SPRING FLOWERS: London's in full bloom in April, with the spring flowers at their perkiest. We know the best cherry blossom spots, where to seek out daffodils, the finest places to find bluebells, and where to surround yourself with incandescent tulips. The end of April is usually the start of wisteria season too.
CUCKOO'S NEST: Clint Dyer directs a new staging of Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest at The Old Vic, starring Aaron Pierre and Giles Terera. It's a story of rebellion, colonialism and social structures, set inside a psychiatric facility. 1 April-23 May 2026
REVEL PUCK CIRCUS: A Glimmer Daze Gambit, a tented touring show by Revel Puck Circus, pitches up at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, offering a celebration of hope, arrival and community for the whole family via acrobatics, clowning and general chaos. 2-12 April 2026
TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL: A new comedy-horror rock musical about wallflower Nancy Nelson, who is transformed into a revenge‑seeking rocker by the Devil, I Was A Teenage She-Devil stars Aoife Haakenson, Sean Arkless and Jacob Birch, and opens at The Other Palace. 2-26 April 2026
EASTER WEEKEND: Good Friday falls on 3 April this year, with Easter Monday on 6 April. If you're lucky enough to have part (or all) of the weekend off, browse our guide to the best Easter weekend events in London, from bunny hunts to live performances, an Easter trail and more. We've also got some bank holiday weekend ideas — bookmark that one now, as there are two more bank holidays in May! 3-6 April 2026
TULIP FESTIVAL: Over 100,000 bulbs bring a riot of colour to the gardens of Hampton Court Palace for its annual Tulip Festival — one of the UK's largest displays of planted tulips. Wander through the formal gardens and historic courtyards, and see 'floating' bowls in the Great Fountain and a free style of planting in the kitchen gardens. Find other places to see tulip displays in and around London. From 3 April 2026
EASTER HOLIDAYS: Hand-in-hand with Easter weekend comes the Easter holidays, when London schools close for around two weeks. Looking for ways to keep kids or teenagers entertained? Our Easter holidays guide includes family-friendly events, exhibitions, shows and days out — and has some ideas for free things to do too.
2026 BOAT RACES: The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Races take place on the Saturday of Easter weekend 2026. They'll be broadcast on TV as usual, but if you're keen to see them in person, get down there early to grab your spot by the river. Preferably a pub garden. FREE to watch, 4 April 2026
HEART WALL: Kit Withington's play Heart Wall follows Franky as buried family secrets and grief surface in a familiar pub setting, when she returns to her former local for the first time in years. See it at the Bush Theatre. 4 April-16 May 2026
MIDNIGHT IN THE TOYSHOP: Take the family to see Midnight in the Toyshop, open for a limited run at St. Martin's Theatre. Toys Belle Ballerina, Rebel Racer and Grumble the Dinosaur spring to life and try to save their shop from tech entrepreneur Peyton Pixel, in a one‑hour musical adventure with songs and dances. 7-12 April 2026
ELIXIR FESTIVAL: Aiming to reshape perceptions around dancing and age, Sadler's Wells' Elxir Festival consists of films, talks and workshops, including Kontakthof – Echoes of '78 where past and present collide, and a bold double bill from Sadler's Wells' very own Company of Elders that redefines age and movement. 7-12 April 2026
ROUNDHOUSE THREE SIXTY: Roundhouse Three Sixty (formerly known as In The Round) is back at Camden Roundhouse. Running throughout the month across the entire site, the programme features music, spoken word, theatre, visual arts, podcasts and club nights — all celebrating unapologetic and boundary-pushing artists. Imogen Heap, Kae Tempest and Vogue Rites feature, and the legendary Roundhouse Poetry Slam is back. 8-29 April 2026
LONDON SOUNDTRACK FESTIVAL: The music used in films, TV and video games is celebrated at the London Soundtrack Festival, a weekend of concerts, screenings and masterclasses across several venues. Highlights include a concert of the music from Downton Abbey and a screening of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, with an introduction by the film's composer Julian Nott. 9-12 April 2026
HOOPLA IMPROV FEST: Comedy theatre Hoopla Improv celebrates its 20th anniversary with a festival running over several weeks. Shows include Impropera, an opera made up on the spot, and Special Delivery, the UK's longest-running POC improv comedy show. From 10 April 2026
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S STYLE: Clothing worn by Queen Elizabeth II through all 10 decades of her life goes on display in a special exhibition at the King's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life In Style showcases 200 items, many on display for the first time, including her christening robe, bridesmaid dress, wedding dress, coronation dress and the ensemble worn for the wedding of Princess Margaret. 10 April-18 October 2026
WORLD'S GREATEST LOVER: X Factor winners Matt Terry and Dalton Harris star alongside Jaymi Hensley and Joaquin Pedro Valdes in new pop‑rock musical World's Greatest Lover at The Other Palace. Legendary romancers Romeo, Casanova, Cyrano de Bergerac and the Marquis de Sade join forces for one night to discover the truth about love. 12 April-7 June 2026
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Celebrities unfiltered, in new live event series
One stage. No script. No safety net. That's the set-up for intriguing new conversation series On A Roll, which brings famous faces to the stage for a night of unguarded conversation with TV producer John Lloyd.
