All weekend
PHILIA LOVE: This weekend at Southbank Centre's Festival of Love, the focus is on Philia love (the love we feel for people we strive with to achieve a shared goal). To create the feeling of working as part of a team, activities include military fitness classes, group games, and an attempt to make the biggest ever handmade picnic blanket. See full programme.
CYCLING: The Prudential Ride London Freecycle takes place over both days of the weekend, with events including the Ride London Grand Prix, The Surrey 100 Olympic legacy ride, handcyclists racing from Kingston Upon Thames to Central London and the Surrey Classic. Plenty of opportunities to get out on the streets of London and cheer the cyclists on, read our mini preview. See site for times and locations.
MOOMIN: Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Moomin author Tove Jansson’s birth at the Institute of Contemporary Art on The Mall. Screenings include 2008 film Moomin and Midsummer Madness at 12.15pm on both days. £4-£11, prebook, 9-10 August
COMIC EXHIBITION: Orbital Comics near Leicester Square opens a new exhibition on Saturday. In Lords of Infinity, Cristian Ortiz, Andy Poyiadgi and James Harvey use sci-fi and fantasy to populate the walls of the Orbital gallery with worlds of their own. Until 7 September
MUSIC: The epic BBC Proms are well underway at the Royal Albert Hall. Consult our guide to making the most of your Proms experience and consider our top ten highlights from the programme. This weekend there is the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Berlioz’s overture Le Corsaire and more to choose from. Promming tickets from £5.
KABADDI: Experience the brute strength, strategy and breath-holding of Indian sport, Kabaddi as the World Kabaddi League makes its debut at The O2 arena. An opening ceremony features music from Bollywood star, Akshay Kumar. Tickets from £29.75, prebook, Saturday and Sunday from 12.30/1pm
Saturday 9 August
STEAM ON THE UNDERGROUND: At time of writing, there are still tickets available to experience steam trains on the Underground, specifically the Hammersmith & City Line this weekend. £30-£95, prebook, all day
SOLAR ENERGY: Head to Lewisham for this day-long workshop on building your own solar panel. All materials are provided and you will learn how to build and test the panel, and learn more about alternative energy solutions in the UK. £100, prebook, 9am-5pm
FAMILY WORKSHOP: Children aged 6-12 and their families can take part in a Saloon Bar-themed workshop at Somerset House. Create your own 'Wanted' poster or or have your mugshot taken at the Sheriff’s gaol. Free, just turn up, 11am-4pm
KEATS' CITY: Learn about the poet's London life in this walk, which passes his birthplace in Moorgate and finishes at the memorial statue at Guy's Hospital. £8/£6, prebook, 11am
WINE FAIR: The 3 Crowns Public House and Restaurant close to Old Street tube station hosts a day-long Wine Fair. Discover a selection of wines from the pub's favourite merchants, plus food, live bands, raffle and carnival games. Entrance is free, but you have to pay for your drink. Free, just turn up, 12pm-9pm
AFRICAN FASHION: Africa Fashion Week London takes place at London Olympia with catwalk shows, exhibitions and awards. £20-£70, prebook, 12pm-9pm
NUCLEAR WAR: It's the 69th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki. Global Zero is running a 10 mile cycle ride to demonstrate the effect that a similar blast would have on London. Free, RSVP, meet at the north corner of Green Park at 12pm
SINGLE CYCLING: Look Mum No Hands once again brings together London's single cyclists for a dating event, this time based at the pop up LMNH on Southbank. The afternoon will start with a drink and ice-breaker game at the pop-up café followed by a bike ride and drinks in the park or pub. £10, prebook, 1.30pm
FAMILY FUN: The touring Festival of Triangles holds an afternoon of creative fun at The Winch in Swiss Cottage. The activities are for children aged 5-12 plus their parents. Free, just turn up, 2pm-5pm
DICKENS IN BARNET: Yes, really. Explore Boz's connections to Barnet and other 19th century local history on a walk with qualified City of London guide Paul Baker. £8, meet at High Barnet tube station for 2.30pm
ART WALK: Head to the Serpentine Galleries and join a walk with Maria Lisogorskaya and Fran Edgerly, two of the founders of Assemble, a London-based architecture and design collective. Free, just turn up, 3pm
COOL RUNNINGS: The whole family can enjoy a free outdoor screening of Cool Runnings, the famous story of a Jamaican bobsledding team, at Regent's Place Plaza on Euston Road. Free, just turn up, 5pm
Sunday 10 August
NATURAL COLOUR: Surrey Docks Farm hosts a workshop on how to make your own natural dyes from plants. Explore the farm’s Dye Garden and learn which plants produce particular colours and dyes. £15, prebook, 10am
WILDLIFE: Peckham's Centre for Wildlife Gardening marks its 25th anniversary with an open day. There'll be all kinds of free, family-friendly activities, like pond-dipping, bug hunts and face painting. Free, just turn up, 11am-4pm
COWFEST: Head to Spitalfields City Farm for a day of moosic. Meet the farm's cows, children can join in with cow themed games, learn about dairy products and listen to live bands. 12pm-5pm
BREWERY OPEN DAY: Clarkshaws Microbrewery in East Dulwich opens its doors for tours and a chance to sample the beer or buy some to take away. There's also food from Capo Caccia, Pastificio Mansi and Avocado Cafe. Free, just turn up, 12pm-6pm
HISTORICAL TOUR: The Tudor manor and ancient bishop’s residence of Fulham Palace opens its doors to the public for a guided tour of its premises. £5, just turn up, 2pm
POST-WAR LONDON: Catch screenings of How We Used To Live, a film using colour footage of London 1950-1980, at the Ritzy in Brixton followed by a Q&A with co-writers Bob Stanley and Travis Elborough (£12/£11/£6, prebook, 2pm) and later at the Clapham Picturehouse followed by a Q&A with director Paul Kelly and soundtrack composer Pete Wiggs (£12/£11/£6, prebook, 6pm)
DISTRICT LINE WALK: Mark Mason, author of Walk the Lines: the London Underground, leads an above ground walk of the District Line from Victoria to Embankment. Learn why Westminster Bridge is painted green, what was unusual about Ronnie Barker's memorial service and how the Savoy Hotel once got inventive with some rubber. £8/£5, just turn up, 2.30pm
GREEK FOOD: Learn about the intricacies of Greek food at this olive oil tasting session at The Mucky Pup in Islington, offering you a chance to taste the oil in Ancient Greek dishes, made from recipes over 2,000 years old (hopefully the ingredients are fresher). £2, just turn up, 4pm
JAZZ SINGER: Female jazz vocalist Elaine Delmar performs songs from the Great American Songbook at JW3 Centre on Finchley Road. £15/£7.50, prebook, 8pm
Camden Fringe
London’s biggest performing arts festival, Camden Fringe, started on 28 July. Everyday throughout the festival, we’ll be bringing you our pick of shows to catch that day. This weekend’s suggestions are below:
Get Carter is Joy Carter's life story. The comedian was adopted by a UK couple after being abandoned in the bush during the Biafan war in Nigeria. Her twin sister didn't survive. At Canal Cafe Theatre, 9 August
The Z List Dead List is a comedy show hosted by Iszi Lawrence where four guest 'historians' compete to have their favourite obscure figure from history put on The Z List Dead List. The audience decides who wins. At Camden Head, 10 August
Improvements - Work in Progress is a show by comedian Mark Smith. Following on from his sell-out Edinburgh show, this hour of new material seems him ponder ways in which he can improve himself. At Hen and Chickens Theatre, 10-11 August
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This week’s Things To Do In London This Weekend is sponsored by Pact.
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