City guideLondon · Sat 24 – Sun 25 October
London this weekend: Diwali on the Square, Freddie Mercury at the V&A
Diwali on the Square, Freddie Mercury’s costumes at the V&A, Chelsea v Tottenham, Korea at the British Museum, MCM Comic Con, Halloween at Kew, Dance Umbrella’s last weekend and Bubala Covent Garden.
The weekend at a glance
Choose a pick to find it on the map; scroll down for the full story.
Saturday · 24 October
Sunday · 25 October
All weekend · Saturday and Sunday
Saturday
24 October
Sat 17:30
Sport · Stamford Bridge
Chelsea v Tottenham at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea play Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, the first meeting of the two this season and a London derby with more than a century of history. Kick-off is 17:30, the day’s late Premier League game.
Tickets are sold through the club’s official site; the away end is Tottenham’s. Fulham Broadway station is a short walk away, and the pubs along Fulham Road fill from early afternoon.
Sunday
25 October
Sun 13:00–19:00Free
Festival · Trafalgar Square
Diwali on the Square in Trafalgar Square
London’s official Diwali celebration fills Trafalgar Square two weeks before the festival itself. It opens with a sequence of 200 dancers, and the main stage carries music and dance from London’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities.
Sunday 13:00 to 19:00, free, no ticket needed. Around the square there are sari and turban tying, yoga, puppet shows and dance workshops, with a market and vegetarian food stalls. The clocks go back that morning.
All weekend
Saturday and Sunday
Sat and Sun, 10:00–17:45Free
Exhibition · South Kensington
Freddie Mercury’s costumes at the V&A
Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things opens at the V&A on Saturday, 80 years after his birth. Eight stage looks, seven lent by Mary Austin, form a six-stop trail through the permanent galleries, among them the Mercury Wing catsuit and the crown and cloak of the 1986 Magic Tour.
Free, no ticket needed, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 17:45. The installations are by Tom Piper, some with sound and light; the trail runs until 17 January.
Sat and Sun, 10:00–17:00From £18, under-16s free
Exhibition · British Museum
Korea at the British Museum
Korea, at the British Museum since 1 October, is the fullest survey of Korean art in Europe for over 40 years: 2,000 years of sculpture, painting and decorative arts, drawn almost entirely from the collection Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee left to Korea’s national museums in 2021.
Room 35, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, adults from £18, under-16s free. Twenty-three objects are National Treasures or Treasures; most have never been shown in the UK.
Sat 11:00–19:00, Sun 12:00–17:00Sun £29, kids £7
Fair · Royal Docks
MCM Comic Con at ExCeL London
MCM Comic Con, London’s biggest gathering for comics, film, games and cosplay, fills ExCeL London from Friday to Sunday. This October’s guests include Patricia Summersett, the voice of Zelda, and cast from The Witcher 3, marking its Songs of the Past expansion.
Saturday tickets are sold out; Sunday general entry is £29 for 12:00 to 17:00, kids’ tickets £7, under-fives free. Saturday’s hours, 11:00 to 19:00, are for those who already hold tickets.
Sat 18:00–22:00, Sun 16:00–22:00From £19.50
Light trail · Kew Gardens
Halloween at Kew Gardens
Halloween at Kew turns the Royal Botanic Gardens into an illuminated after-dark trail for the third year: Dracula in the shadows, fire performers, the Headless Horseman and a new cursed tomb, plus food stalls with hot chocolate and marshmallows.
Saturday sessions run 18:00 to 22:00; from Sunday they start at 16:00, with daylight slots for small children. Timed entry from £19.50, last entry 20:30, through Victoria, Elizabeth or Brentford Gate only. Until 1 November.
Sat 10:30 and 13:00, Sun 14:00 and 17:00
Dance · Deptford and Brixton
Eshu at the Crossroads at The Albany and Brixton House
Dance Umbrella, London’s international dance festival, ends on Tuesday. Its last weekend has Eshu at the Crossroads, a family show by puppetry company Theatre-Rites and choreographer Miguel Altunaga, in which a traveller meets Eshu, the Yoruba trickster spirit, at a crossroads.
