Little Mix, Pearl Jam and Taylor Swift play live at Hyde Park in July 2020 when annual favourites Taste of London, Lovebox and the Wimbledon finals return to the capital.
With growing numbers year on year - over 1.5 million spectators lined the streets last year - the Pride in London Parade is back for another colourful occasion of dancing, marching and rollerskating through London. Celebrate the people and organisations who've contributed to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights over the years and join over 450 groups as the parade marches proudly from Portland Place, along Oxford Street, Regent Street and via Piccadilly Circus. Adding to the fun, there are performance spaces in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and on Dean Street in Soho, with appearances by chart acts, musicians, dancers and West End stars. On the main Trafalgar Square stage you'll find entertainment from chart acts, musicians, dancers, West End stars and the finalists of Pride's Got Talent.
Jason Donovan returns to star in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, this time playing the Pharaoh opposite Jac Yarrow who returns as Joseph when the production returns to the London Palladium following a sold out season last summer. Jac made his professional stage debut as Joseph - a plum role that's previously been played by Jason Donovan, Phillip Schofield, Lee Mead, Joe McElderry and Donny Osmond. Jac, who got the role while still at drama school, had big shoes as well as a colourful coat to fill. Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's biblical musical features catchy songs like Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me and Jacob and Sons. It follows the story of Jacob's favourite son Joseph who is sold into slavery by his brothers. He finds favour with Egyptian noble Potiphar but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar's wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty Pharaoh.
Little Mix, Kendrick Lamar, Pearl Jam and Taylor Swift play live in Hyde Park as the ten day British Summer Time music festival returns for its eighth year in 2020 with another impressive line-up of big names in rock and pop. Playing Hyde Park on Saturday 4th July, British girl group Little Mix are joined by special guests Rita Ora, Kesha and Zara Larsson. Kendrick Lamar gets support from James Blake, Brittany Howard. Pearl Jam plays a sold out concert with Pixies and White Reaper as special guests while Sunday 11th July sees Taylor Swift rock the park. Between two weekends of live music there's Open House, free midweek entertainment with open-air movie nights and tennis screenings, street food stalls and daytime DJs.
Since becoming the first ever group to win The X Factor in 2011, Little Mix have been working hard to ensure they don't fall under the same umbrella as many previous unsuccessful winners. Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall have succeeded in their mission with three number one singles, a platinum selling debut album and the highest ever US chart debut by a British girl group - beating even the Spice Girls. Now the BRIT-nominated four-piece present pop, R&B and hip hop hits including Black Magic and Salute in Hyde Park as part of the British Summer Time music festival, with special guests Rita Ora, Kesha and Zara Larsson.
Set within the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich Music Time is a week-long series of al fresco concerts. In its seventh year the festival welcomes Sarah Brightman, Lea Salonga and John Barrowman, Lewis Capaldi, Ms. Lauryn Hill and McFly to the magnificent surroundings of Sir Christopher Wren's twin-domed riverside masterpiece. Between them, they cover everything from West End ballads to R'n'B, show tunes to pure pop. All concerts are held in a purpose build outdoor arena, overlooking the Thames and lit by the big city lights of Canary Wharf making this one of London's best loved summer music festivals.
Bananarama, James Blunt and Jack Savoretti, Will Young and James Morrison, DJ Spoony and the Gipsy Kings play at Kew the Music in 2020, a week of summer picnic concerts set within the stunning grounds of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 1980's pop group Bananarama, with support from Gabrielle and Rebecca Ferguson, kicks off the series on Tuesday 7th July. British singer-songwriter James Blunt plays well loved songs like You're Beautiful and Goodbye My Lover. Will Young and James Morrison both play headline sets on the same night. The godfather of garage DJ Spoony plays classics like '21 Seconds' before the Gipsy Kings bring the series to a close. Perfect for a picnic, opt for the VIP package and you'll get ready-made hampers to collect on the night.
Held within the grounds of Henry VIII's palace - where he built one of the finest gardens in the world - the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival is a highlight of London's summer calendar. Coming into bloom in July, the flower show brings with it over 20 show gardens by award-winning designers displaying the beneficial role that plants play or how to re-wild your garden. The Floral Marquee is a plant paradise filled with sweet peas, carnivorous plants, irises and plenty more plus you can take part in creative workshops covering crafts, art, calligraphy, terrariums, floristry and gardening. For something extra special, the preview evening gives you access to the show before its official opening at an evening of live music and with a magnificent fireworks display set off as the sun sets behind the palace.
