London Culture, November and December 2026: The Dates to Know

A dated guide to the next two months in London, written on 26 October, checked on 28 October and built from the organisers' own announcements and the stories on this desk. Where a date comes from a single source, the linked piece says so. Check each organiser's page before you book: timings move.

November

• Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November: Bonfire Night falls on a Thursday this year, so most of the big London displays, Battersea Park and Alexandra Palace among them, run over the following weekend. The displays
• From Wednesday 11 November: Skate at Somerset House opens in the courtyard and runs to 10 January 2027. Adult tickets reach £28.50 at the busiest slots, Somerset House and Time Out both say; the lowest adult price is £13 on Somerset House's page and £15 in Time Out's guide.
• From Friday 13 November: Christmas at Kew, the light trail through the gardens, runs to 3 January 2027 on selected dates, from 4.20pm to 10pm. Kew's own page lists the dates it is closed; book ahead.
• Friday 13 to Sunday 22 November: the EFG London Jazz Festival, its 34th edition, across KOKO, the Southbank Centre and venues all over the city. The line-up
• Saturday 14 November: the Lord Mayor's Show. This year it starts on the river: IanVisits reports the Lord Mayor leaves Westminster at 8.30am aboard the Royal Shallop Jubilant with a flotilla of livery boats, passes under Tower Bridge, then joins the procession through the City from Mansion House.
• From Thursday 19 November: Hyde Park Winter Wonderland opens, and runs every day to 3 January 2027 except Christmas Day, by timed ticket. Dates and tickets
• Tuesday 24 November: Nan Goldin's first UK institutional show since 2002 opens at the Hayward Gallery. The exhibition
• Friday 27 November: Fontaines D.C. at The O2. The album and the tour
• Monday 30 November: the Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall. The nominees

Running through December

• To 23 January: the RSC and Factory International's Hamlet, with Thom Yorke's Hail to the Thief reworked for a live cast, at the Barbican Theatre from 31 October. The production
• To 3 January: Christmas at Kew and Winter Wonderland; Skate at Somerset House to 10 January.
• Still open from the autumn: Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Natural History Museum, which runs to July. The exhibition

For brands and makers the season's pictures are made before the gates open. If you are building a festive set, our guides to planning a Christmas and Black Friday ad shoot and Christmas product photography cover the timing, and Studio A is one place to build it.