London

The Sikh Vaisakhi Festival takes place on Trafalgar Square, featuring messages of peace and prayers, followed by afternoon performances of traditional and modern Asian music and dance. Performers include Navin Kundra, Juggy D, Sham, Sat Sandhu and Foji. 

From photographs of tiles commemorating everyday courage to a video exploration of reverie, Susan Hiller's artwork roams between different media and ideas with immense creativity. Tate Britain presents a comprehensive survey of her work.

The FA Cup dates back to the 1871/1872 season, when 15 teams took part. Nowadays the competition kicks off in November with some 700 teams all having the same dream, of holding the cup aloft at Wembley Stadium in May.

Great French director Patrice Chéreau directs his first-ever English stage production at the Young Vic. Adapted by Simon Stephens, Norwegian Jon Fosse's I Am the Wind marks the first showing of Chéreau's theatre work in London since 1974.

French film director Benoit Jacquot's Royal Opera House production of Jules Massenet's Werther, based on Goethe's Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, is given its first revival at Covent Garden. Once again it is conducted by music director Antonio Pappano.

Spurs play their home matches at White Hart Lane. The Premier League fixtures for the 2010/11 season are as follows:

Fulham play their home matches at Craven Cottage. The Premier League fixtures for the 2010/11 season are as follows:

The rarefied realm of the arts remains beyond the reach of many, an issue the Impact Art Fair aims to rectify. Held in London's Candid Arts Centre, the event is dedicated exclusively to the work of 'marginalised' artists deserving of broader exposure. 

Benjamin Britten's sparkling Shakespearean adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to the London Coliseum in English National Opera's new production directed by Christopher Alden. Iestyn Davies stars as Oberon, with Sarah Tynan as Tytania and Sir Willard White as Bottom.

The Chelsea Flower Show is the gardening Mecca of Europe. Some of the greatest exponents of the art exhibit imaginative garden designs over an 11-acre site at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, creating a floral wonderland for the public to explore.

London's Skin Two Rubber Ball Weekend is one of the biggest fetish gatherings in the world, with events at venues around the capital. Naturally there is a strict dress code - think tight, tight and tighter.

David Farr, RSC associate director, teams up again with Filter for a new play Silence at the Hampstead Theatre.  Tying in with the RSC's 50th birthday, it continues the company's laudable focus on new work. 

It's the perfect venue for the UK's first ever stage show featuring the explosive sport of free running (parkour), given the Southbank Centre's long-standing adoption of BMX bikers and skateboarders alike. At the E4 Udderbelly, parkour team 3RUN headline Free Run.

The Wildlife Artist of the Year & Three Generations Exhibition at the Mall Galleries features David Shepherd's first London retrospective alongside original work by his daughter, Mandy Shepherd and grand-daughter, Emily Lamb. All profit from sales help to save wildlife.

Phyllida Lloyd's bold, colourful and intense production of Verdi's Macbeth returns to Covent Garden, conducted by music director Antonio Pappano. Simon Keenlyside sings the title role for the Royal Opera for the first time, with Liudmyla Monastyrska as Lady Macbeth.

Pagans, witches, wiccans, druids and shamans gather at London's Conway Hall for an extraordinary celebration of the changing season. The Beltane Bash's parades have dancing bushes, medieval giants, live music, chanting and singing. Join in with a leafy green outfit.

Lost star Matthew Fox makes his UK theatre debut in this intriguing new two-hander by writer/director Neil LaBute. In a Forest, Dark and Deep at the Vaudeville Theatre co-stars Olivia Williams.

Dress to impress in your most freakish outfit and prepare for a night of burlesque dancing, risque performances and live music, as the Bizarre Ball takes over London's Coronet Theatre. Expect lots of latex, leather and loud uniforms!

The Crusaid Walk For Life sees thousands taking to the streets of London for the HIV charity's biggest fundraiser of the year. To celebrate the walk's 21st birthday, sponsored participants are encouraged to complete the 10km stroll in fancy dress.

The Brick Lane Curry Festival is a gastronomic extravaganza in London's Brick Lane, celebrating the best in curry culture. Visitors have the chance to sample some of the most tantalising cuisine from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan over two weeks.

In 2010 London witnessed Domingo's baritone debut in Verdi's most political opera, Simon Boccanegra. This year English National Opera's new production by controversial Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov, conducted by music director Edward Gardner, is likely to make its own headlines.

This 6K fun run (or 3k relay race) benefits homeless charity Crisis. Starting at Paternoster Square, runners in the Crisis Square Mile Run pass the Tower of London and Tate Modern before finishing on the Millennium Bridge.

Over 1000 naked, body-painted and scantily clad cyclists turn out for the annual World Naked Bike Ride in London, protesting against climate change and the tyranny of the automobile. Motorists stuck in traffic jams may get more than they bargained for...

London's theatreland takes Terence Rattigan's centenary to heart. Following the National's After the Dance and Old Vic's Cause Célèbre, Flare Path starts Trevor Nunn’s year as artistic director of the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Sienna Millar, James Purefoy and Sheridan Smith star.

Brick Lane Takeover has seven hours of live music spread across seven East London venues. Café 1001, 93 Feet East, Cargo, The Brickhouse, Rough Trade, Spitalfields Market and the Vibe Bar host performances. Money raised goes to Macmillan Cancer Support.

London's Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music takes over the churches of St John's - Smith Square, St Peter's - Eaton Square and Westminster Abbey every summer. Concerts range from little-known gems of early 17th-century repertoire to large-scale masterpieces of the late baroque.

Cornwall's theatrical powerhouse, Kneehigh Theatre, returns to the West End after its hugely popular hit, Brief Encounter. It's another classic love story, this time French, as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg comes to the Gielgud Theatre, directed by Emma Rice.

Although Bridget Riley is renowned as one of the most original painters of her time she's found steady influence through the work of past masters. This special exhibition at London's National Gallery examines her oeuvre and the work that influenced her.

The D. Daskalopoulos Collection is one of Europe's foremost collections of contemporary art. In collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery many of its prize pieces are displayed in the UK for the first time, as part of a series of four thematic exhibitions.

West Ham play their home matches at Upton Park. The Premier League fixtures for the 2010/11 season are as follows:

Originally arranged as the climax of the orchestra's 50th anniversary tour, the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra's Royal Festival Hall concert at London's Southbank Centre is now a fundraiser for the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund. Music director Tadaaki Otaka is joined by violinist Akiko Suwanai.

Having started its season with Gounod's Faust, English National Opera's own devilish pact continues with Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. It also continues the company's policy of debug opera directors at the London Coliseum, here film director and ex-Python Terry Gilliam.

