The 14 Best Things to Do in London This August
Beach East
Someone’s gone and dumped 2,200sqft of golden sand all over the Olympic Park in Stratford, and everyone’s surprisingly relaxed about it.
10th Annual Brompton World Championship
Turns out, these miniature folding bicycles are serious racing machines. Now you can see them in all their sporting glory, thanks to this Grand Prix around the regal St James Park.
Eastern Electrics
Twelve thousand dance music connoisseurs descend upon the decadent Hatfield House again this year for a heady day of beats, bass, and definitely, absolutely, certainly no drugs.
Time Run
Join this mind-bending immersive theatre experience that's a cross between an escape the room game, a functioning time machine, and The Crystal Maze.
Dine Street
Beer, BBQ, and a Sunday afternoon. The folks from Howard's Meat Co. are hitting Brew By Numbers' beer factory to give you 16-hour, Austin-style ‘cue.
<em>Hamlet</em> with Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch plays the world’s whiniest prince in Shakespeare’s sublime tale of incest, murder, madness, and betrayal. To go or not to go, that is the question.
Great British Beer Festival
Over 350 breweries descend on 27 bars armed with more than 900 beers, ciders, perries, and ales for the 38th year of this CAMRA organized pint-o-rama.
London Craft Beer Festival
Okay, it’s the second beer festival in this list, but don’t act like you’re not impressed. This one welcomes craft houses and microbreweries, so you can find/drink the next big thing.
Red Bull Air Race
Expect barrel rolls, speeds in excess of 230mph, and some (probably) unhinged pilots.
<em>JAWS</em> at the Open Air Theatre
On the 40th anniversary of Spielberg’s watery epic, this huge outdoor screen puts the giant great white into horrifying new dimensions.
The Mind Sports Olympiad
An "Olympics for the mind," this weeklong festival sees global geniuses battle it out across 60 board games and mental disciplines. Sounds childish? Think again: the Pentamind event carries with it a six-digit prize fund..
South West Four
Fatboy Slim, Faithless, Skrillex, and Basement Jaxx descend upon the Common for what has been described -- possibly slightly underwelmingly -- as "Clapham does Ibiza."
Notting Hill Carnival
Europe’s biggest street festival returns this year to show why it’s the jewel in the crown of London’s summer. We shouldn’t really have to sell this one to you.
Secret Sundaze Day & Night Birthday Party
A two-part festival stretching over two venues and one day in East London, Sundaze celebrates its birthday with a lineup of achingly cool underground DJs.