Grunge royalty Pearl Jam have been confirmed to headline the British Summer Time music festival in Hyde Park on Friday 10th July. Eddie Vedder's Seattle rock veterans will delight the sold out crowd with tunes from their extensive armoury, which includes brilliant break-through album Ten and hits, including 'Black', 'Jeremy', 'Alive' and "anthem of survival" (The Guardian) 'Rearviewmirror'. Joining Pearl Jam are fellow US rock legends, Pixies, and White Reaper a garage punk rock and roll band hailing from Louisville in Kentucky. The ten-day British Summer Time festival is London's equivalent to the country's favourite mud-fest, Glastonbury, bringing 65,000 music lovers into one of the capital's best loved parks each day.
The American pop superstar performs from her most recent bubblegum-pop album, Lover, as well as older material for a headline slot at British Summer Time. Global superstar and ten-time Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift shared the stage with famous friends Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Cara Delavigne when she last played at Hyde Park in 2015. With Rolling Stone calling her latest tour her best yet - "with giant inflatable cobras, pyro, multiple stages and hordes of dancers" - the crowd of 65,000 can expect an epic set. No doubt she'll play old favourites like infectious single 'Shake It Off' and new tracks from her latest album, 'Lover', which includes an ode to her British actor boyfriend Joe Alwyn in the track 'London Boy'.
After two successful years in its new home, Lovebox returns to Gunnersbury Park in July 2020 for its 18th year adding an extra day to the urban music festival. American rapper, record producer, director, fashion designer and Tyler, the Creator who has remodelled himself as "a blond-wigged, Warhol-esque funk and soul singer" (The Guardian) headlines the final night of the festival. Khalid fills the top slot on the Friday night of the festival before Disclosure play their only UK festival of 2020 as headliners on the Saturday night. There's strong support from Hot Chip, Jorja Smith, Little Simz and Mabel all playing on Friday. Anderson .Paak and his live band, The Free Nationals, play on the Saturday along with Peggy Gou. There's no slacking off on Sunday. The last day welcomes performances from Charli XCX and FKA Twigs as well as Tyler Okonma. With its high calibre headliners and a laid-back party atmosphere, Lovebox is reliably one of the best summer music festivals in London.
The show must go on for Giffords Circus as it celebrates its 20-year anniversary in 2020 and it does so without its founder, Nell Gifford, who sadly passed away in late 2019. Upholding her passion for this very special circus, The Hooley invites you to join the fairy and woodland folk in a timeless dance to Celtic rhythms and drums. Cal McCrystal is back to direct The Hooley, hot off the heels of his 2019 Atomic Saloon Show that wowed audiences at the Edinburgh Festival before moving to Las Vegas. Also returning is Tweedy the clown and Giffords favourites Nancy Trotter Landry and Cyr wheel artist Lil Rice. Horses, fairies, music and dancing fill the big top for one of the UK's best-loved circus shows. In 2020, Giffords sets up its big top in the grounds of Chiswick House but also adds a second London venue, arriving at the National Trust owned Morden Hall Park for one week in July.
Director Mira Nair reworks her 2001 Bafta-nominated India-set film Monsoon Wedding as a musical at the Roundhouse. Fans of the film, first screened nearly 20 years ago, will remember the story set in Delhi. It starts as preparations are under way for a four-day celebration to mark the arranged marriage of Aditi and Hemant. Aditi is the only daughter of an upper middle-class family in India, her husband-to-be: an Indian-American from New Jersey. It should be the perfect wedding but the bride is having an affair, her father is in financial trouble and members of the family reveal dark family secrets. Described as "a celebration of the exuberant chaos of contemporary India", the musical explores the increasing difference between the rich and the poor, the traditional and the modern, the east and the west.
Held yearly at the Royal Albert Hall, the Proms is arguably the most popular season of classical music the world over, featuring a varied but accessible programme of 90 or so concerts in eight weeks. The grand finale is on the fabled Last Night when seas of Union flag-waving Brits belt out classics such as Jerusalem and the national anthem. The aim of the Proms, for the past 120 years, has been to mix the popular and familiar with the surprising and innovative, so if you go to a concert to hear some favourite piece, you may leave having discovered a whole new composer. Between 500 and 1,400 standing tickets are available on the door for each Prom for just six pounds, so top international orchestras and soloists, programmes that mix the adventurous and the accessible, and a real sense of fun can all be had for a third of the price of a central London cinema ticket. The world-famous Last Night of the Proms brings everything to a thrilling end - and tickets are like gold dust. Alternatively, join thousands of revellers at the annual Proms in the Park closing party in Hyde Park.