London's Wembley Stadium hosts the 2011 UEFA Champions League final. Europe's football elite have been battling it out since July, and the two remaining sides play in front of 80,000 fans for the right to succeed Internazionale as champions of Europe.

Harold Pinter's 1993 atomisation of family life, Moonlight comes to the Donmar Warehouse, directed by Bijan Sheibani. A boorish man, Andy, lies dying, with his wife, embroidering, buy his side, while his two sons in another bedroom plot their inheritance.

First seen at the Hampstead Theatre in 1979, writer/director Mike Leigh's new produciton of his Ecstasy makes a double-quick transfer into the West End.  It comes to the Duchess Theatre for a 50-performance run just four days after finishing at Hampstead.

Established for nearly 30 years, the London International Antique Dolls, Toys, Miniatures & Teddy Bear Fair attracts collectors and dealers from around the world. Now taking place at Dulwich College, find antique and new dolls, bears, miniatures and juvenilia.

Society, Studio and Street is a display of strikingly modernist portraits by one of the most prolific photographers of the twentieth century. Held at the National Portrait Gallery, the show includes Hoppé's portraits of George Bernard Shaw and Tilly Losch.

Open your mind and release your body at the annual Mind Body Spirit Festival at the Royal Horticultural Halls. A huge range of 'alternative' goods, concepts, companies and individuals persuade you to embrace a spiritual future and a healthy lifestyle.

Benjamin Britten's sparkling Shakespearean adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to the London Coliseum in English National Opera's new production directed by Christopher Alden. Iestyn Davies stars as Oberon, with Sarah Tynan as Tytania and Sir Willard White as Bottom.

London's Southbank Centre and the International Guitar Foundation celebrate six-string wizardry from around the globe at this festival of the guitar. Past performers have included award-winning guitarist Tom Kerstens, Allan Holdsworth and one of Spain's leading flamenco guitarists, Gerardo Nunez.

World-class polo players come to Fulham's Hurlingham Park for the three-day Polo in the Park event. The London event aims to shed the sport's elitist image, and make it accessible to more people.

Having started its season with Gounod's Faust, English National Opera's own devilish pact continues with Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. It also continues the company's policy of debug opera directors at the London Coliseum, here film director and ex-Python Terry Gilliam.

Stella McCartney, Antonio Beradi and Sheila Maloney all launched their careers at London's Graduate Fashion Week, Britain's springboard for major new designers, held at Earls Court 2. Competition is fierce as students battle to impress buyers, headhunters and the press.

Phyllida Lloyd's bold, colourful and intense production of Verdi's Macbeth returns to Covent Garden, conducted by music director Antonio Pappano. Simon Keenlyside sings the title role for the Royal Opera for the first time, with Liudmyla Monastyrska as Lady Macbeth.

Trooping the Colour is a quintessentially English experience of pomp and ceremony. A parade of the Massed Bands and Troops of the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry takes over Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday.

Celebrating Terence Rattigan's centenary, Thea Sharrock directs his final play, Cause Célèbre at the Old Vic, starring Anne-Marie Duff. Sharrock scored massive acclaim in 2010 for her National Theatre production of Rattigan's second play, After the Dance.

Browse paintings including Old Masters, ancient Chinese ceramics, Art Deco jewellery and other sought-after treasures exhibited by British and international galleries at the annual London International Fine Art Fair. Buyers, curators and fine art aficionados fill the Olympia Exhibition Centre.

Benjamin Britten's sparkling Shakespearean adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to the London Coliseum in English National Opera's new production directed by Christopher Alden. Iestyn Davies stars as Oberon, with Sarah Tynan as Tytania and Sir Willard White as Bottom.

Returning to the Barbican after six years (in 2005 she memorably directed Shakespeare's Julius Caesar), Deborah Warner mounts a revival of Richard Brinsley Sheriden's The School for Scandal. It forms part of bite11 and is co-produced by the Holland Festival.

Ending its short Hampstead Theatre residency, the Royal Shakespeare Company, celebrating it's 50th birthday, presents its third new play in as many months.  RSC Playwright in Residence Tarell Alvin McCraney's American Trade holds a mirror up to 21st-century London.

London's Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music takes over the churches of St John's - Smith Square, St Peter's - Eaton Square and Westminster Abbey every summer. Concerts range from little-known gems of early 17th-century repertoire to large-scale masterpieces of the late baroque.

Cornwall's theatrical powerhouse, Kneehigh Theatre, returns to the West End after its hugely popular hit, Brief Encounter. It's another classic love story, this time French, as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg comes to the Gielgud Theatre, directed by Emma Rice.

Although Bridget Riley is renowned as one of the most original painters of her time she's found steady influence through the work of past masters. This special exhibition at London's National Gallery examines her oeuvre and the work that influenced her.

The D. Daskalopoulos Collection is one of Europe's foremost collections of contemporary art. In collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery many of its prize pieces are displayed in the UK for the first time, as part of a series of four thematic exhibitions.

West Ham play their home matches at Upton Park. The Premier League fixtures for the 2010/11 season are as follows:

Originally arranged as the climax of the orchestra's 50th anniversary tour, the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra's Royal Festival Hall concert at London's Southbank Centre is now a fundraiser for the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund. Music director Tadaaki Otaka is joined by violinist Akiko Suwanai.

Having started its season with Gounod's Faust, English National Opera's own devilish pact continues with Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. It also continues the company's policy of debug opera directors at the London Coliseum, here film director and ex-Python Terry Gilliam.

London's Wembley Stadium hosts the 2011 UEFA Champions League final. Europe's football elite have been battling it out since July, and the two remaining sides play in front of 80,000 fans for the right to succeed Internazionale as champions of Europe.

Harold Pinter's 1993 atomisation of family life, Moonlight comes to the Donmar Warehouse, directed by Bijan Sheibani. A boorish man, Andy, lies dying, with his wife, embroidering, buy his side, while his two sons in another bedroom plot their inheritance.

First seen at the Hampstead Theatre in 1979, writer/director Mike Leigh's new produciton of his Ecstasy makes a double-quick transfer into the West End.  It comes to the Duchess Theatre for a 50-performance run just four days after finishing at Hampstead.

Established for nearly 30 years, the London International Antique Dolls, Toys, Miniatures & Teddy Bear Fair attracts collectors and dealers from around the world. Now taking place at Dulwich College, find antique and new dolls, bears, miniatures and juvenilia.

