London, after dark and before it
Everything worth leaving the house for
Dated, checked against the venue's own page, and carrying its link so you can confirm before you go. No sponsored entries and no affiliate links.
TonightSaturday 5 September
What's on in London today
The evening, sorted: what is worth going out for tonight, what to book for the weekend, and what has just opened.
If you have landed here looking for things to do today near you and you are in London, this is that list: everything we have checked that is on in the city today, in time order, with the free things marked. If nothing tonight suits, tomorrow is already built.
Markets
Totally Thames: river festival, whole programme
All day at Various riverside venues
A month of walks, boat trips, art on the foreshore and one super-choir on the river. Most of it costs nothing and needs no booking.
This weekend
Sat 5 to Sun 6 September: full edition-
Markets Free
Totally Thames: river festival, whole programme
Until 30 Sep
A month of walks, boat trips, art on the foreshore and one super-choir on the river. Most of it costs nothing and needs no booking.
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Food and drink From £5
Late night food: Brick Lane Beigel Bake
Until 30 Sep
Open every hour of every day. Salt beef with mustard and pickle at 03:00 is the correct order and the queue moves fast.
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Sport From £4.50
Open air swimming at Hampstead Ponds
Until 30 Sep
September is the good month: the water is still warm from August and the summer crowds have gone. Cash or the app at the gate.
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Exhibitions Free
Free entry: Museum of London Docklands
Until 30 Sep
A Georgian warehouse on the quay with the best account of the docks and the slave trade in the city. Always free, rarely busy on a weekday.
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Comedy From £15
Comedy at the Soho Theatre
Until 20 Sep
Three rooms, most shows an hour, tickets from fifteen pounds. The downstairs bar runs late. Book the 21:30 slot if you want the room that has already had a drink.
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Theatre From £15 Selling fast
Old Vic evening performance
Until 27 Sep
Day seats go on sale at 10:00 online and there are usually returns at the box office an hour before curtain.
Just opened
All openings
Free this week
All free events
Diary dates
Everything coming upThe annual fixtures worth putting in a diary, one page each, rewritten before the dates come round. For places opening soon and everything dated further ahead, see what is coming up.
- Any time Activity bars in London: darts, shuffleboard, mini golf and bingo
- Any time Bars and pubs open near me: how late London actually drinks
- Any time Beaches near London: the closest, the sandiest, and the ones you can reach by train
- Any time Bottomless brunch in London: how it works and what it costs
- Any time Brick Lane: the market, the bagels and the day to go
- Any time Carnaby Street: what is there now, and when it is worth going
What is on, and when
All listingsEverything here is dated and checked against the venue before it goes in, and each entry carries the venue's own link. The numbers are live.
What's on, by kind
EverythingThirteen kinds of night, from gigs and comedy to markets and museum lates. The number is what is on in the next few months, not a running total.
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Exhibitions
85
Every exhibition worth the trip that is open in London today, soonest closing first, with the free ones…
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Markets
59
Street markets, night markets and the weekend ones worth crossing town for, with the days they actually run.…
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Food and drink
49
Markets, late kitchens, the pubs that are worth the journey, and the strips where dinner is the evening…
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Seasonal
47
The annual fixtures: Halloween, Bonfire Night, the Christmas markets and lights, New Year, Pride, Carnival. Each has its…
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Theatre
34
West End and fringe in one list, with the day-seat and returns tricks where we know them. Closing…
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Gigs
29
Live music in London tonight and over the next fortnight: the room, the time it actually starts, and…
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Sport
20
Things to do rather than things to watch, mostly: skating, swimming outdoors all year, bowling, darts and the…
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Clubs
14
Club nights across London with the hours they really run to, not the ones on the poster. Where…
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Film
8
Cinemas worth crossing London for rather than the nearest multiplex: the repertory houses, the rooftops in summer, the…
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Talks
7
Talks, readings, lectures and Q and As. Many are free and most need booking a week ahead, which…
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Comedy
2
Stand-up, improv and new material nights across London. The rooms above pubs are where the good stuff is;…
What is on, by part of London
EverythingLondon is not one night out. Pick the part of town you are in, or the one you are willing to cross the city for.
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Covent Garden
26
What is on in Covent Garden: the Royal Opera House, the theatres around Seven Dials, the piazza at…
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Shoreditch
19
Shoreditch is the part of London that runs latest and changes fastest. It is not pretty and it…
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Soho
16
Soho is the densest square mile of evening in the country. Theatres, comedy rooms above pubs, jazz clubs,…
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South Bank
15
What is on along the South Bank: the Southbank Centre's free foyer music, the National, the BFI, Tate…
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South Kensington
11
Three of the great free museums within one walk of each other, plus the Oratory. Exhibition Road is…
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Hampstead
10
The Heath, the ponds you can swim in all year, and a free Adam house at the top…
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Mayfair
10
What is on in Mayfair: the auction houses, the commercial galleries around Cork Street, the Handel and Hendrix…
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Southwark
10
What is on in Southwark: the Old Vic, the Globe, Borough Market and the arches under London Bridge.…
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The City
10
What is on in the City: it empties at seven, which is exactly why the evenings here are…
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Battersea
9
What is on in Battersea: the Power Station and everything around it, the park's firework display in November,…
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Chelsea
9
What is on in Chelsea: the Saatchi Gallery, the Royal Court, the Physic Garden and the King's Road.…
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Elephant and Castle
9
What is on at Elephant and Castle: A nightlife that runs to six on the right weekend, though…
The venues with most on
EverythingEvery venue page collects what we have listed there, with the door policy, the nearest station and the last train.
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St Martin-in-the-Fields
13
The church on Trafalgar Square, with free lunchtime recitals most weekdays and candlelit concerts in the evening. The…
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Tate Modern
9
The former power station on Bankside, free to enter, with a late opening on the last Friday of…
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Alexandra Palace
8
The people's palace on the hill, with the whole city below it. A 10,000-capacity hall for the big…
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Blackheath
7
The heath above Greenwich, and the site of the November firework display that returned after a six-year gap.…
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Jazz Cafe
7
Parkway in Camden, a small room with a balcony that puts you close to whoever is on. The…
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Ronnie Scott's
7
Frith Street since 1959. The main sitting is the famous one; the late show, from about a quarter…
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Brick Lane
6
The East End street with the curry houses at the south end and the vintage shops and Sunday…
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Broadway Market
5
A Saturday street market in London Fields that has been running since the 1890s, food stalls down the…
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Columbia Road
5
The flower market runs Sundays from about eight to three. Go at eight for the choice or after…
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Maltby Street
5
The Ropewalk under the railway arches in Bermondsey, food stalls and small bars at weekends. Smaller than Borough…
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Greenwich Market
4
The covered market in the middle of old Greenwich, crafts and food under a glass roof. Two minutes…
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Hampton Court Palace
4
Henry VIII's palace on the river at East Molesey, with an ice rink in front of the west…
The Late Edition is an independent London publication. Every listing is checked against the venue's own page before it goes in, and the front page is rewritten through the week. About us.