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The most festive place in London this winter? With its mouthwatering seasonal pop-ups, a feast of holiday cheer-inducing theatre, and more twinkly riverside lights than you can shake a stick at, the Southbank Centre is certainly a strong contender.
Winter at the Southbank Centre runs Friday 1 November – Sunday 5 January. There’s fun for all ages to be had both inside the arts hub and out, from dazzling installations to free crafting sessions, to beloved seasonal shows as you’ve never seen them before.
Read on for a few of our highlights, or click below to see the full programme and plan your visit.
Multisensory installations and inventive sculptures
Installation view of Haegue Yang: Leap Year, 2024. Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the artist and the Hayward Gallery.
Be immersed in the world of Haegue Yang, at the first major survey of the internationally-celebrated South Korean artist’s work. Leap Year includes works that span a vast array of media — from paper collages to performative sculpture and immense sensorial installations — inspired by East Asian traditions and folklore, modernism, contemporary art history and nature. You’ve got until 5 January to see the exhibition dubbed “surreal, exuberant...uplifting, festive” (Telegraph, ★★★★).
Live performance and music meets deliciously vivid, comic book-style animation in Please Right Back. This magical show by animated theatre pioneers 1927 is part-science fiction, part-social realism — taking audiences inside one man’s imagination. It runs 21 December-5 January and is suitable for ages 10+. We reckon it’d make a fantastic festive treat for tweens and teens.
For some, it’s the John Lewis advert, for others it’s when a certain Mariah Carey tune starts dominating the airwaves, but for Londoners, it’s not Christmas until alpine-style chalets once again flank one of the loveliest stretches of the River Thames.
Southbank Centre’s Winter Market runs 1 November to 26 December this year. Here you’ll find all sorts of festive indulgences, from truffle burgers to churros and chocolate-smothered fruit. Take a breather at one of the pop-up bars, or browse gifts, jewellery and decorations made by independent creatives over a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine.
That’s just a taste of what the Southbank Centre has in store this winter. Also on the programme: live music — including Christmas carols and soul-stirring classical concerts — plus free dance parties, outdoor art, and some sparkling new productions. Fancy seeing a fresh take on a Christmas classic? Check out Carlos Acosta's Nutcracker in Havana. One reimagined ballet not enough for you? Opt for Circa’s Swan Lake circus show, Duck Pond. Looking for school holiday entertainment? Tom Fletcher’s The Creakers is sure to hit the spot.