Society, Studio and Street is a display of strikingly modernist portraits by one of the most prolific photographers of the twentieth century. Held at the National Portrait Gallery, the show includes Hoppé's portraits of George Bernard Shaw and Tilly Losch.

Open your mind and release your body at the annual Mind Body Spirit Festival at the Royal Horticultural Halls. A huge range of 'alternative' goods, concepts, companies and individuals persuade you to embrace a spiritual future and a healthy lifestyle.

Benjamin Britten's sparkling Shakespearean adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to the London Coliseum in English National Opera's new production directed by Christopher Alden. Iestyn Davies stars as Oberon, with Sarah Tynan as Tytania and Sir Willard White as Bottom.

London's Southbank Centre and the International Guitar Foundation celebrate six-string wizardry from around the globe at this festival of the guitar. Past performers have included award-winning guitarist Tom Kerstens, Allan Holdsworth and one of Spain's leading flamenco guitarists, Gerardo Nunez.

World-class polo players come to Fulham's Hurlingham Park for the three-day Polo in the Park event. The London event aims to shed the sport's elitist image, and make it accessible to more people.

Having started its season with Gounod's Faust, English National Opera's own devilish pact continues with Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. It also continues the company's policy of debug opera directors at the London Coliseum, here film director and ex-Python Terry Gilliam.

Stella McCartney, Antonio Beradi and Sheila Maloney all launched their careers at London's Graduate Fashion Week, Britain's springboard for major new designers, held at Earls Court 2. Competition is fierce as students battle to impress buyers, headhunters and the press.

Phyllida Lloyd's bold, colourful and intense production of Verdi's Macbeth returns to Covent Garden, conducted by music director Antonio Pappano. Simon Keenlyside sings the title role for the Royal Opera for the first time, with Liudmyla Monastyrska as Lady Macbeth.

Trooping the Colour is a quintessentially English experience of pomp and ceremony. A parade of the Massed Bands and Troops of the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry takes over Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday.

Celebrating Terence Rattigan's centenary, Thea Sharrock directs his final play, Cause Célèbre at the Old Vic, starring Anne-Marie Duff. Sharrock scored massive acclaim in 2010 for her National Theatre production of Rattigan's second play, After the Dance.

Browse paintings including Old Masters, ancient Chinese ceramics, Art Deco jewellery and other sought-after treasures exhibited by British and international galleries at the annual London International Fine Art Fair. Buyers, curators and fine art aficionados fill the Olympia Exhibition Centre.

Benjamin Britten's sparkling Shakespearean adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to the London Coliseum in English National Opera's new production directed by Christopher Alden. Iestyn Davies stars as Oberon, with Sarah Tynan as Tytania and Sir Willard White as Bottom.

Returning to the Barbican after six years (in 2005 she memorably directed Shakespeare's Julius Caesar), Deborah Warner mounts a revival of Richard Brinsley Sheriden's The School for Scandal. It forms part of bite11 and is co-produced by the Holland Festival.

Ending its short Hampstead Theatre residency, the Royal Shakespeare Company, celebrating it's 50th birthday, presents its third new play in as many months.  RSC Playwright in Residence Tarell Alvin McCraney's American Trade holds a mirror up to 21st-century London.

London's Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music takes over the churches of St John's - Smith Square, St Peter's - Eaton Square and Westminster Abbey every summer. Concerts range from little-known gems of early 17th-century repertoire to large-scale masterpieces of the late baroque.

Cornwall's theatrical powerhouse, Kneehigh Theatre, returns to the West End after its hugely popular hit, Brief Encounter. It's another classic love story, this time French, as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg comes to the Gielgud Theatre, directed by Emma Rice.

Although Bridget Riley is renowned as one of the most original painters of her time she's found steady influence through the work of past masters. This special exhibition at London's National Gallery examines her oeuvre and the work that influenced her.

The D. Daskalopoulos Collection is one of Europe's foremost collections of contemporary art. In collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery many of its prize pieces are displayed in the UK for the first time, as part of a series of four thematic exhibitions.

West Ham play their home matches at Upton Park. The Premier League fixtures for the 2010/11 season are as follows:

Originally arranged as the climax of the orchestra's 50th anniversary tour, the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra's Royal Festival Hall concert at London's Southbank Centre is now a fundraiser for the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund. Music director Tadaaki Otaka is joined by violinist Akiko Suwanai.

Having started its season with Gounod's Faust, English National Opera's own devilish pact continues with Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. It also continues the company's policy of debug opera directors at the London Coliseum, here film director and ex-Python Terry Gilliam.

London's Wembley Stadium hosts the 2011 UEFA Champions League final. Europe's football elite have been battling it out since July, and the two remaining sides play in front of 80,000 fans for the right to succeed Internazionale as champions of Europe.

Harold Pinter's 1993 atomisation of family life, Moonlight comes to the Donmar Warehouse, directed by Bijan Sheibani. A boorish man, Andy, lies dying, with his wife, embroidering, buy his side, while his two sons in another bedroom plot their inheritance.

First seen at the Hampstead Theatre in 1979, writer/director Mike Leigh's new produciton of his Ecstasy makes a double-quick transfer into the West End.  It comes to the Duchess Theatre for a 50-performance run just four days after finishing at Hampstead.

Established for nearly 30 years, the London International Antique Dolls, Toys, Miniatures & Teddy Bear Fair attracts collectors and dealers from around the world. Now taking place at Dulwich College, find antique and new dolls, bears, miniatures and juvenilia.

Society, Studio and Street is a display of strikingly modernist portraits by one of the most prolific photographers of the twentieth century. Held at the National Portrait Gallery, the show includes Hoppé's portraits of George Bernard Shaw and Tilly Losch.

Open your mind and release your body at the annual Mind Body Spirit Festival at the Royal Horticultural Halls. A huge range of 'alternative' goods, concepts, companies and individuals persuade you to embrace a spiritual future and a healthy lifestyle.

Benjamin Britten's sparkling Shakespearean adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to the London Coliseum in English National Opera's new production directed by Christopher Alden. Iestyn Davies stars as Oberon, with Sarah Tynan as Tytania and Sir Willard White as Bottom.

London's Southbank Centre and the International Guitar Foundation celebrate six-string wizardry from around the globe at this festival of the guitar. Past performers have included award-winning guitarist Tom Kerstens, Allan Holdsworth and one of Spain's leading flamenco guitarists, Gerardo Nunez.

World-class polo players come to Fulham's Hurlingham Park for the three-day Polo in the Park event. The London event aims to shed the sport's elitist image, and make it accessible to more people.

