The Year Ahead: Fun Things Coming London’s Way in 2022

Photo: Photo London

Theatre, Performance & Stand up

Cirque du Soleil – Luzia; January 12-February 27
Royal Albert Hall, South Kensington; royalalberthall.com

Dirty Dancing; February 2-April 16
Dominion Theatre, West End; nederlander.co.uk

The Corn is Green; from April 7
National Theatre; nationaltheatre.org.uk

To Kill a Mockingbird; From March 10
Gielgud Theatre, West End; tokillamockingbird.co.uk

English National Ballet, The Forsythe Evening; March 31-April 10
Sadler’s Wells, Clerkenwell; sadlerswells.com

Peter Kay’s Dance For Life; Friday April 29
Alexandra Palace; alexandrapalace.com

Grease; May 3-October 29
Dominion Theatre, West End; nederlander.co.uk

Alan Partridge Live; May 31-June 3
The O2 Arena, Greenwich; theo2.co.uk

Madama Butterfly; June 14-July 6
Royal Opera House; roh.org.uk

LIFT; July 1-December 9
Various locations; liftfestival.com

An Evening with David Sedaris; July 20-21 & July 30-31
Cadogan Hall Chelsea & Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre; davidsedarisbooks.com

Alan Carr: Regional Trinket; October 7-8
Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith; eventimapollo.com

Art & Design

Francis Bacon: Man and Beast; January 29-April 17
Royal Academy, Piccadilly; royalacademy.org.uk

Van Gogh Self-Portraits; February 3-May 8
The Courtald Gallery, Somerset House; courtauld.ac.uk

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature; From February 12
V&A, South Kensington; vam.ac.uk

Surrealism Beyond Borders; February 24-August 29
Tate Modern; tate.org.uk

Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear; Opening March 19
V&A, South Kensington; vam.ac.uk

The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Raphael; April 9-July 31
The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square; nationalgallery.org.uk

Photo London 2022; May 12-15
Somerset House; photolondon.org

Weird Sensation Feels Good: The World of ASMR; Opening May 13
The Design Museum, Kensington; designmuseum.org

Yinka Ilori; opens in the summer (dates TBC)
The Design Museum, Kensington; designmuseum.org

Hallyu! The Korean Wave; Opening September 24
V&A, South Kensington; vam.ac.uk

The EY Exhibition: Cezanne; opening October 6
Tate Modern, Bankside; tate.org.uk

Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today; opening October 14
The Design Museum, Kensington; designmuseum.org

Frieze London; dates TBC
The Regent’s Park; frieze.com

Music

Damon Albarn: The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows; February 21-22
Barbican Centre; barbican.org.uk

Hans Zimmer Live – Europe Tour; March 22-23
The O2 Arena, Greenwich; theo2.co.uk

Elton John; April 1-17
The O2 Arena, Greenwich; theo2.co.uk

ABBA Voyage; from May 27
ABBA Arena, Stratford; abbavoyage.com

Grace Jones’s Meltdown festival; various dates in June
Southbank Centre; southbankcentre.co.uk

Lorde – The Solar Power Tour; June 1-3 & June 28
Roundhouse & Alexandra Palace; roundhouse.org.uk alexandrapalace.com

Diana Ross; June 23-24
The O2 Arena, Greenwich; theo2.co.uk

BBC Proms; July-September (dates TBC)
Royal Albert Hall; royalalberthall.com

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert with the London Symphony Orchestra; September 23-25
Royal Albert Hall, South Kensington; royalalberthall.com

EFG London Jazz Festival; November 11-20
Various locations; efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

Culture

Lewisham: London Borough of Culture 2022; January 1-December 31
Various locations; wearelewisham.com

London Short Film Festival; January 14-23
Various cinemas; shortfilms.org.uk

Bridgerton Secretcinema; from February
TBC; secretcinema.org

Margaret Atwood: Burning Questions; Thursday, March 24
Southbank Centre; southbankcentre.co.uk

Wimbledon BookFest; June 9-15 & September 22-25
Various locations around Wimbledon; wimbledonbookfest.org

Pride Parade; September (dates TBC)
prideinlondon.org

Buckingham Palace Tours; July 22-October 2
Buckingham Palace, Westminster; rct.uk

Black History Month; October
Various locations; visitlondon.com

BFI London Film Festival; October (dates TBC)
Various cinemas; bfi.org.uk

London Literature Festival; October 21-31
Southbank Centre; southbankcentre.co.uk

Sport

Six Nations Rugby England vs. Ireland; Saturday, March 12
Twickenham Stadium; six-nations-guide.co.uk

The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race; Sunday, April 3
River Thames between between Putney and Mortlake (best viewing spots include Putney Bridge, Craven Cottage, Hammersmith, Barnes and Chiswick Bridge); theboatrace.org

2022 FA Cup Final; Saturday May 14
Wembley Stadium, thefa.com

The 135th Wimbledon Championships; June 27-July 10
The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club; wimbledon.com

UEFA Women’s EURO 2022; July 6-31
Wembley Stadium; uefa.com

The Strongman Classic 2022; Saturday, July 9
Royal Albert Hall, South Kensington; royalalberthall.com

The LGBT HERO & Royal Vauxhall Tavern Sports Day, August (date TBC but usually bank holiday Monday)
Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (behind Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Vauxhall); lgbthero.org.uk

England v South Africa Test Match, August 17-21
Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood; lords.org

Laver Cup London 2022; September 23-25
The O2 Arena Greenwich; lavercup.com

London Marathon; Sunday, October 2
tcslondonmarathon.com

Festivals

Women of the World (WOW) Festival; March 11-13
Southbank Centre; southbankcentre.co.uk

RHS Chelsea Flower Show; May 24-28
Royal Hospital Chelsea; rhs.org.uk

Hampton Court Palace Festival; various dates in June
Hampton Court Palace; hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com

Pub in the Park; June 24-26 & September 2-4
Dulwich Park & Chiswick House & Gardens; pubintheparkuk.com

RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival; July 4-9
Hampton Court Palace; rhs.org.uk

British Summer Time; July 9-10
Hyde Park; bst-hydepark.com

All Points East; August 19-28
Victoria Park; allpointseastfestival.com

Notting Hill Carnival; last week of August (dates TBC)
Around W10 and W11; nhcarnival.org

Meatopia; September 2-4
Tobacco Dock, Wapping; meatopia.co.uk

Totally Thames; September (dates TBC)
Along the Thames, South Bank and Bankside; thamesfestivaltrust.org