Dua Lipa, Patti Smith, Zadie Smith & More Set for Southbank Centre's October 2026 Programming
Baro d'evel, Forced Entertainment and the London Philharmonic Orchestra also join the venue's autumn programming.
In October, the Southbank Centre's 75th anniversary celebrations continue with London Literature Festival, curated by Grammy and Brit Award-winning global superstar Dua Lipa and her Service95 Book Club (20 Oct – 1 Nov). The festival features discussions, masterclasses, lectures, free events and workshops from a mix of literary icons and dynamic, emerging voices.
Dua Lipa is joined on-stage for a series of in-conversation events with acclaimed author Zadie Smith (24 Oct), poet and musician Mustafa (24 Oct) and legendary musician and writer Patti Smith (25 Oct). Alongside these discussions, Dua's Service95 Book Club, in collaboration with the Southbank Centre, have curated a selection of events highlighting the powerful voices shaping contemporary literature. Highlights include; A Conversation with Nadia Murad (22 Oct), Translated Fiction Showcase (28 Oct), Fierce Sounds featuring Kae Tempest alongside a stellar line up of boundary-pushing novelists (30 Oct) and Rewriting Male Tenderness (31 Oct). The festival also sees the return of Indie Night (23 Oct), the quarterly series celebrating the boundary-pushing power of independent presses.
The Classical Music Autumn/Winter 26/27 continues, featuring a season opening concert from Chineke! Orchestra presenting the London premiere of the Ayoub Sisters' Arabic Symphony (11 Oct). Resident Artists Manchester Collective are joined by percussionist extraordinaire Sidiki Dembélé and his band for folksong and storytelling from Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Senegal (4 Oct), and Icelandic phenomenon Víkingur Ólafsson joins the London Philharmonic Orchestra for an evening concert featuring the world premiere of Mark Simpson's Piano Concerto alongside Stravinsky's magical The Firebird (23 Oct).
The UK's largest recurring contemporary art exhibition, British Art Show opens in Coventry (2 Oct 2026 – 10 Jan 2027), before embarking on a national tour of five cities across the UK through to 2028. Produced by Hayward Gallery Touring and curated by Ekow Eshun, this landmark 10th edition, British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers, explores human connection and the figure of the Other in divided times through the work of over 30 artists.
Playing With Fire: An Immersive Odyssey with Yuja Wang continues, inviting audiences into a stunning virtual world to experience the explosive talent of pianist Yuja Wang at a groundbreaking VR concert (9 Sep – 3 Jan).
French modern circus masters Baro d'evel make their UK debut with Who Are We? a high-energy explosion of humour and playful self-reflection that delves into the very idea of what it is to be a human (14 – 16 Oct), while Forced Entertainment returns to present a trademark absurd, comical, unsettling and poetic piece of contemporary theatre with Cold Sweat (9 & 10 Oct).
Anish Kapoor's unmissable Hayward Gallery exhibition concludes, giving audiences a final chance to experience the artist's awe-inspiring works and dramatic installations (16 Jun – 18 Oct). While in the HENI Project Space, Musquiqui Chihying's exploration of humanity's ambiguous relationship with technology, A Life of Navigation, also concludes (25 Aug – 18 Oct). Outside, Swiss artist Renée Levi's public artwork September continues to transform and animate the Hayward Gallery's iconic Brutalist facade.The Southbank Centre's 75th Anniversary Season is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
EXHIBITIONS
Quentin Blake: The Southbank Parade
Tuesday, February 17 – Sunday, November 8, 10am–11pm, Tuesday–Sunday, site wide. Free. For all ages.
Anish Kapoor
Tuesday, June 16 – Sunday, October 18, Hayward Gallery. Tickets from £22.
Musquiqui Chihying: A Life of Navigation
Tuesday, August 25 – Sunday, October 18, HENI Project Space, Hayward Gallery. Free.
EVENTS
Southbank Centre Tours
Through Thursday, December 31, various times, across the site beginning at Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £20 plus £3.50 booking fee. For all ages.
Playing with Fire: Yuja Wang
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 – Sunday, January 3, 2027, multiple times, Spirit Level, Level 1, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £22 plus £4 booking fee. For ages 12+.
WordPlay: Ages 0–2
Friday, October 2 and Friday, October 23 at 10:30am, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Free.
WordPlay: Ages 3–5
Friday, October 2 and Friday, October 23 at 11:30am, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Free.
Simmer Down
Friday, October 2 at 1:30pm, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Free. For all ages.
Kian Soltani Plays Dvořák
Friday, October 2 at 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £20. For ages 7+.
