June Outdoor Events 2008

Summer really begins at the beginning of June, and suddenly the parks are full of theatre, opera, music and royal processions, not to mention the gastronomic treat that is the Taste of London festival.

Open Air Theatre

Regent's Park, London, NW1 4NR
2nd June 2008 - 3rd September 2008

This is the 76th season for the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, and as the summers get hotter, it's more popular than ever. As always the biggest draw is 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', performed as it always should be, under a darkening summer sky, surrounded by English parkland. It's a new production this year, 're-imagined' for a young audience (i.e. shortened to 75 minutes, with some of the difficult words cut out). The other Shakespeare is an unseasonal 'Twelfth Night' and a 'Romeo and Juliet' that will be well served by the romantic setting. There are also comedy and music nights, and a new production of the Lerner and Loewe musical 'Gigi'.

More info: Open Air Theatre Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Opera Holland Park

Holland Park Theatre, London, W8 6LU
3rd June 2008 - 9th August 2008

The Holland Park Theatre is in west London's prettiest park, and the magical atmosphere of these productions owes a lot to their surroundings. It's also a tribute to a remarkable opera company that has defied expectation and budgets to produce productions of the very highest standard. As usual, they're mixing popular favourites - 'Il Trovatore', 'Tosca' and 'The Magic Flute' - with slightly less familiar fare. Donizetti's 'La Fille du Regiment', is an ambitious choice, with its famously tricky tenor part, and Holland Park will become an enchanted garden for Tchaikovsky's odd fairytale 'Iolanta'. The final play in the season is Italian grand opera Ponchielli's 'La Gioconda', one of the last and best of its kind.

More info: Opera Holland Park Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Isle of Wight Festival

Seaclose Park, Newport, London, PO30 2QS
13th June 2008 - 15th June 2008

The Isle of White Festival will never quite escape the shadow of 1970, when a million hippies pulled down the fences to watch Bob Dylan, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, and The Doors perform for free, in an event billed as the largest gathering of humans the world had ever seen. Nowadays, it's very much a grown-up music-lovers' event, with stadium-filling rock bands the order of the day, rather than the riotous multi-stage carnival of Bestival which also takes place on the Isle. The confirmed acts so far contain a pretty high proportion of the world's biggest guitar-pop stars, incuding Kaiser Chiefs, The Police, the Sex Pistols, NERD, Ian Brown, The Zutons, Scouting for Girls, and The Hoosiers.

More info: Isle of Wight Festival Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Trooping the Colour

Horse Guards Parade, SW1A 2AX
14th June 2008

To mark the second of the Queen's two birthdays (this is the official one, her actual birthday is on 21st April), Trooping the Colour presents a colourful display of ceremony and military history. It's a spectacular piece of pageantry but also a timely reminder of the role of the armed forces who are - in theory at least - under the Queen's control. Hundreds of well-disciplined soldiers in full dress uniform march past, and a different Battalion gives the Royal Salute each year, all accompanied by stirring military music from the massed bands. If you want to avoid the crush you can see the Horse Guards practicing for the grand parade at two smaller rehearsals in the days leading up to the grand event (4th and 5th June, 7pm).

More info: Trooping the Colour Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Royal Ascot

Ascot Racecourse, London, AL1 1AB
17th June 2008 - 21st June 2008

Royal Ascot returns to the Berkshire course where it has been run virtually every year since 1711. With over £3.5 million in prize money at stake, this meeting attracts all the biggest names in the racing fraternity and more than 300,000 visitors, all dressed in their finest clothes. Ascot is as famous for its hats as it is for the racing, especially on 'Ladies Day' (19th June this year). Every year the ladies try to outdo each other with tremendous towering creations and outlandish designs. The gents usually go for a more understated look - with morning suits the norm. This fashion for very smart dress adds to the festive spirit of the occasion and Ascot is as much a giant outdoor party as a race meet. Punters at the track will drink over 150,000 bottles of champagne, 14,000 bottles of Pimms and of course they will place untold millions in bets.