Having started its season with Gounod's Faust, English National Opera's own devilish pact continues with Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust. It also continues the company's policy of debug opera directors at the London Coliseum, here film director and ex-Python Terry Gilliam.

Stella McCartney, Antonio Beradi and Sheila Maloney all launched their careers at London's Graduate Fashion Week, Britain's springboard for major new designers, held at Earls Court 2. Competition is fierce as students battle to impress buyers, headhunters and the press.

Phyllida Lloyd's bold, colourful and intense production of Verdi's Macbeth returns to Covent Garden, conducted by music director Antonio Pappano. Simon Keenlyside sings the title role for the Royal Opera for the first time, with Liudmyla Monastyrska as Lady Macbeth.

Trooping the Colour is a quintessentially English experience of pomp and ceremony. A parade of the Massed Bands and Troops of the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry takes over Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday.

Celebrating Terence Rattigan's centenary, Thea Sharrock directs his final play, Cause Célèbre at the Old Vic, starring Anne-Marie Duff. Sharrock scored massive acclaim in 2010 for her National Theatre production of Rattigan's second play, After the Dance.

Browse paintings including Old Masters, ancient Chinese ceramics, Art Deco jewellery and other sought-after treasures exhibited by British and international galleries at the annual London International Fine Art Fair. Buyers, curators and fine art aficionados fill the Olympia Exhibition Centre.

Benjamin Britten's sparkling Shakespearean adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream returns to the London Coliseum in English National Opera's new production directed by Christopher Alden. Iestyn Davies stars as Oberon, with Sarah Tynan as Tytania and Sir Willard White as Bottom.

Returning to the Barbican after six years (in 2005 she memorably directed Shakespeare's Julius Caesar), Deborah Warner mounts a revival of Richard Brinsley Sheriden's The School for Scandal. It forms part of bite11 and is co-produced by the Holland Festival.

Ending its short Hampstead Theatre residency, the Royal Shakespeare Company, celebrating it's 50th birthday, presents its third new play in as many months.  RSC Playwright in Residence Tarell Alvin McCraney's American Trade holds a mirror up to 21st-century London.

Sinc 1976 Brick Lane and, more particularly, Nicholas Hawksmoor's iconic Christ Church Spitalfields has resounded with a summer jamboree of exceptional music making.  Old and new, and both professionsals and comuunity performers come together for the annual Spitalfields Festival.

Lovebox Weekender brings love, tunes and happy people to London's Victoria Park, making the most of a summer weekend with a quality line-up and plenty of festival fun. Away from the main stage you'll find DJs filling the dance arenas.

Enjoy all things book-related at the Southbank Centre's two-week London Literature Festival. Get involved with writing workshops and debates, or sit back and enjoy specially commissioned performances and readings by famous authors and poets.

The Bedford in Balham hosts Banana Cabaret, one of London's top comedy weekend events. Well-known comedy stars do the rounds and afterwards the crowd goes mad at the cheesy disco on the pub's huge theatre-style dance floor.

Dance your Sunday blues away at Guanabara's weekly Forró nights. Forró originates from north-east Brazil. Now this seriously sexy dance has come to London's best-loved Brazilian club. Live bands play while you dance - it's the perfect Sunday night.

A sprinkling of ska, a big dollop of reggae, a pinch of boogaloo and a dash of soul and Motown await you at the Coast to Coast club night, held every Saturday @ On the Rocks.

Free Range at London's Old Truman Brewery brings the very best of the country's creative talent together on one site and boasts visitor numbers to rival some of the capital's top art shows. You might even spot the next Tracey Emin!

Same-sex couples take to the streets of London for a mass 'holding hand' event. Although not a rally, a pride or a march, the silent London In Hand action aims to promote equality and show the realities of LGBT lives.

Walk through a recreation of a sugar plantation, wander through a traditional distillery, but best of all, sip fine Caribbean rum, as part of the Authentic Caribbean Rum Experience at Vinopolis. Sample Mount Gay, Angostura 1919 and many more brands.

The Underage Festival returns to London's Victoria Park, with a fantastic show strictly for 14-18-year olds. Bands and DJs across six stages deliver teenage kicks - without alcohol, or embarrassing parents.

The world's best athletes compete at the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, part of the annual Diamond League Athletics series. Held over two days, the meeting features more different disciplines than any other Diamond League event.

Watch sweaty contenders pumping their muscles at the London Triathlon, a gruelling trial concentrated around ExCeL London. There is a Super Sprint, a tougher Sprint, the Olympic Distance and the team relay Olympic and Sprint competitions.

You don't have to be an aspiring bard or well versed in Shakespearean sonnets to enjoy the annual London Poetry Festival. Held at St John's Church, the event showcases a broad range of poets to highlight the genre's accessibility and importance.

Sam Mendes' 'hands-across-the-Atlantic' Bridge Project comes to this third-year conclusion with a single Shakespearean production. As artistic director of project's British home, the Old Vic, Kevin Spacey stars in the title role of Richard III..

The Royal Academy of Arts' famous Summer Exhibition is the world's largest open contemporary art exhibition. Paintings, sculptures, drawings and models by many distinguished artists jostle with works by unknown and emerging artists, with cash prizes and work for sale.

The Comedy Theatre continues to go against its name (after the high drama of The Children's Hour), with this new production of Harold Pinter's love affair told in reverse, Betrayal.  Ian Rickson directs Kristin Scott Thomas, Douglas Henshall and Ben Miles.

In a pre-Notting Hill warm-up, Alexandra Palace hosts the Grand Carnival Costume Splash. Take a sneaky peak at the elaborate costumes to be paraded at Notting Hill's upcoming carnival and swot up on mask-making and the latest dance moves.

Get your weekly dose of laughs at Salmon & Compass' Fat Tuesdays Comedy Night. Many stars of the comedy world have done their stuff here, including Frank Skinner, Stephen Merchant, Mark Thomas, Simon Amstell, Russell Brand and Stewart Lee.

Every year the average age of the audience in London's theatres plummets during Kids Week. Children from five up to 16 years old flock to an unrivalled selection of plays and musicals - either at greatly reduced prices or absolutely free!

Simon Gray's early success, Butley, returns to the West End 40 years after Harold Pinter's celebrated production that starred Alan Bates. Dominic West recreates the title role of the acerbic academic at London's Duchess Theatre, directed by Lindsay Posner.

Nearly 25 years after The Phantom of the Opera opened, Andrew Lloyd Webber unveils his follow-up: Love Never Dies, at London's Adelphi Theatre. Ten years after events in the Paris Opera House, the rollercoaster action takes place in Coney Island.

