theatre Royal Haymarket, 18 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HT
waitingforgodotplay.com
6. Help Raise Funds at akub’s Next #CookForPalestine Supper Club
Modern Palestinian restaurant akub will be continuing its series of charitable #CookForPalestine supper clubs this autumn, with the next edition earmarked for 23rd September. akub’s chef-owner Fadi Kattan will be joined by Taybeh Winery and the team will serve up a dinner paired with Palestinian wines. Tickets are priced at £150 and 30% of the funds raised will be donated to Amos Trust, Anera and Medical Aid Palestine.
Mon 23rd September 2024
27 Uxbridge Street, London W8 7TQ
akub-restaurant.com
7. Be There for the Jazz Cafe’s First-Ever Festival
London’s festival calendar is always pretty stacked but it’s getting even bigger in 2024. High Lights is one new festival hitting the circuit this year, and so is the debut fest from The Jazz Cafe. Both international artists and homegrown talent spanning hip-hop, rap, soul, jazz, Latin, R&B and electronic music will be performing in Burgess Park this September.
Sun 15th September 2024
Burgess Park, London SE1
thejazzcafelondon.com
8. See Some of the Most Iconic Resistance Images at This Peter Kennard Exhibition
Whitechapel Gallery is putting on one of the most extensive displays of Peter Kennard’s work with the Archive of Dissent exhibition. Pieces from across the artist’s five-decade career, including some of the most iconic resistance and anti-war imagery ever produced, are on display in the galleries within the former Whitechapel Library space. The exhibition is presented as an active and evolving archive, with printed material displayed on walls, placards, on lecterns and in vitrines, as well as showcasing Kennard’s imagery, it dives into his process of making the photomontages that have become his signature.
From Sun 1st September 2024
77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX
whitechapelgallery.org
9. Try the Menu at Leydi, Which Was Put Together by Selin Kiazim
The Hyde hotel group is opening its first UK outpost this September, taking over the historic Spiers & Pond building in Farringdon opposite the Old Bailey, and it’s tapped Selin Kiazim to create the menu for one of its restaurants inside. The 90-cover Leydi will be a celebration of Istanbul and the city’s eating culture, starting with Turkish breakfast dishes like böreks, caramelised tahini spirals, stuffed lavash rolls and menemen, and moving into lahmacuns, pides, Islak burgers, and kebabs later in the day.
September 2024
Hyde London, 15 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7EF
@leydi.london
10. Shop at the Giant London Flea
The Big London Flea is back in town this autumn and this time it’s not just big, but giant. The supersized market, taking over a multi-storey car park in the Olympic Park this September, is the largest indoor flea market in the city. Over 100 vintage traders will be there, selling everything from furniture, records, homeware, and lighting to prints, maps, clothing, artworks and one-of-a-kind finds. It’s just £2 entry, with on-site cafes and a sound system to keep you going in between all that bargain hunting.
Sun 15th September 2024, 10am – 5pm
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Multi-Storey Car Park, London E15 2GZ.
@biglondonflea