It kicks off with Michael Palin on 27 April, when Lloyd attempts to dig deep enough to find a dark side to "the nicest person in showbiz". Hear the travel journalist and Monty Python star discussing where his career has taken him, and what it's like to be him.
Then on 4 May, comedian and presenter Sandi Toksvig swaps the QI host chair for the On A Roll hot seat, chatting to Lloyd — who, coincidentally, created QI — with no rehearsed patter, and no subject off the table. Expect warmth, wit and the kind of conversation you wish you could eavesdrop on at a dinner party. Get a 10% discount on tickets for the Sandi Toksvig show using discount code STLW10 when you book online.
Michael Palin | On A Roll – Lightly Toasted by John Lloyd is on 27 April, and Sandi Toksvig | On A Roll - Sauced Up by John Lloyd is on 4 May, both at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, with tickets available now.
TANGO AFTER DARK: World Tango Champion Germán Cornejo brings his company to the Peacock Theatre for Tango After Dark, a staging of Argentine tango featuring 10 dancers, a five-piece live orchestra and two singers performing the music of Astor Piazzolla. Keep an eye on the website for this one; at time of writing, the Peacock Theatre has closed for essential building works, but currently it appears this performance is going ahead. 14-18 April 2026
BRITISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS: There are six days of action at the London Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park, at the British Swimming Championships. Tickets are available for the public to watch both heats and finals, with swimming and para-swimming event schedules running concurrently, and the event playing a role in team selection for the world championships. 14-19 April 2026
SALON PRIVE: Luxury car event Salon Privé London returns to the Royal Hospital Chelsea for a three-day showcase of high-end cars. Expect global premieres, supercar and hypercar displays, club features from Porsche Club GB, Lotus Drivers Club and Maserati Club UK, and an SCC supercar showcase. 16-18 April 2026
EARTH DAY WEEKENDER: Somerset House hosts an Earth Day Weekender across its Strand site, with workshops, artist-led tours and activations led by Somerset House Residents. Full programme TBC at time of writing. 16-19 April 2026
MULTITUDES FESTIVAL: After a successful debut last year, Southbank Centre hosts multi-arts festival Multitudes again, in which orchestras collaborate with artists across theatre, dance and visual art to reimagine what classical performance can be. 2026 highlights include a new one‑man show from poet Inua Ellams with a score by Laura Mvula, and an immersive soundscape synced to light art by Squidsoup. 16-30 April 2026
PLEASE PLEASE ME: Musical Please Please Me, opening at the Kiln Theatre, follows Brian Epstein’s discovery of The Beatles and the consequences of their meteoric rise, focusing on Epstein's role as the group's manager and his private struggles. It charts the early days at the Cavern Club and the pressures behind the fame. 16 April-29 May 2026
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION: One of our favourite photography shows every year, the Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition returns to Somerset House, showcasing 300 images taken all over the world in the past year, spanning portraiture, documentary photography, architecture, sports and more. 17 April-4 May 2026
TWEED RUN: Style meets cycling as the Tweed Run meanders through London's streets and parks, with cyclists competing in categories including best-dressed individuals, finest moustaches and most elegantly adorned bicycles. Stops for tea, a picnic and a celebratory cocktail are built into the schedule. How sophisticated. 18 April 2026
V&A EAST OPENS: One of our cultural highlights of 2026 is the opening of the new V&A East. What'll be the largest V&A outpost is located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with a focus on multiculturalism. Two free and permanent 'Why we make' galleries will offer up examples of creativity "from a range of countries, cultures and times". Temporary exhibitions will also feature, starting with The Music is Black: A British Story. FREE (charge for some exhibitions), from 18 April 2026
VAISAKHI FESTIVAL: Vaisakhi — the Sikh and Punjabi cultural festival — takes place on 14 April this year, but London's main celebration returns to Trafalgar Square the following weekend. The free festival features live entertainment and performances, martial arts demonstrations, a showcase of Sikh art, plus food and drink stalls. FREE, 18 April 2026
WINE FAIR: Taking place at Hackney Bridge, Pour Choices Wine Fair showcases UK producers of sustainable, low‑intervention wine alongside beer and cider, local food, workshops and music. Meet growers and winemakers, taste natural wines and attend short practical sessions and discussions. 18 April 2026
CHARITY COMEDY: Sara Barron, Mags McHugh, Johnny CT, Callum Mackenzie, Sallyann Fellowes and MC Sion James are the comedians taking part in a charity comedy fundraiser at Totteridge Cricket Club. Proceeds to to Cherry Lodge Cancer Care. 18 April 2026
