Events to make you #SquareSmile

From outdoor art installations and festivals, contemporary performing arts and exhibitions, to walks, lunchtime concerts and social dances discover all the things happening in the City to make you #SquareSmile.

Upcoming Events Include:

Summer at Paternoster

Daily, until 9 Sept, | Paternoster Square

Especially for the summer! Try out a new street-food market, order a refreshing summer drink from the bar, and take a seat in the purple deckchairs to relax in the sunshine or watch the latest Wimbledon match on the outdoor big screen. Open every day 10am-7pm, located next to St Paul's Cathedral. Your summer starts here.

Green City - an outdoor exhibition

1 Aug - 15 Aug | Aldgate Square

This exhibition of photographs and prints from London Metropolitan Archives celebrates our green spaces and the ways that Londoners have embraced and enjoyed the great outdoors from the sixteenth century to the 1980s, including festivals, gardening and promenading; from playgrounds to allotments, bruising Sunday football to grazing flocks of sheep. Read more about the Green City exhibition.

Aldgate Sounds: Live Lunchtime concerts

Every Tuesday, until 23 August | Free | Aldgate Square

Come and enjoy open-air concerts in Aldgate Square, with up-and-coming local artists on Tuesdays between 12noon and 2pm. Different genres each week including Classical, Jazz, and Acoustic Guitar. See the concert schedule for Aldgate Sounds online.

Inspired! at Guildhall Art Gallery

Daily until 11 Sep | £ | Guildhall Art Gallery

3 August - Lunchtime curator tour - 1pm

Explore the Inspired! exhibition with a guided tour by Curator Katty Pearce. Katty will examine the ways in which visual artists have taken inspiration from the literary arts – poetry, plays, novels, and music. We recommend booking in advance.

More details about the curator tour of Inspired!

Book tickets for Inspired! at other times

Temple of Mithras and NEW exhibition Roman Rubbish by Mariana Castillo Deball

4 Aug - 14 Jan | London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE

Roman Rubbish is inspired by the 14,000 Roman artefacts discovered on the site of Bloomberg’s European headquarters during the 2012 – 2014 archaeological excavations. Mariana Castillo Deball’s installation comprises towering pillars of ceramic sculptures, an elegant textile curtain and a wax feature wall with delicate inscriptions, highlighting the variety of objects left behind by the City of London’s predecessors.

Find out more on the London Mithraeum website and book tickets online.

Late Night Opening - first Thursday of each month 5-8pm

Stop by on the first Thursday to be one of the first to see Roman Rubbish and explore the Temple of Mithras during extended opening hours. Book a free ticket on their website to reserve your time slot.

Summer Music Festival - Lunchtime Concerts

2-18 August | Free | Holy Sepulchre London (near Old Bailey)

Come to the National Musicians' Church for a summer music festival spread out over 3 weeks. Opera, Classical, South Asian Inspired and ,ore. Free entry - details on the Holy Sepulchre London website.

Lunchtime Curator Tour - Slavery and the Bank

10 August and 25 August, 12 noon | FREE | Bank of England Museum

Slavery & the Bank explores how the wealth created through transatlantic slavery shaped the development of Britain. Tours will focus on the Bank of England’s connections to transatlantic slavery and the slave trade. Curator tours last approximately 20 minutes.

City Music Foundation Lunchtime concert

17 August | 1-2pm | Great Hall at St Bartholomew's Hospital (City Music Foundation)

Looking for a lunchtime escape? Book a ticket for the next in-person City Music Foundation lunchtime concert. Hear beautiful music in the stunning surroundings of the Great Hall at St Bartholomew's Hospital. A different performer every month. Free, but donations are appreciated. See the concert schedule

Late Night Opening - Bank of England Museum

18 August, 5-8pm | FREE | Bank of England Museum

Join the Bank of England Museum for a late opening on the third Thursday of every month! Free entry to the museum and talk. The August Late celebrates all things archaeology! More details of the August late night programme.

Social Dance Events

Various dates | Bishopsgate Institute

Dust off your dance shoes and show off your moves on the friendliest dance floor in London. Bishopsgate Institute welcome dancers of all levels, from absolute beginners to the more experienced. Find more information about social dance.

London Symphony Orchestra at St Luke’s

Various dates | St Luke's Church

St Luke’s is a restored 18^th-century listed Hawksmoor church which has become the hub of the London Symphony Orchestra’s community and music education programme LSO Discovery. Join the London Symphony Orchestra for a performance at St Luke’s – there are discovery sessions for those who don’t know much about Classical music but want to learn more, lunchtime concert fixes as well as evening events. Tickets need to be booked online in advance. Find out what’s on and and purchase tickets at the LSO website.

Sculpture in the City (11th Edition)

Until April 2023 | Locations across the eastern side of the City

Sculpture in the City is an annual outdoor sculpture event that uses the Square Mile as a rotating gallery space. The 11th Edition launched on 22 June, with artworks on display around the City’s famous buildings and public spaces. The sculpture park spans 100 Bishopsgate to Leadenhall Market, Fenchurch Street Station Plaza to Mitre Square. More details of 11th edition.

Gunpowder Plot

Ongoing | £ | Tower Vaults

This is your chance to step inside history's most daring conspiracy! This new immersive experience will take you back in time to 1605 and the scene of the famous Gunpowder Plot. Be part of the story, interacting with actors, and finding surprises around every turn. Tom Felton stars as Guy Fawkes! Explore the Gunpowder Plot.

Jazz Roots to Rolling Stones Fruits and Rag ‘N’ Bone Man: The British Blues Exhibition

Until 19 Sept | Barbican Library

The British Blues Exhibition charts the rise of the music that became the ‘British Blues Explosion’, detonating on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1960s and changing popular music forever. With exhibits ranging over a 100-year span right up to the modern day, featuring the ‘Boat that rocked’ Radio Caroline, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Cream, and Jools Holland, with musical instruments, books, sheet music, posters, and much more.

Free Entry - find out more about the British Blues Exhibition.

Grime Stories: from the corner to the mainstream

NEW: until 4 Dec open 10am-5pm | FREE | Museum of London

Pop in during your lunch break to see ‘Grime Stories: from the corner to the mainstream’ - a new display honouring the music, people and places central to the grime scene and its roots in east London. Co-curated by one of grime’s early documentarians, Roony 'Risky’ Keefe, the display features a series of newly commissioned films that explore the community at the heart of grime’s success, a large-scale illustration from artist Willkay and personal artefacts from the heart of the grime scene.

Harry Kane: I Want To Play Football

Until 4 Dec, open 10am-5pm | FREE | Museum of London

Don't miss this - spend your lunch break with Harry Kane! An exclusive, free display celebrating Harry Kane, one of the city's most iconic sporting heroes, both on and off the pitch. Suitable for football fans of all ages.

Explore the City - Daily Walks

Daily | 11 am | Locations across the City

The City of London Guides set out on a guided walking tour every day in the Square Mile at 11 am, exploring a range of histories, fun facts and architectural wonders. Additional walks at other times including Fridays and Saturdays at 2pm - A Right Royal City. Choose your walk on the CoL Guides website. Tickets must be booked in advance.