In summer 2020 Secret Cinema winds the clock back to the summer of '63 with Dirty Dancing, giving '80's kids the chance to get fully immersed in their favourite film. Watching Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey getting together over a watermelon was a rite of passage for a whole generation of teenagers. Now they - and a whole new generation of fans - can enjoy iconic moments from the film and it'll feel just as though they're there. What Secret Cinema does so brilliantly is recreate memorable scenes from the movie, casting actors who closely resemble the original stars, so you get to feel like you're 'in' the film. They have chosen Dirty Dancing before, in 2016, but this outdoor experience promises to transport you to the long hot summer at the Kellerman's Resort with steamy dance classes and Baby's journey of self-discovery.
It earned five star reviews when it was last staged in London eight years ago and now the "perfect, potent pick-me-up" (The Telegraph) of Singin' in the Rain is back, this time at Sadler's Wells. Andrew Wright provides a stylish choreography that, allied with Simon Higlett's impeccable set design, makes this adaptation the ultimate feel-good show that, according to The Telegraph, "genuinely makes you feel good about life." In the roaring 1920's, silent movie stars are the biggest names on the planet and Don Lockwood (played by Adam Cooper who won rave reviews for his performance at Chichester Festival Theatre) has it all: a string of successful films and a blossoming romance with the most beautiful actress in town. But with a new phenomenon on its way - the talking picture - Don meets a talented young chorus girl and Hollywood is about to change forever. Jonathan Church's production features a heart-warming score including the classics Good Morning, Make 'em Laugh, Moses Supposes and the legendary Singin' in the Rain.
After a year off Kaleidoscope returns to Alexandra Palace bringing a one-day festival of music and arts to the north London venue which offers far reaching views of the city from its well positioned hilltop location. There'll be huge live performances - The Flaming Lips, Ghostpoet and The Go! Team played to thousands of revellers at the festival's debut in 2018 - mesmerising DJ sets, comedy, theatre and immersive performances as well as family entertainment. Alongside live music on the main stage, the festival offers performances inside the palace including spoken word and immersive entertainment in the palace's Victorian basements which are rarely opened to the public.
Every summer inquisitive visitors get the chance to look around Buckingham Palace and admire the grand State Rooms used by heads of state at the Summer Opening. See the nineteen State Rooms which are still used by the Royal Family to receive and entertain guests on state and ceremonial occasions. Decorated in lavish fashion, they include paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Canaletto, Sevres porcelain and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world. There are also some exquisite royal gifts, including Faberge Eggs, on display. This is a fascinating opportunity to admire the taste - often wonderful, sometimes comically bad - of Britain's monarchy. Audio Guides: Audio tours are included in the admission price and are available in the following languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Russian.
She swept the board at this year's Grammys, now 18-year-old American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish finishes her world tour at The O2 with four shows in July 2020. Scooping five Grammy awards, including best record, song, album and new artist, she is the second artist, and first woman, to take home all four - and the youngest ever artist to win album of the year. She's come a long way from a teen with a viral song. With debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? which topped the charts in the US and UK, Eilish and her brother and producer Finneas O'Connell, "wrote an album about depression and suicidal thoughts and climate change..." as O'Connell said, accepting the award for album of the year. With climate change a concern, re-fillable water bottles and an eco village are a feature at the live shows.
We all remember those rocking nuns in Sister Act, the 1992 film, led by a kick-ass Whoopi Goldberg as the irrepressible Deloris. Now Goldberg's getting in on the Act... again reprising her role as the singer disguised as a nun, with Jennifer Saunders taking Dame Maggie Smith's place as Mother Superior. How could it fail with a Disney-ed up score by Alan Menken (his impressive repertoire includes Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin) and the ultimate feel-good factor as disco diva Deloris goes into hiding in a convent for witnessing a murder and finds a choir of nuns who need a little bit of her razzle-dazzle. This show's all about shaking it up with the Sisterhood - infectious fun with a heavenly host of singing, gutsy nuns.
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is well known for its must-see musicals, and the 2020 season begins and ends with two very different animals. After opening with 101 Dalmatians, the season closes with Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. Featuring the duo's finest songs, including 'If I Loved You' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone', the production is directed by Timothy Sheader who reunites with Jesus Christ Superstar choreographer Drew McOnie. We meet well-meaning fairground worker Billy Bigelowe who has many failings as a lover, a worker and a father, and is beset by the snobbishness and cruelty of small-town life. Littered with musical gems, this is also a powerful piece of theatre that marked the appearance of a more serious brand of musicals in the 1940s.