The inaugural London Electronic Dance Festival takes over the city's Victoria Park with a feast of crunching beats and booming bass. French house music star David Guetta and influential UK electronic dance act Leftfield top the bill.

Head to Clapham Common for the Clapham Weekender, where two festivals are fused into one weekend of music and dancing. The crossover Get Loaded in the Park follows London's biggest event dance event, South West Four.

Top solo musicians, orchestras and groups play in the open air around the striking Old Royal Naval College to celebrate the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics. The Greenwich Summer Sessions trumpet Greenwich's heritage with six days of themed live music.

Sneak a peek inside the British Houses of Parliament, one of the world's oldest representative assemblies, during the Summer Opening. With nearly 1200 rooms and 100 staircases, the one-hour guided tour visits both debating Chambers and the great State Rooms.

The Young Vic celebrates its 40th birthday both with hot new shows (Michael Sheen in Hamlet coming up), but also revivals of recent hits.  Joe Hill-Gibbins' acclaimed production of Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane makes a very welcome comeback.

First seen in 2004, David Grindley’s acclaimed production of RC Sherriff’s First World War drama Journey's End, designed by Jonathan Fensom, returns to London's West End, on its country-wide tour. There are only 55 performances at the Duke of York's Theatre.

This one-day festival in London's Trafalgar Square promotes the rights of deaf and disabled people and celebrates the diverse talents of disabled artists and performers. There are street arts, circus, comedy, visual arts, music and children's activities.

There's no need to be on the look-out for buses or cars during The Mayor of London's Skyride, a one-day cycling event with a 15km traffic-free route around central London. Thousands of bikers can explore the streets of London stress-free.

Founded in 1895 by Sir Henry Wood, the Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall take over London's classical musical calendar every summer and, with some justification, can claim to be the greatest classical music festival in the world.

Catalan painter and sculptor Joan Miró has long been acknowledged as one of the 20th century's greatest artists. Tate Modern's comprehensive summer blockbuster, The Ladder of Escape, is the biggest exhibition of his work in London for over 50 years.

With activities all along the River Thames between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge, The Mayor's Thames Festival offers everything from a carnival procession to live music, art installations, street theatre and pyrotechnic displays. Best of all - it's free!

Newham Summer/80 Days of Arts transforms East London's Memorial Park into a hub of outdoor art. As well as viewing exhibitions and screenings, visitors can join workshops, meet artists and clamber over sculptural installations. 

London's V&A Museum shows the works of those shortlisted for The Jameel Prize, an international art prize for contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic traditions of craft and design. Pieces exhibited range from jewellery and photomontage to screen prints.

Founded in 1996, the Portobello Film Festival has been described as "London's biggest filmic free-for-all". The large independent film festival screens new shorts and features, cult movies and more at various locations around Notting Hill's Portobello area, including Westbourne Studios.

An operatic gloss on The Producers perhaps, the musical comedy Lend Me a Tenor follows humble opera director's assistant as he tries to find a last-minute replacemnt to save a performance. The show must go on at the Gielgud Theatre!

Opening English National Opera's new season is the first revival of Jonathan Miller's co-production of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love, updated to '50s America. Joining Sarah Tynan and Andrew Shore (reprising their roles) are tenor Ben Johnson, baritone Benedict Nelson and conductor Rory Macdonald.

It's horses galore in Hyde Park on Horseman's Sunday as over 100 horses and riders are led to St John's Church by the vicar for a blessing and rosette prize-giving. See horse-drawn carriages, Shetland ponies and other equine beauties.

Continuing the Young Vic's 40th birthday present to itself, Kurt Weill's opera-meets-Broadway score Street Scene triumphantly returns, in the Opera Group co-production first seen in 2008. John Fulljames' production brings to life a teeming New York tenement.

Amateur and professional dancers dramatically splay their legs, strut and swirl in streamline suits and sexy sequinned dresses at the annual International Ballroom Dancing Championships. After preliminary rounds at Brentwood International Centre, the best dance talent compete at the Royal Albert Hall.

From Bacon and Freud to Emin and Grayson Perry, the annual 20/21 British Art Fair at the Royal College of Art offers some 60 of the UK's leading dealers and first-time buyers an excellent selection of 20th- and 21st-century art.

The famous BBC Henry Wood Proms mainly take place at the resplendant Royal Albert Hall but, recently, chamber and smaller ensemble concerts have additionally been programmed at Cadogan Hall, just one Tube stop away. This year there are four Saturday matinées.

The RWS/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition at the Bankside Gallery has been going strong for over 20 years. Seven artists out of the 1500 that entered have been shortlisted for the largest art prize dedicated to watercolour painting.

Producer Cameron Macintosh's first new project in ten years, Betty Blue Eyes turns Alan Bennett's film A Private Function, into a musical, composed by Stiles and Drewe. It comes to the Novello Theatre starring Sarah Lancashire and Reece Shearsmith.

100% Design is the UK's definitive contemporary interiors show, bringing the latest in cutting-edge talent to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. Over 400 international exhibitors display their latest work to more than 35,000 visitors.

Each year there are three Harvest Festivals organised by London's Pearly Kings and Queens. This first follows a parade from Guildhall Yard in the City and takes place in St Mary-le-Bow Church, Cheapside.

Bringing to London some of the finest vocal talent around, the Rosenblatt Recital Series is now an established part of London's classical music season. The one-a-month, mid-week concerts (usually Wednesdays) bring top singers to St John's, Smith Square.

Trailing seven Tony Awards, the Lincoln Center's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's glorious musical South Pacific comes to the Barbican Centre for a seven-week run.  Bartlett Sher's production hits London after a two-year sell-out Broadway run and extensive American tour. 

Dig out your corset and knee-high leather boots for the London Fetish Weekend this autumn. Experience three days of naughty fun: expect fetish balls, kinky club nights and parties at venues across London.

Long-standing musical friends, conductor Sir Colin Davis and pianist Mitsuko Uchida team up with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre for a Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle. Beethoven is joined by Haydn and Nielsen, all three sharing musical muscularity and humour.

Cine Lumiere in South Kensington hosts the popular London Spanish Film Festival again this autumn. The event gives world cinema film buffs the chance to watch the best new Spanish movies and meet the directors and actors.

What better way to seal an important business deal than to supply clients with an endless amount of beer? Do just that at London's own Bierfest in Old Billingsgate Market - an event that aims to provide fun corporate entertainment.

The last Harvest Festival of the London Pearly Kings and Queens Society takes place at Covent Garden's St Paul's Church. Gifts of produce are then donated to the homeless helped by the Connections at St Martin-in-the-Fields charity.

