From Pride Month to the latest exhibitions, here are some of the best things to do in London with family and friends this June. 

1 London Clown Festival, Soho

No doubt someone's nightmare, the London Clown Festival takes over Soho Theatre for a weekend of physical comedy, cabaret, clown-influenced contemporary performance and buffoonery. 

Dates: June 12-17

Tickets: Shows individually ticketed from £13

Address: Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, Soho W1D 3NE

Website: londonclownfestival.wixsite.com

2 Kensington and Chelsea Art Week

Taking place over 11 days, the festival showcases art and culture throughout the borough through public art exhibitions, performance, music and visual arts. The festival is also putting on an arts trail, featuring world-class sculpture, installations and murals in some of west London's most beautiful sites, which runs until August 31.

Dates: June 22-July 2

Tickets: Free

Website: kcaw.co.uk

3 West End LIVE, Westminster

For lovers of all things musicals, get a taste of some of the best West End shows now playing. The line up is still yet to be announced but expect some of the stage’s biggest names belting out crowd-pleasing favourites from box office hits over the course of the weekend. Free and unticketed.

Dates: June 12-18

Tickets: Free

Address: Trafalgar Square

Website: westendlive.co.uk

4 River Stage, South Bank

National Theatre’s summertime outdoor pop up theatre returns for weekends filled with creative takeovers and performance. East London’s The Glory will bring the drag queens and kings, as well as drag life drawing, sing-a-longs and dance-a-longs. This is followed by a weekend of dance, presented by James Cousins Company, a weekend of music, DJs, performances, workshops and installations presented by contemporary Arab festival of culture Shubbak, and Hackney Empire will round the pop up off with its Young Producers programme showcasing the next generation of young creatives. Free and unticketed.

Dates: Weekends between June 9-July 2

Address: Bank side of National Theatre, Upper Ground, South Bank SE1 9P

Website: nationaltheatre.org.uk

5 Christine and the Queens Meltdown

Southbank Centre’s Meltdown festival sees top creative forces curate a programme of music and arts. In past years, the likes of Grace Jones, David Byrne, M.I.A and Guy Garvey have had the privilege to select the line up, and this year that job goes to Christine and the Queens. Django Django, Girl Ray, Let’s Eat Grandma, Warpaint, and Kokoroko are on the bill, along with Faggamuffin Bloc Party Pride celebration, and a day pf workshops and dance battles with Rain Crew Summer Jam.

Dates: June 9-18

Tickets: Events start from free

Address: Belvedere Road, South Bank SE1 8XX

Website: southbankcentre.co.uk

6 RA’s Summer Exhibition

Going strong since 1769, the RA’s Summer Exhibition is the world’s largest open submission exhibition around. With British painter David Romfry as exhibition co-ordinator this time round, the exhibition showcases works across all mediums, from prints and paintings, to sculpture and architectural works.

Dates: June 13-August 20

Tickets: From £22

Address: Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1J 0BD

Website: royalacademy.org.uk

7 Hallyu! The Korean Wave, V&A

June’s your last chance to catch the V&A exhibition that looks at one of the world's biggest music markets, K-Pop, which now has a global reach across pop-culture pockets. Not just for Gangnam Style or Squid Games fans, the exhibition explores the reach of Korea's influence on cinema, music, beauty and fashion. You can even star in a K-Pop film clip.

Date: Closes June 25

Tickets: From £20

Address: Cromwell Road, South Kensington SW7 2RL

Website: vam.ac.uk

8 Hampton Court Palace Festival, Molesey

With the likes of Gladys Knight, Grace Jones, Kool & The Gang, Tom Jones and Bjorn Again on the line up for this year, open air concert series Hampton Court Palace Festival is a great night out. With the palace as a background in the Tudor courtyard of Henry VIII, listen to some of music’s biggest names in one of London’s most magical settings. Get there early so you can have a pre-gig picnic in the historic East Front Gardens.

Dates: June 6-17

Tickets: From £75

Address: Hampton Court Way, Molesey, KT8 9AU

Website: hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com

9 London Open Gardens, London-wide

Here’s your opportunity take a peek at a garden otherwise closed to the public, and there’s more than 100 gardens to choose from. There’s historical guided tours, suggested walking routes and a cycling tour to go on too, which will take you past a selection of gardens. The weekend ticket will grant you access to all gardens – it’s up to you to work out which ones you go to.

Dates: June 10-11

Tickets: £20

Website: londongardenstrust.org

10 London Design Biennale

Full of design-led innovation, this interactive collection of creativity features more than 40 exhibitors from around the world which are presenting thought-provoking installations confronting global challenges. With the Dutch national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture, Nieuwe Instituut, as Artistic Director, the theme for this year is The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations. Included in the exhibition, Maltese designers will reinterpret the village square, designers from Ukraine have a historic take on how collaboration forges connection and communication in times of war, and Polish designers will reinterpret the window as a symbol of cross-border collaboration in reference to Poland’s donated windows which helped those whose homes have been destroyed in the war in Ukraine.

Dates: June 1-25

Tickets: From £23

Address: Somerset House Strand WC2R 1LA

Website: somersethouse.org.uk

11 Capturing the Moment at Tate Modern

This new exhibition looks at the relationship between photography and painting and how one influences the other. It features some of the most iconic works from the last 100 years, from post war era painters who developed realism to those involved in the emergence of documentary photography. Artists David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Lucien Freud.

Dates: June 13 – January 28, 2024

Tickets: £20

Address: Bankside, SE1 9TG 

Website:  tate.org.uk

12 BST Hyde Park’s All Things Orchestral

Bask in the magic of orchestral music at this new event for BST Hyde Park. All Thing Orchestral will see the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra perform well-known classical compositions as well as modern, cinematic hits. Hear’Say’s Myleene Klass will guide the audience through each piece of music, sharing the score’s history and stories. Tenor Alfie Boe OBE will be the evening’s special guest.

