Jun
30
Summer in London makes me feel all warm and gooey inside well, at least when the sun decides to make a guest appearance. Picnics in the park, jugs of Pimms, London beer gardens, Wimbledon and… festivals!
Notting Hill Carnival, Wireless and Lovebox are the main crowd-pullers but freebies turn your attention to the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival or for something more intimate and niche, try Vintage Festival and Field Day. And you can forget about the tent, the mud, the nightmarish journey back from the middle of nowhere, because these festival babies are right in the heart of the capital so book yourself a cheap London hostel for an easy to reach bed to stumble back to.
Greenwich & Docklands International Festival
When: 24 June-3 July 2011
Where: Old Royal Navy College & other Greenwich venues
This free outdoor arts display with high-energy performances utilises some of London’s architectural landmarks and waterside location. Dance, theatre, family entertainment…
Highlights: A life-size Punch & Judy helps to recreate the popular Victorian Greenwich Fair and hill-rolling in Greenwich Park. There are also awesome aerial performances from the Candoca Dance company and gravity-defying storytelling from FiraTàrrega. Les Girafes will provide the grand finale with a life-size herd of puppets and circus-come-opera inspired production from Compagnie Off.
Admission: Free
Udderbelly
When: Until 17 July 2011
Where: South Bank
If you like your venues a tad alternative, then a giant inflatable purple cow is just the thing for you. Blown up beside the South Bank, the venue offers 12-weeks of comedy, theatre, a touch of cabaret as well as a pleasant beer and food garden for low-key riverside dining.
Highlights: You can’t go far wrong with the Best of the Comedy Store which usually deliver top acts across the river at their permanent location in Piccadilly (£17.50). Daniel Craig’s debut Bond appearance triggered a mass interest in Parkour and the stars of 3RUN present Free Run, a show entertaining urban acrobatics (From £20). For more giggles, Maxwell’s Full Mooners is a late-night show with a past record of two sell-out years (£17.50) or try Richard Herring who has been creating a storm on the BBC’s Have I Got News For You and Never Mind the Buzzcocks (£15.50)
Admission: £10-£20
Create11
When: 24th June-25July 2011
Where: East London
A cultural partnership between five London boroughs bringing you the best world-class talent in the run up to the Olympics. A great range of cheap or free London events including installations, out-door theatre, talks and exhibitions.
Highlights: The Folly for a Flyover was constructed as a roof between east and westbound traffic on the A12 around Hackney Wick. It will provide a venue for workshops, a cafe, boat trips and films, some with live scores. Talks & Walks will be led by artists and designers, leading visitors on free nocturnal rambles to city farms, and tea parties.
Admission: Free £20 tickets
Wireless
When: 1 3 July 2011
Where: Hyde Park
This centrally-located festival has a couple of top musical acts as well as up and coming artists appearing on the Barclaycard Unwind Stage. Elite will be on the prowl for models and Superdrug and BNB are offering free express styling, pampering and make-up masterclasses.
Highlights: Friday features The Black Eyed Peas, Saturday picks up the pace with Chemical Brothers, The Streets, Aphex Twin and Chromeo and finally on Sunday you can catch Pulp, Grace Hones, Foals and The Hives.
Admission: Day tickets £55, Multiday for Friday & Saturday or Saturday & Sunday £101.
iTunes Festival
When: 1-31 July 2011
Where: Roundhouse, Camden
What? You’ve not signed up for tickets?!£”£! More than 60 artists will be performing at the Camden Roundhouse. You can apply for free tickets online and then it’s down to the luck of the draw! Go to the website and tick all the acts you want to apply for.
Highlights: Seasick Steve, Manic Street Preachers, Adele, Foo Fighters, White Lies, Jessie J, Noah & The Whale
Admission: If you can get hold of tickets its free!
Lovebox
Where: Victoria Park
When: 15-17 July 2011
Love Box always has the intimate edge of all the main London music festivals. Aside from the musical talent there is cabaret, a vintage bazaar, street theatre and a number of art installations to keep you entertained.
Highlights: Friday its The Wombats, Metronomy and Ms Dynamite; Saturday packs the biggest punch with Snoop Dogg, Jessie J, Santigold, Lykke Li and Groove Armada; Sunday the line-up includes Scissor Sisters, Beth Ditto, 2ManyDJs and Blondie. Continue the festival spirit at the After Party on Saturday night which is being held this year at the (nowhere near the festival site) Ministry of Sound from 11pm.
Top Tip: Head to the tree house overlooking the Gaymer’s Stage for a unique viewing position of the Festival. Featuring raised seating areas and two bars overlooking a magical space, this is a great place to take a quick breather from the main stage and also provides great photo opportunities.
Admission: 2-day tickets £65, weekend tickets £99
When: 29-31 July
Where: Southbank Centre
Pop your glad rags on for a weekend of all things vintage. The Royal Festival Hall undergoes a 6-level revamp with stallholders, dance teachers and bands playing homage to 1920s through 1980s British cool.
Highlights: Help get your 50s face paint right with a makeover and some inspiration from the catwalks. You could even try your hand at sewing a 1950s circle skirt. Then it’s on to a dance lesson from the London Swing Society– so there will be no treading on toe mishaps! A few glasses of bubbly later and you are ready to hit one of the 8 nightclubs with music from The Vintage Tea Dance Orchestra, DJS at the Soul Casino and a London favourite, the Prohibition Club.
For some nautical naughty but niceness, show off you sea pins on the Vintage Love Boat. For £20 one of London’s oldest river boast the MV Royalty, will whisk you from the Southbank’s Festival Pier up the river Thames for pineapple and cheese on sticks, fondue and complimentary champers. There are 5 departures daily throughout the Vintage Festival. Come kitsch and book in advance.
Admission: Vintage Festival day tickets £60
Field Day
When: 6 August 2011
Where: Victoria Park
There is the air of the village fair about it with fete games including hands-free onion peeling contests, a coconut shy and a tug ‘o war. Wash it all down with a brew from the Real Ale Tent and soak it all up again with hog roast.
Highlights: Eat Your Own Ears DJs, James Blake, The Coral, The Horrors and Willy Mason
Admission: £39.50
Notting Hill Carnival
When: 28-29 August 2011
Where: Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill
The procession of floats and dancers celebrate the West Indian Community in the Notting Hill area. 40 static sound systems, hundreds of food stalls, 40,000 volunteers and over one million people take to the streets around Portobello Road for one of the most colourful summer London festivals. Sunday is promoted as kids day, but the two become less distinguishable year on year. It’s a Bank Holiday weekend in London so everyone is up for a party.
Highlights: this is THE time and place to scoff jerk chicken, fried plantain and curried goat. Unfortunately, the steel bands have been eclipsed by heavy Dub, Drum & Bass and R&B but there is still plenty of Reggae around. The chirpiest and most up-for-it crowd hang about the Good Times bus which blasts out plenty of feel good summer factor.
Top Tips: Make sure you bring plenty of cash with you as the cash machines run out of money very quickly and the last thing you want to do is spend your whole time at carnival looking for somewhere to withdraw cash. And dont forget, Notting Hill Gate tube station is closed for the duration of carnival so make sure you make alternative travel arrangements.
Admission: Free
Nearest London Hostels: YHA London Holland Park or St Christophers Inn Shepherds Bush
London Festival Accommodation
For a full list of hostels in London check out the HostelBookers website and use the map tab to locate cheap hostels near your London festival.
Thanks to iwasnteventhere, Ed.ward, I Dont Know, Maybe., Gribiche and garryknight for images off Flickr! Please note, all images were suitable for use at the time of publication according to the Creative Commons License.
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