With over a half million bees on its roof, where better to stage the London Honey Show than the Lancaster London hotel. The event will feature a number of awards as well as lectures concerning the plight of bees.

Rupert Goold, one of Britain's hottest young directors, creates a production in St Katharine's Dock, hard by the Tower of London to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Entitled Decade, it takes over a former trading hall, Commodity Quay.

At his Hampstead Theatre Edward Hall directs the world première of Steve Thompson's play about Monty Python in America. It dramatises the court case Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam found themselves in after American tv executives had decreed No Naughty Bits.

A staggering 68,000 visitors flock to the annual Frieze Art Fair in the vast marquee in Regent's Park. Top galleries from over 20 countries are represented, with work by more than 1000 artists. Start saving, as it's all for sale!

Stomp, now at the Ambassadors Theatre, combines elements of theatre, dance, comedy and percussion with innovative use of household objects such as bins and pan-lids as the source of infectious rhythms.

Rum is a drink that evokes balmy tropical evenings under the shade of palm trees, a slice of which will be served up at Olympia. Sip tiki-themed cocktails mixed by the world's best barmen and enjoy live music in the heart of Kensington.

This autumn, noise from the gridlocked traffic on the Euston Road will be replaced by the sound of waves breaking onto pebbles with White Sound: An Urban Seascape. A newly commissioned work by Bill Fontana, it is presented by the Wellcome Collection.

Every year the Sea Cadet Corps lead the Trafalgar Day Parade through Trafalgar Square to celebrate the famous British victory of Lord Nelson vanquishing the French and Spanish fleets at Cape Trafalgar. Wreaths are also laid to commemorate the dead.

Former music director Paul Daniel returns to the London Coliseum for Fiona Shaw's new English National Opera production of Mozart and Da Ponte's The Marriage of Figaro. Ian Patterson, Kate Vlenetine, Roland Wood and more sing Jeremy Sams' English translation.

Puccini's triptych - Il tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi - comes to the Royal Opera conducted by music director Antonio Pappano and directed by Richard Jones. Building on Gianni Schicchi already staged, Jones works with different designers for the first two operas.

Tim Albery's Royal Opera House production of Wagner's early success Der fliegende Holländer is revived for the first time at Covent Garden. Jeffrey Tate returns for a rare London appearance in the pit, with Falk Struckmann in the title role.

With almost 200 films making their UK premières at cinemas across the capital, the BFI London Film Festival is the UK's biggest and best film event. From the latest Hollywood productions to avant-garde shorts, the festival has it all and more.

Ralph Fiennes returns to the West End in a classical role for the first time since his RSC Brand. Back at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, he works for the first time with ex-RSC artisitc director Trevor Nunn in The Tempest.

Caryl Churchill's 1982 hit Top Girls returns to London, in original director Max Stafford-Clark's Out-of-Joint/Chichester Festival Theatre revival. Inspired by Thatcherite values, it remains as pertinent as ever as it settles into the Trafalgar Studios, following hard-nosed Marlene in a male-dominated world.

The art market has long been recognised for peddling its wares at over-inflated prices. The Affordable Art Fair (AAF) in Battersea Park provides an antidote, offering a relaxed, unstuffy environment for visitors to browse, buy and learn about art.

Black History Month is celebrated throughout London during October. Music, cultural and political events commemorate the role that Black people have played in British history, and celebrate their positive influence on society.

Deep within the catacombs under London Bridge, sinister spirits and creepy characters are poised to prey on unsuspecting visitors. The London Bridge Experience and London Tombs have joined forces to create Phobophobia and ensure Halloween is a genuine fright night!

One of the most famous and spectacular firework displays in London takes place in Battersea Park every year. Around 55,000 warmly dressed folk stare skywards and drink mulled wine as the spectacular fireworks go off accompanied by music and lights.

After sell-out Stratford success, Matthew Warchus' Royal Shakespeare Company production of Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin's musical Matilda comes to London's Cambridge Theatre. Join Roald Dahl's clever Matilda Wormwood in her quest against indolent parents and vindictive headmistress Miss Trunchbull.

The Royal Opera's bicentenary tribute to Bellini - Marco Arturo Marelli's production of La sonnambula, first seen just a few months after 2001's actual anniversary - makes a welcome (albeit belated) return to the repertoire. Eglise Gutiérreez and Celso Albelo star. 

The World Travel Market at ExCel London is the annual marketplace for the UK travel industry, open to trade only. The latest travel trends are debated as visitors attend seminars, one-to-one meetings and plenty of parties.

Brave men pile a large amount of explosives onto barges on the River Thames for the Lord Mayor's Fireworks Display. Held between Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridges, it's close to the Houses of Parliament, where Guy Fawkes attempted to change history...

The Cenotaph in Whitehall serves as the focus for the nation's annual commemoration of those who fought and died in war. The Royal Family, as heads of the armed services, political leaders and foreign ambassadors lead the wreath-laying.

Jonathan Lynn and Anthony Jay's stage version of TV hit Yes, Prime Minister moves back to its original home, the Gielgud Theatre after a successful stint at the Apollo. Richard McCabe stars as Jim Hacker and Simon Williams as Sir Humphrey Appleby.

The Koestler Awards at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall features scores of exhibits. All were created by inmates of prison, young offender institutions, secure hospitals and immigration removal centres across the UK, and offenders supervised by probation and youth offending services.

Each year thousands of adults of all ages and sexual persuasions visit the Olympia Exhibition Centre's Erotica event in search of products to enhance their lifestyle. Exhibitors sell everything from clubwear, leatherwear and rubber to fetish, beachwear and lingerie.

Marc Warren stars in the title role of Cool Hand Luke adapted by Emma Reeves from Donn Pierce's original novel, but best known in Paul Newman's 1967 film. Director Andrew Loudon brings the heat of Florida's sun to the Aldwych Theatre.

As the Barbican Hall's first International Associate Residents to appear this season, Riccardo Chailly and his Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra bring something special. It's a complete Beethoven Symphony cycle with a brand new work in each of the five concerts.

Sir Richard Eyre teams up again with author Nicholas Wright (after their award-winning Vincent in Brixton and, also at the National, The Reporter) for The Last of the Duchess at the Hampstead Theatre. It stars Anna Chancellor, Sheila Hancock and Angela Thorne.

Amateur, professional and budding photographers are invited to showcase their best pictures at the Photomonth Photo-Open non-competitive event in the Old Truman Brewery's Dray Walk Gallery. With no restrictions on subject matter, the exhibition oozes creativity in every way.