Date: Friday, June 23

Tickets: From £11.45

Website: bst-hydepark.com

13 Planet Ardbeg Day Immersive Experience, Shoreditch

To mark the launch of its new limited edition whisky, single malt Scotch whiskey brand Ardbeg is putting on a Detective Noir themed immersive experience for a day. Expect to crack codes hidden in graffiti and take part in whiskey tastings. Tickets include three cocktails, activities including tastings and food from Shortie’s Smokehouse.

Date: Saturday, June 3

Time: 2pm-7pm

Tickets: £40

Address: The Light Bar, 233 Shoreditch High Street E1 6PJ

Website: eventbrite.co.uk

 

14 BST Hyde Park

In addition to All Things Orchestral, the first dates in BST Hyde Park’s main programme start this month too. First up, P!NK headlines two nights of high energy pop, staring Eurovision’s Sam Ryder, Sam Tompkins, Gwen Stefani and Lyra. The last of the festival’s June dates, Guns N’ Roses take the stage, along with The Darkness and The Pretenders.

Dates: June 24-25, 30

Tickets: From £111.85

Website: bst-hydepark.com

15 Mighty Hoopla, Brockwell Park

A pop festival with more than a twang of queer campness, Mighty Hoopla returns to Brockwell Park for a weekend of giddy fun. Kelly Rowland, Kelis, Jake Shears, Roisin Murphy and Years & Years headline the two-day festival but there’s lots of side stuff going on too to keep you entertained. Look out for the Karaoke Hole with Ru Paul’s Just May, A Man To Pet and the Big Gay Songbook. Cabaret artists Diane Chorley, Bourgeois & Maurice and Jonny Woo will also be on stage.

Dates: June 3-4

Tickets: From £49.50

Address: Brockwell Park, SE24 0NG

Website: mightyhoopla.com

16 Pride Month

Get behind the queer community with a month of protests, parties, talks and events which culminates in one of the best parties in the diary – London Pride ( July 1). The month is in remembrance of the Stonewall riots – a series of gay liberation protests in 1969. Wondering how to show your support or what to do? Queer Britain in King’s Cross is a great starting point, Museum of London has a great account of LGBTQ+  history, Chelsea Physic Garden usually puts on a few queer botany workshops and, London’s not short on fun gay bars. Also, Pride in London is a great reference.

17 London Restaurant Festival

The month-long celebration of London’s dining scene is back for its summer edition with a programme of events, masterclasses and happenings that will give you a taste of the capital’s best. The festival kicks off with a mini festival in POP Brixton which will be filled with pop up restaurants, and there are tasting tours, masterclasses and wine session get amongst as well.

Dates: May 31-June 30

Website: londonrestaurantfestival.com

18 Polar Silk Road exhibition at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington

Austrian photographer and Gregor Sailer travelled to the Arctic Sea to document the new Polar Silk Road – a sea route created through Climate Change which has created trade opportunities and opened up access to natural resources. The 67 photos in the exhibition look at the changes taking place across the Arctic as people build on, exploit and research it.

Dates: Opens May 26

Tickets: Free, but entry tickets must be booked

Address: Cromwell Road, South Kensington, SW7 5BD

Website: nhm.ac.uk

19 Silo’s invasive species supper club, Hackney Wick

Green Michelin star restaurant Silo’s invasive species supper club series takes a pesky intruder and turns it into a delicious meal. The first dinner in the string of three takes Japanese Knotweed – a delicacy in its hometown but devastating in the UK – and turns it sharps rhubarb flavour into vary elements in a three-course meal, including as Japanese Knotweed swirled ice-cream. Crete brewery, found below Silo, has created a rhubarb and Japanese Knotweed sour for the occasion too.

Date: Tuesday, June 6

Price: £95 pp + drinks

Address: First Floor, CRATE Bar, Unit 7 Queen's Yard, Hackney Wick E9 5EN

Website: silolondon.com

20 Luxury and power: Persia to Greece at the British Museum, Bloomsbury

A major exhibition exploring the relationship between luxury and power in the Middle East and southeast Europe between 550-30 BC, Luxury and power: Persia to Greece, delves into a period when the Persian empire of ancient Iran clashed with the cities of Greece around the time of Alexander the Great. The exhibition features objects from Afghanistan to Italy, including relics made from gold, silver and glass. Cast your gaze across a silver griffin-shaped wine pourer, a sculpture from a tomb, a gold wreath and an ancient Greek pottery mug.

Dates: Runs until August 13

Price: From £15

Address: Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, WC1B 3DG

Website: britishmuseum.org

21 The ‘No Jiggery Pokery’ Comedy Show by Cawston Press at The Clapham Grand

Comedians Lou Sanders, Pierre Novellie, Ahir Shah and Glenn Moore will all perform at a night of stand-up comedy, in support of charity Fareshare. 

The Resident:

Date: June 8, doors open at 6.30pm with show starting at 7.30pm

Price: £18 per ticket 

Address: The Clapham Grand, 21-25, St John's Hill, London SW11 1TT

Website: claphamgrand.com

22 Free workout with Bear Grylls at Battersea Power Station 

Participants are invited to #TrainLikeARanger with Bear Grylls in a unique 45-minute workout in support of the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a global campaign powered by Tusk conservation to raise funds for rangers across the African continent. To donate go to wildliferangerchallenge.org/donate/ 

The Resident:

Date: June 16 at 7.45am

Price: Free

Address: The Coaling Jetty, Battersea Power Station, London, SW8 4NR

Website: eventbrite.co.uk

It's still early days, this guide will be updated.