From Pride To Pop-Ups, 10 Things To Book This Weekend

Celebrate Pride in London

Go big or go home, Pride in London is the UK’s largest and most diverse parade that takes over the capital each year. Returning to the streets of London on Saturday 2nd July, this year’s parade is extra special as it celebrates 50 years since the first Pride took place in the United Kingdom. 

Alongside the parade, expect four stages to be setting up shop for the weekend in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Golden Square and Dean Street. Musicians Emeli Sande, Ava Max and Netta will be performing alongside over 100 other singers and celebs.

Explore our guide of the other best Pride events happening this weekend.

Catch NOW Gallery’s latest striking exhibition

NOW Gallery is known for its giant installations in its entry space but this might be our favourite yet… 

Their latest art commission is from Korean artist JeeYoung Lee. Titled Maiden Voyage, the installation is inspired by memories, dreams, emotions and her personal experience. Nodding to themes of travel and nature, the work features origami objects with displays of boats, planes and swans floating in a Gingko leaf sea. 

Visitors are invited to engage and connect with the work. They are encouraged to think about their first memory and write it on a piece of origami paper and fold it into a swan to add to the growing collection.

Catch an alfresco performance at Shakespeare’s Globe

For the ultimate Shakespearen experience, look to the iconic Shakespeare’s Globe and their summer carousel of theatre productions. 

Set in the reconstruction of the Elizabethan playhouse where Shakespeare wrote his plays, they offer alfresco performances year-round. This summer sees the return of the beloved Much Ado About Nothing, the witty comedy that’s packed with themes of love, pranks and mischievous plots.

Expect to follow Leonata and her daughters as they reopen their palazzo following years of corruption and war for a celebration that welcomes soldiers back following victory. Limits are tested as two young lovers Hero and Claudio and singletons Beatrice and Benedict run into trouble.

Watch Wimbledon (or a cult classic) on the big screen

It’s finally Wimbledon season! If you don’t fancy clabbering with the masses and heading to SW19 this year, King’s Cross is making your life easier thanks to their big screen screenings of the matches.

Screen on the Canal, a season of free blockbusters and tennis matches shown on a giant screen, arrives this week – and for the two weeks of Wimbledon, they’ll be screening all of the best matches. Come evening time they’ll be showing some cult classics too, from The Goonies to The Italian Job. 

Head to the (London) beach

Who said you can’t get the beach experience without leaving London? The Beach Bar at The Montague on the Gardens has returned for another summer season, bringing with it palm trees, surf boards, fruity cocktails and a beach-hut style vibe. 

You’ll feel like you’re anywhere but London as you tuck into BBQ dishes including meat, fish and veggie options and sip on cocktails later into the night.

They also offer group packages which are great for work-dos, birthday bashes and celebrations. 

Immerse yourself in the latest solo show from The Connor Brothers

Mayfair’s Maddox Gallery has welcomed a new exhibition to its Westbourne Grove space. It spans the latest work from the artistic duo, The Connor Brothers, and features drawings and canvases undertaken during lockdown. 

Titled ‘Mythomania’, the pair were asked to produce sixty second sketches of anything that came to mind. The outcome? Childlike drawings featuring everything from fire-breathing dragons and lolloping zombies to unicorns and seafaring beasts. These drawings are then juxtaposed with modern-day phrases and words associated with society now, including social media, problem behaviours and body image.

See art in a new way at the LIFT Festival

London’s biennial international festival of theatre has returned, bringing with it a wealth of exciting theatrical performances, comedy acts and film taking place across the capital and beyond. 

Taking place at various venues until 10th July, the festival’s line-up is set to impress, from the Sorry 4 Real, a video animation revealing blatant structural white supremacy to Denise The Uplifters’ Uplifted, a mystery performance produced by the next generation of creatives. 

The performance that’s got the crowd’s attention this year however is the Sun & Sea, a climate opera performance performed on a beach… You’ll be invited to watch from above, looking down on the crowded beach filled with towels, squealing children, whirling plastic bags and half-trodden sandwiches. Expect stories that ferry between the mundane, the sinister and the surreal.

Check out Proud Cabaret’s summer deals

Kickstart the weekend with a bang and book in for a special summer discounted performance from Proud. 

On Thursdays and Fridays at Proud Embankment you can receive up to 50% off dinner and a show for their Underworld cabaret. The show delves into the inner workings of the cabaret, complete with burlesque, fire displays and mind blowing magic. While on Fridays at Proud Brighton, you can get up to 50% off their Vegas-style show.

Try some Pride inspired cocktails

Helping to add some colour and celebrations to the London Pride weekend is Arcade Food Hall who will be putting on a performance to remember. Think disco drag, themed cocktails and bottomless lunch. 

Kicking off the weekend on Friday 1st will be Bestley who’ll be bringing her disco energy from Mighty Hoopla to the Arcade decks, while on Sunday the food hall will launched its first every bottomless lunch party – enjoy a menu of their signature dishes and bottomless drinks for just £45.

Over the whole weekend expect disco cocktails named after RuPaul’s catchphrases, including the C. U. N. T. (charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent), a refreshing watermelon take on a classic Negroni.

Try out this vegan restaurant pop-up

Tendril’s, the mostly vegan restaurant, is crowdfunding at the moment to find the perfect permanent space but in the meantime they’ll be popping up in Regent’s Street for the summer!

Whether you’re plant-based or are looking for something new to try, they’ll be serving up a selection of their signature dishes, as well as some tasty new options too.

Menu highlights include roasted cauliflower with pickled grapes, moiled and black rice; chipotle mushroom with bbq kale, walnut, crispy potato and gremolata; and vegan tiramisu.