Although no strangers to London, Opera North visits the Barbican Theatre for the first time, with two productions. Neil Bartlett's new production of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades joins Jo Davies' acclaimed revival of Gilbert & Sullivan's Ruddigore.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals brings together the best male tennis players of the season for a final showdown at London's O2 Arena. The likes of Roger Federer and Andy Murray slug it out for US$5 million in prize money.

The World Press Photo exhibition returns to the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall. This year, it showcases the 167 best photos selected from a pool of over 100,000 entries. The collection from across the globe is powerful, moving and at times disturbing.

Formidable as the heroine in her day, Catherine Malfitano returns to the London Coliseum (having sung Kostelnicka in Jenufa) to revive her ENO production of Puccini's "shabby little shocker", Tosca. Stephen Lord conducts Claire Rutter in the title role.

In a classic example of English eccentricity, runners in fancy dress take part in the Great Christmas Pudding Race around Covent Garden's West Piazza. Teams negotiate a challenging obstacle course while carefully balancing a Christmas pudding on a tray.

The early music Dufay Collective conjures up Christmases of days gone by in the splendid surroundings of London's Banqueting House. Discover how it was in December in the courts of medieval Europe and enjoy a light lunch before the concert.

Over 100 traditional ales, pale ales, porters, ciders and perries are sampled by a pink-faced, wobbly public at the annual Pig's Ear Beer Festival at Hackney's Round Chapel. Taste Belgian or German brews and all manner of vegetable creations too.

Benjamin Britten's ever-popular work for boys' voices and harp, Ceremony of Carols is performed at the cathedral by the choristers of St Paul's, with motets sung by the Vicars Choral.

Degas Dancers: Eye and Camera focuses on Edgar Degas' depictions of dancers and other figures in movement. Hosted by the Royal Academy of Arts in London, this exhibition considers the artist's engagement with photography and early film.

Transferring directly from Broadway, David Esbjornson's revival of Alfred Uhry's heartfelt Driving Miss Daisy brings Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones back to the West End. They are joined at the Wyndham's Theatre by four-time Tony Award-winner Boyd Gaines.

One of the Royal Opera's greatest achievements, Graham Vick's exquisitely set and atmospheric production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg makes a welcome return to Covent Garden for the first time in nearly a decade. Music director Antonio Pappano conducts.

In an impressive 18th-century-style setting at the Royal Albert Hall, Carols by Candlelight combines traditional Christmas songs with festive music by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi and Corelli. The Mozart Festival Orchestra play in period costume and special readings accompany the music.

Lee Hall's acclaimed play based on the real-life Ashington Group of colliery artists, The Pitmen Painters, gets a belated - but well-deserved - West End run at the Duchess Theatre. The power of art has never been so funny and moving.

Originally composed to make fun of Napolean III's Paris, Scottish Opera and Northern Ireland Opera's new version of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld is updated to contemporary times by Rory Bremner. The show comes to the Young Vic's Maria stage.

The Dulwich Gallery celebrates its bicentennial with a year-long exhibition, Masterpiece a Month. Beginning in January, the exhibition displays a different masterpiece by a different major artist each month. This includes Rembrandt in June and van Gogh in August.

Take a step back in time at the Tower of London's Medieval Palace this Christmas. Visitors can revisit the year 1284 by joining King Edward I and his court for A Medieval Christmas, a lavish gathering with jesters and musicians.

London's New Year's Day Parade crowns the capital's festive season with three hours of pomp and frivolity. More than 10,000 dancers, acrobats, cheerleaders, musicians and performers assemble in the heart of the city every year for a "celebration of nations."

Returning to Hampstead Theatre for the festive season, Poet Laureate Carol Anne Duffy's retelling of six European fairy tales, Beasts and Beauties is a family treat. Adapted by Tim Supple and director Melly Still, it promises some happy endings, but not always!

As part of the Southbank Centre's Winter Festival, one of the greatest living clowns, Slava Polunin returns to the capital. Anyone who has seen Slava's Snowshow will know that they will want to see it again at the Royal Festival Hall.

The Geffrye Museum's beautifully decorated period rooms present Christmas Past, a festive programme including workshops, talks, storytelling and concerts. It examines 400 years of Christmas traditions and decorations in English homes.

Surrounded by twinkling fairy lights, the annual Natural History Museum Ice Rink is a must. The building provides an impressive backdrop and there's also a children's ice rink and classic carousel. Warm up with mulled wine in the Café Bar.

Now an annual seasonal favourite, Raymond Briggs' The Snowman returns to London's Peacock Theatre. James and the snowman escape Jack Frost's clutches by flying, to party with reindeers and penguins. Sing along to Howard Blake's memorable Walking in the Air.

Trailing rave reviews from Bristol Old Vic, Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Arthur Ransome's famous children's book Swallows and Amazons, with acclaimed songs by Neil Hannon, arrives at the Vaudeville Theatre for a Christmas run. Tom Morris directs.

Turn the clock back over 50 years to 4 December 1956 when, in Memphis, Sun Records founder Sam Phillips brought together Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Award-winning Million Dollar Quartet comes to London's Noël Coward Theatre.

The latest TV-endorsed stage extravaganza rolls into the London Palladium. To Harold Arlen's music and EY Harburg's lyrics, Andrew Lloyd Webber himself provides some new songs for John Kane's adaption of cinematic classic, The Wizard of Oz. Jeremy Sams directs.

Over a decade on from their West End debut (and rarely a year away) the boys are back! The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas sets up shop at London's Wyndham's Theatre. Join Frank, Sammy and Dean in a 50s and 60s nostalgia fest.

It's 21 years since Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden was a major Royal Court hit, transferring to the West End, where it stayed for a year. Jeremy Herrin revives the taut three-hander at the newly renamed Harold Pinter Theatre with Thandie Newton.

Get your skates on this Christmas as Somerset House opens its popular ice rink for the festive season. Dominated by a 40-foot-high Christmas tree and an 18th-century facade, the largest open-air ice rink in London is a thrilling experience.

The USSR's concept of a new utopia is brought to life by the Royal Academy of Arts in this exhibition of Soviet art and architecture. Photographs, paintings and drawings capture the radical spirit of Soviet avant-garde and Constructivist art.

Trevor Nunn's fourth production in his year as Theatre Royal Haymarket's artistic director is the West End première of James Goldman's medieval drama The Lion in Winter. Robert Lindsay and Joanna Lumley star as Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

First held in 1977, the London International Mime Festival brightens January with a cavalcade of innovative visual theatre across the captial. Major venues such as the Southbank Centre, Barbican, Royal Opera House and Roundhouse burst with puppets, slapstick and mime.

