Sure Wimbledon's started, but what if you couldn't give two hoots about tennis? Here's our round-up of what you should be getting excited about among London's cornucopia of current cultural offerings. Who needs tennis? What you really need is some swashbuckling flamenco swordfighting action with a Gipsy Kings soundtrack, right? Well, thank goodness for Zorro: The Musical, previewing from Monday at the Garrick. We can't help thinking it'll feel a little flat without a certain......

Mark your calendars and get your Art Nouveau on in London. The Royal Academy will be participating in an exhibition of the work of the Glasgow Boys, sponsored by Culture and Sport Glasgow. The Glasgow boys were group of 25 artists including Joseph Crawhall, Sir James Guthrie, and E.A. Walton who gained some notoriety in the late 19th century for their post-impressionistic works. A collection of 75 works, including some pieces from private collections,......

After the (non-)scandal of (un-)banned Tube posters, the works of Lucas Cranach the Elder are now well and truly on show at the Royal Academy. Painter, print-maker, illustrator, businessman, propagandist, and huge fan of the female nude, this is Cranach's first major exhibition in Britain. And while you're gazing at all the nakedness, remember; this was a mate of Martin Luther, and those erotic female nudes are all about Protestant devotion. Honest. Openings Ahoy!......

Be there first: After all the brouhaha over the From Russia paintings, this is surely the show to see in its opening week. Stunning, inspirational works by the likes of Renoir, Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse, Kandinsky, Tatlin and Malevich come to the Royal Academy from Saturday. This is jaw-dropping art you'd normally only get to see with a deep, heavy, carbon-footprint inducing flight to Russia, we're lucky enough to have it on our doorsteps until......

January is a toughie. Torn between new year's virtue and that rebellious streak? Well, here are some things to amuse you that at least wont tug too hard at your purse strings. Monday: Witch hunts to start the week at Gresham College from 6pm. Free knowledge. Tuesday: Are you a tech geek? Are you interested in search engines, the internet and web technology? Do you need to make more friends? Well, pitch up for......

There are plans afootie to make clubs pay for match policing…. …the funds reaped from which will no doubt be a help when the police do really silly things like stealing someone’s wheelchair. Either the BNP is going soft, or ballet is showing its harder side - an unlikely liaison is announced. There are doubts about a lot of Russian things at the mo – the latest being a will they/won’t they situation over......

On Saturday, the Royal Academy of Arts will be opening early (from 9am) to celebrate the Tour de France. It's the first day of a new Sea Impressionists exhibition, so if you fancy a quick escape from the cycling mayhem then pop in for breakfast and a mooch at some oceans. They'll even give you a free bottle of Firefly Tonic (which we think is the nice drink you can get at Yo! Sushi)......

A BBC Proms concert due to take place yesterday evening had to be cancelled after a small fire at the Royal Albert Hall. According to the Beeb part of the building was 'filled with smoke' after a fire broke out in the artists' bar but "no-one was injured or trapped". The concert, by the Philadelphia Orchestra was due to feature works by Beethoven and Matthias Pintscher and was to be broadcast on Radio Three......

There's even more art-while-you-commute with London Underground's Platform For Art programme working with Royal Academy schools to decorate the ticket hall and subway 2 of Piccadilly Circus tube station. Until September 5th passengers can enjoy the works of five Royal Academy Schools artists - Maisie Kendall, Liane Lang, Robert Rush, Sinta Tantra and Amy Woolley - in the LINE-UP showcase. The exhibition is an opportunity for the artists to show their work in a......

There's been a whole plethora of stories about the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition over the past few weeks, but this one is by far and away the weirdest and the most entertaining. David Hensel is a 64-year-old sculptor who submitted 'a laughing head' made from jesmonite resin entitled One Day Closer To Paradise to the exhibition, but was puzzled when he turned up to at the preview to check out his work and found......