CLASSIC CAR BOOT SALE: Pre-1990 vehicles including cars, campervans, hot rods, scooters, caravans, motorbikes and custom bicycles park up in King's Cross for the Classic Car Boot Sale — a weekend of shopping, eating and dancing. Browse and buy vintage clothing and homewares. Full details TBC at time of writing. 18-19 April 2026
HISTFEST: Two days of talks and conversations at the British Library and online form HistFest 2026 covering topics from Ancient Athens and reinterpretations of Cleopatra to histories of motherhood and 20th= century queer life. Speakers include Professor Michael Scott, Saara El-Arifi, Dr Wanda Wyporska, Lucy Inglis and Sir Michael Palin. 18-19 April 2026
WAYNE MCGREGOR: Choreographer Wayne McGregor brings together three ballets at the Royal Opera House, including YUGEN and UNTITLED (2023), alongside a brand-new world premiere. 18 April-6 May 2026
SPRING PLANT FAIR: Browse and buy garden plants from expert growers hailing from all over the country at the Garden Museum's Spring Plant Fair. Great Dixter Nursery in East Sussex and Beth Chatto Garden in Essex are among the organisations taking part, with a programme of talks and workshops happening throughout the day. 19 April 2026
ST GEORGE'S DAY: 23 April is St George's Day, a celebration of the patron saint of England (plus Catalonia, Ethiopia and various other regions). London's free St George's Day Festival takes place in Trafalgar Square a couple of days before (19 April 2026), with live music and performers, family activities and refreshments. FREE, 19/23 April 2026
LATIN MUSIC FESTIVAL: La Linea Latin music festival shimmies into several venues around central London. It opens with Portuguese singer Sara Correia performing live at Barbican to launch her new album. Browse the full programme. 20 April-6 May 2026
LETTERS LIVE: The Royal Albert Hall hosts a special Earth Day edition of Letters Live, in support of Greenpeace. The event brings together actors and public figures to read out and perform written correspondence from across the globe, though the exact line-up isn't revealed in advance. 22 April 2026
DON QUIXOTE: Spanish sunshine, vivacious comedy and spectacular dance are on show in Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote ballet at Sadler's Wells, as famous knight the Don sets out on a quest to track down his true love, and finds himself embroiled in an unlikely adventure. Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia perform in this first revival of Acosta's production since 2022 — a fantastic show for fans of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. 23-25 April 2026 (sponsor)
NORTH LONDON BOOK FESTIVAL: One of London's newest literary festivals, the North London Book Fest returns to Alexandra Palace with events for all ages. Tessa Hadley, Ben Aaronovitch, Rachel Parris and Laura Bates are among the names confirmed, with plenty more TBC. 23-26 April 2026
BRICK LANE JAZZ FESTIVAL: The Brick Lane Jazz Festival returns for a weekend of live music. Headline acts include American multi-instrumentalist Kwame Yeboah, jazz keys player Charlie Stacey and south London producer Footshooter. 23-26 April 2026
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: Shakespeare's Globe opens a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A company of amateur performers prepare a wedding‑night play that spills into a moonlit world of lovers, fairies and mischief, accompanied by music by Jim Fortune. 23 April-29 August 2026
CATEGORY IS: MACBETH: See Shakespeare's tragedy reworked in a queer clubland setting, in Category Is: Macbeth at The Emerald Theatre, starring RuPaul’s Drag Race winners Ginger Johnson (Macbeth) and Kyran Thrax (Lady Macbeth) alongside a cast of drag performers. The production uses 1980s British synth-pop and club visuals to examine power, persecution and survival under police scrutiny. Expect strobe lighting and stylised violence. 24 April-28 May 2026
RALPH FIENNES: David Hare's new play Grace Pervades stars Ralph Fiennes as Sir Henry Irving and Miranda Raison as Ellen Terry, charting their theatrical partnership and its effect on Victorian theatre. It comes to Theatre Royal Haymarket following a sell-out run at Theatre Royal Bath. 24 April-11 July 2026
BOOKS IN THE PARK: Literary festival Books in the Park returns to Beckenham Place Park with author talks from Ruth Ware, Paul Sinha and others, along with writing workshops, family sessions, a pop-up bookshop (Beckenham Bookshop) and a Food & Farmers Market. Simon Goddard and Alexander Larman present a special event marking David Bowie's legacy, and many activities are free to enter while individual events are ticketed. 25 April 2026
THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND: Based on a memoir and film of the same name, the true story of William Kamkwamba is told in new musical The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, at Soho Place. William designs and builds a windmill to make his Malawi village's broken water pump work again, and saves the local area from drought. 25 April-18 July 2026
LONDON MARATHON 2026: It's the time of year when thousands of runners pound the streets in London — many in bizarre costumes — to raise money for fantastic causes. This year's London Marathon follows the usual route and format. Even if you're not watching or taking part, be aware of widespread road closures, bus diversions and the like, on and around the route. 26 April 2026
THE KARATE KID: Before it arrives in the West End, musical The Karate Kid has a short run at the New Wimbledon Theatre. Based on the film of the same name, it tells of the powerful bond between new kid Daniel and Mr. Miyagi, who teaches him that karate isn't about fighting, but balance, dignity and respect. (And waxing cars.) 28 April-9 May 2026
EALING BOOK FESTIVAL: The third Ealing Book Festival runs across the borough with a programme of talks, readings, a local authors' showcase, family sessions and guided walks. International and UK names on the bill include William Boyd, Jung Chang, Anthony Horowitz, Robert Macfarlane and Blake Morrison, with additional appearances from Dan Cruickshank, Andrew Graham‑Dixon, Mary Portas and others. 29 April-3 May 2026
SKATE 50:The Undercroft Skate Space at Southbank Centre is 50 this year, and the centre is hosting a special exhibition to celebrate. Skate 50 showcases documentary photographs and films of the space through the decades, as well as contributions from sound artist Beatrice Dillon and animator Sofia Negri. 30 April-21 June 2026
London exhibitions and shows closing in April 2026
A few things are closing this month too. April 2026 is your last chance to see:
UNFORTUNATE: A satirical musical about Disney’s Ursula, Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula The Sea Witch mixes pop songwriting and adult humour, playing at The Other Palace. Until 5 April 2026
DEEP AZURE: The UK premiere of Chadwick Boseman's lyrical hip‑hop theatre piece Deep Azure is staged in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. It follows Azure after the police killing of her fiancé. Until 11 April 2026
MARIA AND ROSETTA: A stage portrait of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, starring Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu with live musicians, Maria and Rosetta follows Rosetta’s boundary‑breaking gospel and early rock and roll performances in 1946 Mississippi. It's on at Soho Place. Until 11 April 2026
BACK TO THE FUTURE: Last chance to see musical take on Back to the Future at the Adelphi Theatre, starring Caden Braunch as Marty McFly and Brian Conley as Doc Brown, as a souped-up DeLorean transports them between time periods. Until 12 April 2026
THE SINGH TWINS: The Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens hosts visual exhibition The Singh Twins, featuring fabric light boxes detailing how plants such as cotton, spices and dyes played a pivotal role in colonial expansion. Until 12 April 2026
THE TEMPEST: Tim Crouch directs a candlelit staging of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, telling the story of Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and Ariel, four lost souls stranded on an island with no hope of escape. Until 12 April 2026
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: This Easter retelling of Lewis Carroll's timeless classic brings Alice to Riverside Studios with colourful sets, striking costumes, puppetry and an original score. Expect familiar characters such as the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts in a family-friendly production aimed at children aged five and over. Until 12 April 2026
HAROLD FRY: Following a sold-out run at the Chichester Festival Theatre, musical The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is at Theatre Royal Haymarket, telling the story of a walk from Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed and the personal journey that followed. Until 18 April 2026
BROKEN GLASS: Arthur Miller's rarely staged drama Broken Glass is at the Young Vic. Set in 1938 Brooklyn, it follows Sylvia Gellburg as her conviction about violent attacks on Jewish communities strains her marriage. Until 18 April 2026
BEYOND BURMA: Marking the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, National Army Museum exhibition Beyond Burma brings together rarely seen weapons, medals, uniforms and personal accounts from British, Indian, Burmese and African troops who served in the Far East. Until 19 April 2026
SERPENTINE CURRENTS: Dana‑Fiona Armour's Serpentine Currents courtyard installation is a three-part illuminated sculpture modelled from a 3D scan of the endangered sea snake Aipysurus fuscus, its mesh LED surface animated using historic and predictive ocean data. FREE, until 26 April 2026. Also closing at Somerset House on the same day is the Museum of Edible Earth, an exhibition about the practice of eating earth for health, ritual and culinary benefit. Until 26 April 2026
SUMMERFOLK: Maxim Gorky's Summerfolk is revived in a new adaptation at the National Theatre. Set in a Russian seaside resort in 1905, the play follows Varvara and a group of privileged holidaymakers as tensions rise beneath the surface. Until 29 April 2026
