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After so long in limbo, the latter months of 2021 saw the very welcome return of the concept of ‘making plans’. Which is why we’re excited about all the great events London has in store for 2022. Below are just a handful of the thrilling events and things to do in London on the horizon in 2022. There’s loads more still to come, we’re sure!
A fashion exhibition at the V&A isn’t completely surprising. But one solely focused on male attire is, even if it is very timely. ‘Fashioning Masculinities’ seeks to dissect the creation and performance of masculinity by tracing the history of menswear over the centuries. One hundred looks and 100 artworks will feature, including pieces by by Harris Reed, Wales Bonner, Gucci and Raf Simons, paintings by Sofonisba Anguissola and Joshua Reynolds, and outfits worn by Harry Styles, Sam Smith and David Bowie.
Photograph: Chris Steele-Perkins / Magnum Photos
June marks the seventieth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne, and London will play host to several major events to mark the occasion in early June over the extended four-day bank holiday. Thursday June 2nd will see the first Trooping the Colour since before the pandemic, involving more than 1,400 parading soldiers, 400 musicians and 200 horses. There’ll also be a commemorative service at St Paul’s on Friday June 3rd, followed by a special BBC concert broadcast live from the gardens of Buckingham Palace on the evening of Saturday June 4th. It all culminates with a massive Jubilee Parade around the palace on Sunday June 5th, involving street art, theatre, music, circus and carnival performances from more than 5,000 UK and Commonwealth citizens. London won’t know what’s hit it.
Photograph: Sampajano Anizza
Wimbledon is arguably the biggest tennis tournament on the planet, and with a great atmosphere as well as some dramatic contests in the past, there should be a lot of excitement around the 2022 tournament.
Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty won the mens and womens single competition in 2021, and it will be very interesting to see if they can retain their titles.
Pride 2022 is set to be massive, not only because it’s the first one since 2019, but also because it will be the fiftieth anniversary of the first Pride in the UK.
Expect the usual parade from Oxford Street to Whitehall, a festival-like atmosphere around the stage at Trafalgar Square, plus smaller outposts around central London and a huge variety of fringe activities and nightlife events across the entire city. And since it’s a big birthday, there’ll likely be plenty more commemorative events over the summer.
Watch that space!
Europe’s biggest street festival couldn’t go ahead last year, and after months of speculation it ended up going online for 2021 too.
So we’re thrilled that soundsystems are finally set to reappear on the streets of west London over the 2022 August bank holiday when the raucous Caribbean festival returns IRL for its fifty-sixth year.
After so long out, you can expect it to be a belter, with more feathers, steel bands, Red Stripe, jerk chicken and dancing than ever before!
Photograph: David Tett
Opening in October, ‘Science Fiction: Voyage Into the Unknown’ is set to be the most ambitious exhibition the Science Museum has ever staged. The immersive show will place visitors right at the heart of an interactive sci-fi story involving an extra-terrestrial spaceship. They’ll be able to get up close and personal with significant scientific artefacts and authentic pieces from major works of science-fiction, many of which are being displayed in the UK for the first time, to discover how scientists and sci-fi writers have inspired one another through the years.
Photograph: Museum of Science Fiction