A report by the London Asssembly into the response to the 7 July attacks is to be published today. John Tulloch, the man whose face became one of the iconic images of 7 July has written a book about his experiences. The Observer interviews him. The Tories in Bromley and Chislehurst have chosen Bob Neill, leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly, to replace Eric Forth. Neill is not part of Cameron's 'beautiful'......

Workers on the DLR are to be balloted for strikes after a row over pay. Despite the recent rain it looks like we're still in a bit of a drought. A collection of Albert Einstein's papers will go on sale next month for around £800,000. A new Damien Hirst staue, the Virgin Mother, has been unveiled at the Royal Academy of Arts. It's 35ft tall. Kate Moss has beaten up Doherty at his London......

Long-time readers of Londonist will know that we’ve got a slightly unhealthy obsession with late sculptor Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. You know, the guy who gave us the TCR Tube mosaics and the statue of Newton outside the British Library. Many moons ago, we kicked off our Londonist Stalks… series by hunting down all his public works of art in London. And he’s since become something of a hero to us. Next month, we’ll be......

This day in London’s History 1536 Henry VIII puts Anne Boleyn and her brother on trial in the Great Hall of the Tower, charged with pretty much everything in the book. She denies the charges. He denies the charges. His wife disagrees and testifies against them. Her lover, Henry Percy, sits on the jury. Their uncle, Thomas Howard, sentences them. Execution by beheading, two days later. At least they kept the whole thing in......

A new survey has shown that half of the businesses operating in London do not have a plan in place to deal with a terror attack or other emergencies. The US Embassy is now claiming diplomatic immunity over it's $500,000 worth of unpaid congestion charge fees. London will host this year's EuroPride, Europe's largest gay and lesbian cultural festival, over two weeks in June culminating in a 500,000-strong parade. Plans to turn the Oyster......

It can be so frustrating hearing that a major classical performer is scheduled to appear in London only to discover that the tickets disappeared weeks ago, minutes after the date was announced. If you feel you’ve already missed out on the summer’s big concerts you might yet be in luck... but you’ll have to be quick. The Barbican’s Great Performers 2005-06 series has attracted many big names this year and there are still a......

This day in London’s History 1985: Conservative MP Ivan Lawrence made the longest parliamentary speech of the 20th Century. The filibusting backbencher had the house hanging on his every word for 4 hours and 23 minutes, as he argued the case against fluoridating tap water. 1835: 150 years before this supreme act of word creation came the opposite: the complete destruction of a large number of words. On March 6, philosopher John Stuart Mill paid......

Tired of the telly? All Playstationed out? Over the next three days we'll bring you a guide to the best holiday season art exhibitions. So grab your coat, we’re goin’ down the galleries. National Portrait Gallery: Cornel Lucas - Shooting Stars Brings together fifty of Cornel Lucas's portraits including iconic images of Joan Collins, Dirk Bogarde and Lauren Bacall. Why you should see it: Four words - Brigitte Bardot in fishnets. National Portrait Gallery, St......

Today Londonist introduces it's latest column: Inside Westminster. That's not cryptic or anything, it's a bloke who works in Westminster writing about what goes on... in Westminster. And what a day to start a regular political column? David Cameron has put on his leader's hat and made his way to the despatch box to go toe to toe with Tony for the first time. So let's get the inside view shall we... Question: How......

Cripes, we not really sure where to start. So many exhibitions and only 31 days to see them all in – just remember to pack your brolly because looking outside it seems winter is here again. Tomorrow marks the opening of Edvard Munch by Himself at the Royal Academy. There are over 150 works on display, mostly self-portraits, that span the stylistic and psychological changes he went through during in his career. To put......

Tomorrow marks the last day of the incredible Turks exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts which takes you on a thousand year journey. If you have not managed to navigate your way over to the Royal Academy then Londonist suggests you do it immediately. If our plea is not enough for you to leave work early, The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones had this to say of the exhibition: "Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years,......