Free things to do in London this week.
Lancelot Ribeiro
As part of South Asian Heritage Month, Swiss Cottage Library hosts Lancelot Ribeiro: A Retrospective Revisited, bringing together works from the late Expressionist painter, who hailed from Mumbai and experimented with polyvinyl acetate and oil paints.
Until 6 August.
Cool Runnings outdoors
One of London’s much-loved free outdoor cinemas fires up the screen on Tuesday evening. Vauxhall Summer Screens turns Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens into an open-air movie theatre to show Cool Runnings, the 1993 Disney film about the plight of an unlikely Jamaican bobsled team. Free tickets available here.
14 July.
Experimental poetry
The Horse Hospital in Bloomsbury marks 60 years of small press collecting at UCL with Slowly, slowly, the tongue unrolls, a showcase of performance poetry and sound art. The Tuesday evening event features veteran poet Allen Fisher alongside contemporary artist Tris Vonna-Michell and the experimental choir Vocal Constructivists. Expect a blend of sonic projects and rare cassette sound poetry dislodged from the university's archives.
14 July.
Coffee dans la maison
Tuesday is Bastille Day, and to mark it, French bakery PAUL is slinging 50 free barista-made drinks to the first 50 folks at its outposts (including various ones in the capital) between 8am-9am. Note: you must be wearing stripes (whether a Breton top, trousers, scarf or chic beret) to qualify. From 3pm the same day, the PAULs at Kings Road, Marylebone, Marble Arch, Holland Park and South Kensington are each handing out 200 free baguettes. Pain-tastique!
14 July.
Lying-in-State
The Palace of Westminster opens its new, free exhibition, A Historic Farewell: Elizabeth II's Lying-in-State, on Tuesday. On display in Westminster Hall, the exhibition showcases works by six artists depicting the Lying-in-State of the late monarch in 2022. Both ceremonial aspects and wider activity surrounding the tradition are covered.
14 July-October 2026.
Backyard Biennial: East
Whitechapel Gallery launches its free summer arts festival Backyard Biennial: East this week. Exhibitions, installations, screenings, performances, workshops, residencies, walks, open studios and special events take place at venues, and through organisations, across the East End until September.
15 July-6 September.
We Go Way Back
Ancient DNA research comes under the microscope in We Go Way Back, a free exhibition opening at the Francis Crick Institute in St Pancras. Find out how ancient DNA — fragments extracted from the bones and teeth of generations long past — is revealing new insights into human evolution, migration, culture and disease. Learn how cutting-edge science can add context to known historical events, or surprise us with new ones, from the Neanderthal and Denisovan times, through the metal ages and the Roman period.
From 16 July.
Free ice cream
Marylebone restaurant Kitchen at Holmes teams up with Hackney Gelato to give away 500 free scoops of gelato on Friday, ahead of National Ice Cream Day on Sunday.
Head to the summer gelato terrace on Baker Street from 12pm on Friday to claim your free scoop, with flavours including including clotted cream & strawberry, pistachio, and alphonso mango sorbetto. It's one scoop per person, subject to availability, and doesn’t include toppings, cones or extras.
17 July.
Songs on the Steps
Once again, performers from Opera Holland Park offer a free lunchtime performance, open to everyone, on Friday. Songs on the Steps takes place on the open-air stairs outside the seasonal venue, with artists from the company putting on a 40-minute show for passers-by. No ticket required.
17 July.
Thai festival
The Royal Thai Embassy takes over Potters Fields Park by Tower Bridge for three days of free-entry festivities celebrating (and let's be honest, plugging) Thailand, courtesy of stalls selling Thai cuisine, wellness and aromatic workshops, a marketplace showcasing Thai fashion — and plenty more.
17-19 July.
Jurassic Jungle
Meet a roaming T.-rex, Bumble the Brontosaurus, a Megalosaurus, two baby dinosaurs, and two others which you can climb on and ride — all at Jurassic Jungle at the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury on Saturday. The free, family-focused event includes meet-and-greets, photo opportunities and dinosaur encounters.
18 July.
Family dance day
Dance theatre The Place takes over Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury for a free Family Dance Day on Saturday. Aimed at under-12s and their families, the programme includes interactive dance workshops to get everyone moving, as well as a series of performances. Bug sees performers dressed as giant insects, while Prisma is inspired by children's books, and No Sugar No Milk combines physical theatre, martial arts and circus stunts.
Note: Coram's Fields is a very short walk from the Brunswick (above), with both events running 11am-4pm, so you could easily fit in both for a free family day out.
18 July.
Soho Village Fete and the Waiters’ Race
It's the Soho Village Fete this Sunday, offering a glut of live music, a dog show, a spaghetti-eating contest, morris dancing, and a tug-of-war between the police and fire brigade. The most anticipated event of all is the Soho Waiters' Race, which sees service staff from local restaurants dashing around the area, while holding a tray laden with a bottle of fizz, a glass and an ash tray — all in one hand. It's an absolute hoot, and free to enjoy/cheer on.
19 July.