More info: Royal Ascot Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Taste of London

Marylebone Green, London, NW1 4NR
19th June 2008 - 22nd June 2008

Direct your rumbling stomach to Regent's Park for four days of al fresco gluttony as over forty of London's best restaurants, including a flurry of Michelin-starred joints, show off their culinary handiwork. 'Taste of...' has become a nationwide phenomenon with events taking place in six cities this year. The London event in Regent's Park must be one of the most enjoyable. Work your way through a range of miniature speciality dishes - visitors can sample seven or eight small courses in a meal - hot off the plates from upmarket places like Le Gavroche, Gordon Ramsay's Boxwood Cafe, Tom Aikens' new chip shop, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Club Gascon. This year there's a Taste of China section where you can see demonstrations from chefs at Beijing's Lan restaurant and from some of London's top Chinese restaurants, including Kai, Snazz Sichuan and China Tang. While tasting fashionable fare and shopping for fine wines, spirits and gourmet foods among the 120 stalls, the civilised sounds of live jazz and opera fill the air and aid the digestion. A gourmet grazing picnic extraordinaire, no restaurant lover should miss this tasty event which has already become a firm fixture in the foodie calendar.

More info: Taste of London Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, SW19 5AE
23rd June 2008 - 6th July 2008

Wimbledon is the most watched tennis event in the Grand Slam calendar, with a TV audience of untold millions and over half a million spectators attending the All England Club to catch the action live. Many tennis pros covet the Wimbledon crown above all others and the grass surface makes for fast, breathless duels. You're too late for the advance tickets ballot. It is, however, easy to get in to the grounds if you queue up in the morning. There are only 500 tickets for the centre courts available, so you have to turn up seriously early - or queue overnight - to be certain of getting to see the biggest matches, but in the first week the outer courts still have some of the world's greatest players and you can grab tickets for them if you arrive by about 9am.

More info: Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Concert

Hyde Park, London, W2 3JA
27th June 2008

The inspirational revolutionary-turned-peacemaker has long regarded London as a second home. It was this city, under Ken Livingstone's GLC, that led the worldwide movement to free him during his twenty-seven years in captivity, and it is here that he has decided to celebrate his 90th birthday. The line-up includes Queen, Leona Lewis, Annie Lennox, Dame Shirley Bassey, Simple Minds, Eddy Grant, Razorlight and Sugababes. There is also be pulsating South African musis from the Soweto Gospel Choir, and more big acts are still expected to confirm. There is also a performance from Queen, atoning for their boycott-breaking Sun City show thirty years ago.

More info: Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Concert Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Kenwood House Picnic Concerts

Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath, London, NW3 7JR
28th June 2008 - 23rd August 2008

Kenwood House is a magnificent stately home on Hampstead Heath, with its own lake and a captivating view of the park and the city beyond. The Music on a Summer Evening series has made use of some fabulous settings but this is certainly the finest. The concerts take place at sunset, and visitors are encouraged to enjoy the show with a picnic and champagne. This year's line-up includes Buena Vista Social Club, West End royalty Michael Ball and Lesley Garret, Beach Boys genius Brain Wilson and eccentric folkster Rufus Wainwright. Classical music comes from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who will perform the Kenwood Summer Prom on 12th August , and the grand finale with Katherine Jenkins on 23rd August.

More info: Kenwood House Picnic Concerts Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Hard Rock Calling

Hyde Park, London, W2 3JA
28th June 2008 & 29th June 2008

As the greenhouse effect kicks in and every green space in the UK is given to partying teens all summer long, this new festival redresses the balance with two days of music from bands who remember the good old days. The lack of youth credentials is emphasised by the name-change this year, as Hyde Park Calling sells out to one of the 1980s' most embarrassing brands and becomes Hard Rock Calling. Still, when you have a line-up blessed with musicians like Eric Clapton, The Police, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer and Starsailor, you can probably cope with having slightly dodgy sponsors. A potentially wrinkly but righteous crowd will be rocking out all weekend.

More info: Hard Rock Calling Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube