All weekend
OCTOBER HALF TERM: The school break falls around the end of October, meaning there will be plenty of family-friendly events taking place around London this weekend and into next week. Browse our half term events guide for theatre shows, exhibitions and other events and activities for all ages.
HALLOWEEN: Spooky season is most definitely here, and although Halloween itself isn't until next week, there are plenty of Halloween events already happening here in London. Swing by a terrifying pop-up bar for a themed cocktail, or hunt down a Halloween market this weekend.
PUMPKIN PICKING: Hand-in-hand with Halloween comes an abundance of orange gourds. Embrace all things autumnal with a trip to one of these farms or pumpkin patches near London where you can pick your own.
MCM COMIC CON: Halloween isn't the only reason to dig out your fancy dress costume at this time of year. MCM Comic Con returns to Excel for three days of celeb guests, panel discussions, cosplay, tabletop/video games and more. 23-25 October 2026
BECOMING AMERICA: The Science Museum marks 250 years of America's independence with free display Becoming America, which showcases maps, paintings, instruments and artefacts relating to scientific breakthroughs from the 1760s-90s. FREE, 23 October 2026-25 April 2027
FAMILY FILM FESTIVALS: Two child-friendly film festivals launch on Saturday, just in time for October half term. Barbican's annual Family Film Week promises "a celebration of cinematic discovery for young ones and their grown-ups" through the likes of Star Wars, Matilda and Singin' in the Rain. Meanwhile, out east, Rio Cinema hosts Hackney Children's Film Fest, showing a mixture of family classics, age-appropriate shorts, and lesser-known films throughout the week. Both 24-31 October 2026
FREDDIE MERCURY: Following Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday, the V&A South Kensington opens a new, free trail showcasing some of the Queen frontman's legendary stage costumes and outfits. Wander through the museum via six stops, each showcasing a different high of Mercury's career within a dramatic setting. FREE, 24 October 2026-17 January 2027
WIMBLEDON BOOKFEST: Ian Botham, Elif Shafak, Meera Syal, Clare Balding and Simon Sebag Montefiore are among the speakers on the programme for the second and final weekend of this year's Wimbledon BookFest, which takes place at venues around central Wimbledon. Until 25 October 2026
SURINDERELLA: Stratford East offers a Bollywood take on traditional panto in the form of Surinderella. The family-friendly show features Surinder, a sweet young woman stuck in a never-ending chore list thanks to her two selfie-obsessed, Insta-vlogging stepsisters, Lovely and Bubbly. 20-31 October 2026
HOKUSAI: Experience Mount Fuji as Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai saw it 200 years ago. Dulwich Picture Gallery brings together the complete set of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Hokusai's depictions of the mountain in different lights and seasons. 20 October 2026-17 January 2027
CIRQUE BERSERK: Large-scale theatre circus Cirque Berserk! barrels into the Garrick Theatre. An international troupe of more than 30 acrobats, aerialists and stunt performers mixes contemporary cirque-style artistry with adrenaline-fuelled stunt action, including the motorcycle Globe of Death. It's suitable for all ages, so ideal for a half term treat. 21-31 October 2026
LONDON LITERATURE FESTIVAL: Dua Lipa curates this year's London Literature Festival at Southbank Centre, which this weekend includes a celebration of 40 years of Poems on the Underground, as well as British Somali poetry, and a conversation between Dua Lipa and author Zadie Smith. 21 October-1 November 2026
Saturday 24 October
VINTAGE FAIR: Browse mid-century modern furniture, homewares, art, vintage fashion and jewellery at Judy's Vintage Fair at Sands End Arts & Community Centre in Fulham. Stalls are indoors and out, with a café on site and dogs welcome. 10.30am-3.30pm
HOME MOVIE DAY: Take films on 9.5mm, Super 8, 8mm or 16mm to Home Movie Day at the Cinema Museum for a free examination by a professional film archivist, followed by a big-screen projection. The family-friendly celebration of amateur film also includes tea and cake. FREE, 10.30am-4pm
UP THE CREEK: Explore Greenwich and Deptford on a walking tour with Pete Smith, beginning beneath the figurehead of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. The route passes the church where Christopher Marlowe was buried, follows the path of London's first railway and finishes at Deptford’s multicultural market. 11am-1pm
PURE POISON: Explore the use of poisons in medicine, culture and fashion at this display at the Wellcome Collection. Printed reproductions from the collection and evocative fragrances accompany examples ranging from mandrake folklore to hexensalbe, the ointment alleged to enable witches to fly. FREE, 12pm-4pm
RECLAIMING THE ARCHIVES: History, poetry and zine-making come together at Fulham Palace, exploring two contrasting documents from Lambeth Palace Library: a 1709 pamphlet by the Royal African Company and a 1723 letter written by an enslaved person known as Secrett. The afternoon includes a walk and talk tour, creative workshops and spoken word, with no archive or writing experience required. FREE, 12pm-6pm
THAMES ARCHITECTURE: Open City's Architecture on the Thames Boat Tour travels from Greenwich Pier towards the Dartford Crossing and back, taking in Richard Rogers' Dome, the Tate & Lyle Sugar Refinery, the Thames Barrier and Crossness Sewage Treatment Works. The three-hour tour is led by architect and architecture teacher Benedict O'Looney. 1pm-4pm
RADIOHEAD TRIBUTE: French Radiohead tribute band Paranohead take over the Half Moon in Putney for an afternoon show, covering the group's biggest hits from the early days of Creep and The Bends to the atmospheric worlds of Kid A, In Rainbows and beyond. 1pm
COWGIRLS & COCKTAILS: Saddle up for a cowboy-themed bottomless brunch at the Star in Shoreditch, with 90 minutes of unlimited drinks, Neapolitan pizza and live entertainment. Expect musical bingo, line dancing and hosted karaoke. 2pm-4pm
JANE EYRE: The UK premiere run of the Tony‑nominated musical adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre plays at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until today, offering a story of ambition and independence, gothic mystery and passionate love. 2.30pm/7pm
GOTH AFTERNOON: Spend four hours with Feeling Gloomy DJs at Simmons Bar in Leicester Square, where classic goth, darkwave and dark indie soundtrack an over-30s-only afternoon. The basement venue was formerly Subway, home to the Batcave goth nightclub in the 1980s. 3pm-7pm
FAMILY CONCERT: The Audentior Symphony Orchestra brings Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Stravinsky's The Firebird to Harrow Arts Centre. Live narration and paintings created before your eyes by children's illustrator James Mayhew add a visual storytelling element to the 60-minute concert. 4pm
MON ÂME: A free community screening at Oxford House Theatre in Bethnal Green brings together Mon Âme and other films exploring Black life, identity and representation in Britain and the wider diaspora. A panel discussion follows, considering Black British identity, community and the future of Black communities in the East End. FREE, 6pm-9.30pm
SPOKEN NERD: Festival of the Spoken Nerd and friends gather at the Royal Institution for An Evening of Unnecessary Detail. The science and comedy variety night has a line-up including pyrotechnician Fran Scott, stand-up mathematician Matt Parker and science presenter Helen Arney, who combine their areas of expertise with comedy and songs. 7pm-10pm
MOTOWN MEMOIRS: Soul Mama Islington welcomes Motown Memoirs, a live celebration of Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and the Temptations, with London vocalists and a live band. Performers include the Elements, the Seasons, the Soul Sisters and the Rhythms, each bringing a different take on Motown classics. Doors 6.30pm, show 8.30pm
BACK TO BLACK: Rob Howat's Big Band performs Amy Winehouse's seminal album Back to Black at the Ivy House, London's first community-owned pub in Nunhead. This one-night celebration marks the album's 20th anniversary. 7pm-11.45pm
BACH ORCHESTRAL SUITES: Concerto Copenhagen performs all four of Bach's Orchestral Suites at Smith Square Hall as part of the London Festival of Baroque Music. Led by harpsichordist and musical director Lars Ulrik Mortensen, the ensemble uses one string player per part for a clear, historically informed performance. 7.30pm
NEVER SUCH INNOCENCE: OSO Arts Centre marks the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme with a performance of this First World War music drama. Christopher Kent and pianist Gamal Khamis tell the story of 19-year-old Private Percy O'Key through his letters and diaries, alongside words by Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas, Siegfried Sassoon and Vera Brittain, and music by Elgar, Ravel, Debussy and Ivor Gurney. 7.30pm
Sunday 25 October
CLOCKS CHANGE: A reminder that the clocks go back an hour at 2am on Sunday. That means winter is on the horizon, but fear not, we've put together some ideas for brightening up the dark nights here in London.
BIG STORY FESTIVAL: The Imperial War Museum in Lambeth holds its inaugural Big Story Festival, a free-to-attend, family-focused weekend of storytelling, featuring talks with bestselling children's authors Dame Jacqueline Wilson and Tom Palmer, illustration workshops with Will Hughes, free Play and Sing sessions for younger visitors, and guided tours of the museum's galleries. Some workshops and author events require paid tickets. FREE, 25-26 October 2026
HIDDEN GARDENS: Discover some of the City's unexpected green spaces on the Hidden Gardens of London walking tour, beginning near St Paul's. The route visits churchyards, livery company gardens and other oases shaped by the Great Fire of London and the Blitz, with commentary from guide Bridget Chandler. 11am-1pm
HARLEM IN MAYFAIR: Explore the hidden African and Caribbean history of Mayfair on this Black History Walk. The two-hour tour covers Black-owned businesses, African spirituality, jazz, fashion, aristocratic interracial relationships and the area's links to African and Caribbean figures. 11am-1pm
BOOK BUZZ: Book Buzz returns to Artsdepot in North Finchley for a free family festival celebrating books, stories and reading, with a special focus on comics, manga and graphic novels. Meet comic creators, try drawing techniques, invent heroes and villains — and explore book swaps, creative activities and workshops. FREE, 11am-4pm
CHILDREN'S DISCO: Dance to indie pop, soul and Motown at How Does It Feel To Be Loved? Children's Disco at the Phoenix on Cavendish Square. The family-friendly party welcomes children, parents and family friends, with music played at a reasonable level. 12pm-4pm
THE RESTLESS CLOCK: Pints of Knowledge hosts a talk about how humans measure and experience time at the Dial in Greenwich. Explore everything from sundials and church bells to atomic seconds and the idea of time as a fourth dimension, with playful experiments, a Q&A and a free pint of Dial lager included — all led by cultural ecologist Regina Atienza. 12pm
DIWALI IN LONDON: London gets the Diwali celebrations started early with the free Diwali on the Square festival in Trafalgar Square. Open to everyone, it celebrates the upcoming Festival of Light with live music and dance performances/workshops, South Asian food stalls and children's activities. Find other ways to celebrate Diwali 2026 in London, over the coming weeks. FREE, 1pm-7pm
VAMPIRES: Climb through the bookcase at Love Shack in Cambridge Heath for Storytelling Sunday: VAMPIRES!, a live storytelling and music performance inspired by Gogol's short story Viy. Vanessa Woolf and musician George Hoyle explore Ukrainian folklore, horror, wonder and magic, with guest stories from the floor and costumes welcome. 2pm-4pm
FREE COMEDY: Hosted by Joe Bains, the Lyceum Tavern Comedy Show in central London has a nice and early start/end time for a Sunday — plus there's no cover charge, although as the old gag goes, donations on the door mean it might cost ya to get out. FREE, 4pm-6pm
HENNING WEHN: German comedian Henning Wehn takes an "unbiased" look at climate change in Acid Wehn at Hackney Empire. Expect observations on the weather from the self-styled German Comedy Ambassador, in a show running for approximately two hours. 4.30pm
MOZART REQUIEM: Crouch End Festival Chorus returns to Alexandra Palace Theatre with Mozart's Requiem. The programme also includes works by Christopher Tin, Orlando Gibbons and Jessica Curry, including the theme from the video game Civilization. 5pm-6.45pm
LAMPLIT HAMPSTEAD: Explore Hampstead after dark on an atmospheric walking tour from JW3, winding through narrow back streets lit by old-fashioned lamps and glimpsing the area's history. It's led by museum curator and educator Marilyn Greene. 5pm-7pm
FAIRPORT CONVENTION: British folk-rock band Fairport Convention brings their tour to the Exchange in Twickenham. Expect long-established favourites alongside surprises from albums old and new. 5pm
FAUST: Murnau's 1926 Expressionist film Faust is reimagined as an immersive live cinema performance at the Horniman Museum and Gardens. The Enchanted Cinema accompanies the film with trumpet, violin, electric viola, organ, guitar, vocal effects and live foley sound. 5pm-7pm
NARA SMITH: Social media cook Nara Smith brings A Homemade Evening to Union Chapel in Islington for a conversation about family, motherhood, internet fame and self-care through food. Known for calmly making bread, cereal and butter from scratch, Smith also takes questions from the audience. 7.30pm
ROCK ORCHESTRA: Things get lively at Wembley Arena, as the Rock Orchestra headlines Arena of Fire. The 90-minute live concert features 14 classical musicians performing rock and metal covers alongside pyrotechnics, fire performers and circus acts. 8pm