ORII Presents feat. BXKS
Friday, October 2 at 7:30pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £26. For ages 14+.
futuretense x DOTWAVNOTWAVE
Friday, October 2 at 9:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. Free. For all ages.
Relaxed Sessions: Acrobalance with Mimbre
Saturday, October 3 at 11am, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Free. For ages 5+.
Saturday Sessions: Acrobalance with Mimbre
Saturday, October 3 at 1:30pm, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Free. For ages 5+.
Ballroom Boogie x Toasty Tots XL
Saturday, October 3 at 2:45pm, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Free. For all ages.
Vikki Heywood & Francis Spufford: Hidden London
Saturday, October 3 at 3pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £17. For ages 15+.
Sir Karl Jenkins Conducts: The Armed Man
Saturday, October 3 at 3pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £25.50. For ages 7+.
Brian Elias & Ben Goldscheider: TOUCHING THE QUICK
Saturday, October 3 at 6pm and 7pm, Hayward Gallery. Tickets £22, including exhibition entry.
Oracle with the BBC Concert Orchestra
Saturday, October 3 at 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £21. For ages 7+.
Emily St John Mandel: Exit Party
Saturday, October 3 at 7:45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £36. For ages 15+.
Bruckner 5 with Herbert Blomstedt
Sunday, October 4 at 3pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £26. For ages 7+.
Making A Husband: Live
Sunday, October 4 at 3pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £26. For ages 18+.
Manchester Collective & Sidiki Dembélé
Sunday, October 4 at 6pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £22. For ages 7+.
Primary Schools Morning: Anish Kapoor
Wednesday, October 7 at 10am, Hayward Gallery. Free for primary school groups.
Special Edition: Shanzhai Lyric Runway Reading
Wednesday, October 7 at 8pm, National Poetry Library, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £13. For ages 15+.
Secondary Schools Morning: Anish Kapoor
Thursday, October 8 at 10am, Hayward Gallery. Free for secondary school groups.
Rug Rhymes: Autumn
Friday, October 9 and Friday, October 16 at 11am, National Poetry Library Little Library, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets £4. For ages 0–5.
The Girl from Arles
Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 at 7pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £22. For ages 7+.
Forced Entertainment: Cold Sweat
Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 at 7:45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £28. For ages 15+.
Chineke! Orchestra: Arabic Symphony
Sunday, October 11 at 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £21. For ages 7+.
K-Music Festival 2026: Korean Games in Concert
Sunday, October 11 at 7:30pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £21. For ages 14+.
Who Are We?
Wednesday, October 14 – Friday, October 16 at 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £26. For ages 8+.
Members' Private View: Anish Kapoor
Thursday, October 15 at 6pm, Hayward Gallery. Free for Members.
Iconic Women of the Hayward Gallery
Thursday, October 15 at 7:45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £21. For ages 15+.
Nussaibah Younis: Fundamentally
Friday, October 16 at 7pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £21. For ages 15+.
Vadym Kholodenko: Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique
Saturday, October 17 at 3pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £24. For ages 7+.
Zubin Kanga: Ghost in the Machine + After Dark
Saturday, October 17 at 8pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £32. For ages 7+.
After Dark: Club Cyborg – Zubin Kanga
Saturday, October 17 at 9:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. Tickets from £18. For ages 7+.
LONDON LITERATURE FESTIVAL
Michael Lewis: Blockers
Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £29. For ages 15+.
The Children's Bookshow with Katherine Rundell
Wednesday, October 21 at 11am, Queen Elizabeth Hall. For ages 9–11.
Creative Encounters: Inky Poems
Wednesday, October 21 at 2pm, National Poetry Library, Royal Festival Hall. Free. For ages 18+.
Ta-Nehisi Coates & Tareq Baconi: On Freedom
Wednesday, October 21 at 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £29. For ages 15+.
Hernan Diaz: Ply
Wednesday, October 21 at 7:45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £21. For ages 15+.
Service95 Book Club: Nadia Murad in Conversation
Thursday, October 22 at 7:45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £26. For ages 15+.
Kwame Dawes: Afro-Style School & Kinships
Thursday, October 22 at 8pm, National Poetry Library, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £13. For ages 15+.
Joseph Coelho & Friends
Friday, October 23 at 11am, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets £5. For ages 7–11.
Out-Spoken: October
Friday, October 23 at 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £19. For ages 15+.
Indie Night: October
Friday, October 23 at 7:45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £17. For ages 15+.
These listings are drawn directly from the supplied Southbank Centre material.