Cirque du Soleil's annual sojourn at London's Royal Albert Hall this year presents the show Totem, directed by Robert Lepage. Inspired by founding myths, this new production traces the journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly.

Painter at the Court of Milan is the most complete exhibition of da Vinci's rare surviving paintings ever shown. Held at the National Gallery, this features the Renaissance artist's development as a painter in the late-15th century.

Get into London Theatre cheers up those dark winter nights with reductions for over 50 shows through to mid February. Whatever your interest, from musicals to high drama, classic comedies to brand-new plays or opera and ballet, you'll find something for the whole family.

Carnivorous lampshades and pole-dancing robots might sound like elements of a very disturbed person's dream, but Kinetica Art Fair at London's P3 displays exactly these sorts of weird exhibits. See seriously cool kinetic, electronic and new media art.

Some 50 years on from the actual events, Iain Softley and Stephen Jeffreys' Backbeat recreates the birth of the Beatles and, specifically, the band's first bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, who fell in love with German photographer Astrid Kirchher. David Levraux directs.

The International Art Fair held at the Royal College of Art showcases a wide selection of modern and contemporary art from across the globe, alongside Modern British and contemporary work. Artists include Matisse, Miró, Picasso, Henry Moore and David Hockney.

With Nixon in China and Doctor Atomic already staged at the London Coliseum, English National Opera now adds John Adams' second-composed opera The Death of Klinghoffer to its repertoire in this new production by Tom Morris. Baldur Brönniman conducts.

Never far from a stage since its première, Michael Frayn's Noises Off is back in a 30th anniversary production directed by Lindsay Posner at the Old Vic. A farce of truly theatrical proportions it turns tables on the actors and shows us what happens backstage!

Although not as high-profile as the FA Cup, in recent years the Carling Cup has enjoyed something of a renaissance, and the winners earn potentially lucrative UEFA Cup qualification. The final is played at Wembley Stadium.

Sample international beers, ciders and perries at the The London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival in the Camden Centre. Curious UK beer names include Pressed Rat & Warthog and Steaming Billy's Last Bark - the latter honouring a deceased pet.

Ever thought of yourself as a budding master of watercolour? The Royal Watercolour Society Open Competition invites hopefuls to submit up to three water-based paintings for the annual exhibition at Bankside Gallery.

London bursts with a huge festival and parade on St Patrick's Day, starting from Hyde Park and ending at Trafalgar Square. Traditional and contemporary Irish music take over the stage at Trafalgar Square and the fountains pump out green water.

The British Antique Dealers' Association (BADA) Antiques & Fine Art Fair is an annual showcase of quality antiques in Duke of York Square in Chelsea. Furniture, paintings and more are exhibited and on sale to the public.

One of Alan Bennett's most celebrated plays, The Madness of George III arrives in the West End in Christopher Luscombe's accalaimed Peter Hall Company production from Bath's Theatre Royal. David Haig reprises his role as the mad king at the Apollo Theatre.

The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, held at London cinemas including Brixton's Ritzy Cinema, screens world and UK premières documenting the fight to highlight injustices inflicted against humanity. It is organised by the NGO Human Rights Watch.

Pick up a present for your home at Earls Court Exhibition Centre's Ideal Home Show. From billiard tables and antique mirrors to solar-powered garden lights, this is the place to go for innovative and inspirational home accessories.

American playwright Richard Nelson returns to the British stage with Farewell to the Theatre at the Hampstead Theatre, directed by Roger Michell. It's not Nelson's swansong, but that of fellow-dramatist Harley Granville-Barker who retired from the stage in America.

The Greenwich Theatre presents its annual festival of Children's Theatre, with a range of performances at venues across the borough. With puppets and poets, folk tales and fairy tales, magic and music on offer, the programme is full of surprises.

Legally Blonde The Musical continues its award-winning sucess at the Savoy Theatre, directed by Jerry Mitchell. Join Elle Woods as she buckles down to some serious study to get educated to get her own back on ex Warner.

The Royal Choral Society presents its annual Good Friday performance of Handel's masterpiece, Messiah, at the Royal Albert Hall. The Easter tradition is performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and has been going yearly since 1878.

Romantic any night of the year, London's iconic Tower Bridge is especially lovely on Valentine's Day. Celebrating its amorous atmosphere, a special champagne-and-chocolate package held on its walkway allows lovers the perfect platform on which to whisper sweet nothings (or a proposal).

Saturday nights at Fabric feature progressive UK and US house and techno, with a playlist dedicated to fresh new beats and electro sounds. Resident DJs Craig Richards and Terry Francis frequently invite underground DJs and cutting-edge live acts to appear alongside them.

More than just a sporting event, the London Marathon is the world's longest street party. Roads along the route come alive with bands, cheering crowds, entertainers and 30,000 pairs of feet hitting the tarmac along the 26.2 mile course.

The London Original Print Fair welcomes 45 international dealers who come to sell diverse works from across five centuries at the Royal Academy of Arts. Invest in a woodcut by Dürer, screen print by Hirst or portrait etching by Freud.

The London Handel Festival celebrates the works of George Frideric Handel and his contemporaries, based around Handel's St George's Church in Hanover Square. The festival usually opens and closes with choral services and many performances are by the London Handel Orchestra.

All New People is a new play by and starring Zach Braff, in which he makes his UK stage debut after success in TV's Scrubs and the film Green State (which he also wrote and directed). It comes to the Duke of York's Theatre.

First held in 2002, the London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film (to give it its full title) covers all genres. It ranges from premières of the latest blockbusters to a 48-hour film challenge for five-minute films, via all-nighter screenings.

Arsenal FC play their home matches at The Emirates Stadium. The Premier League runs between August and May and full fixture lists can be found on the club websites. Please note: games may be rearranged due to cup or television commitments.

Indie junkies in skinny black jeans head for London's Camden Crawl. Fifty venues across Camden welcome bands and surprise guests and host quizzes, film shorts, DJ aftershow parties and musical bingo!

The Night of 1000 Voices has thrilled capacity audiences at The Royal Albert Hall since 1999. Introduced to mark the centenary for The National Opera, it now celebrates musical theatre while simultaneously raising money for worthy causes.

The Greenwich Beer & Jazz Festival brings together two summer faves - quality beer and good music - for the popular annual festival in the leafy gardens of Greenwich's Old Royal Naval College.

In St Paul's Church garden, near where Samuel Pepys first sighted Mr Punch in 1662, British puppeteers woo audiences at the annual Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival. Celebrate Mr Punch's birthday with folk music, clowns and Maypole dancing.