For ages 5 and up, newly adapted for indoor theatres. Saturday at The Albany in Deptford, 10:30 and 13:00; Sunday at CASA at Brixton House, 14:00 and 17:00. Tickets are through the venues.
Sat 12:00–23:15, Sun 12:00–22:00
Restaurant · Covent Garden
Bubala Covent Garden on Garrick Street
Bubala, the vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant that began in Spitalfields and Soho, opened its fourth and largest site on 19 October in a Grade II-listed building at 14 Garrick Street, Covent Garden. The menu is mezze to share, all vegetarian or vegan, with a set Bubala Knows Best menu.
Saturday 12:00 to 23:15, Sunday 12:00 to 22:00. Bookings are through the website, and a shorter lunch mezze menu, vegetarian or vegan, runs during the day.
Saturday
Sat 17:30
Chelsea v Tottenham at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea play Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, the first meeting of the two this season and a London derby with more than a century of history. Kick-off is 17:30, the day’s late Premier League game.
Tickets are sold through the club’s official site; the away end is Tottenham’s. Fulham Broadway station is a short walk away, and the pubs along Fulham Road fill from early afternoon.
Stamford Bridge Sunday
Sun 13:00–19:00
Diwali on the Square in Trafalgar Square
London’s official Diwali celebration fills Trafalgar Square two weeks before the festival itself. It opens with a sequence of 200 dancers, and the main stage carries music and dance from London’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities.
Sunday 13:00 to 19:00, free, no ticket needed. Around the square there are sari and turban tying, yoga, puppet shows and dance workshops, with a market and vegetarian food stalls. The clocks go back that morning.
Trafalgar Square All weekend
Sat and Sun, 10:00–17:45
Freddie Mercury’s costumes at the V&A
Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things opens at the V&A on Saturday, 80 years after his birth. Eight stage looks, seven lent by Mary Austin, form a six-stop trail through the permanent galleries, among them the Mercury Wing catsuit and the crown and cloak of the 1986 Magic Tour.
Free, no ticket needed, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 17:45. The installations are by Tom Piper, some with sound and light; the trail runs until 17 January.
Victoria and Albert Museum Sat and Sun, 10:00–17:00
Korea at the British Museum
Korea, at the British Museum since 1 October, is the fullest survey of Korean art in Europe for over 40 years: 2,000 years of sculpture, painting and decorative arts, drawn almost entirely from the collection Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee left to Korea’s national museums in 2021.
Room 35, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, adults from £18, under-16s free. Twenty-three objects are National Treasures or Treasures; most have never been shown in the UK.
The British Museum Sat 11:00–19:00, Sun 12:00–17:00
MCM Comic Con at ExCeL London
MCM Comic Con, London’s biggest gathering for comics, film, games and cosplay, fills ExCeL London from Friday to Sunday. This October’s guests include Patricia Summersett, the voice of Zelda, and cast from The Witcher 3, marking its Songs of the Past expansion.
Saturday tickets are sold out; Sunday general entry is £29 for 12:00 to 17:00, kids’ tickets £7, under-fives free. Saturday’s hours, 11:00 to 19:00, are for those who already hold tickets.
Excel London Sat 18:00–22:00, Sun 16:00–22:00
Halloween at Kew Gardens
Halloween at Kew turns the Royal Botanic Gardens into an illuminated after-dark trail for the third year: Dracula in the shadows, fire performers, the Headless Horseman and a new cursed tomb, plus food stalls with hot chocolate and marshmallows.
Saturday sessions run 18:00 to 22:00; from Sunday they start at 16:00, with daylight slots for small children. Timed entry from £19.50, last entry 20:30, through Victoria, Elizabeth or Brentford Gate only. Until 1 November.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Sat 10:30 and 13:00, Sun 14:00 and 17:00
Eshu at the Crossroads at The Albany and Brixton House
Dance Umbrella, London’s international dance festival, ends on Tuesday. Its last weekend has Eshu at the Crossroads, a family show by puppetry company Theatre-Rites and choreographer Miguel Altunaga, in which a traveller meets Eshu, the Yoruba trickster spirit, at a crossroads.
For ages 5 and up, newly adapted for indoor theatres. Saturday at The Albany in Deptford, 10:30 and 13:00; Sunday at CASA at Brixton House, 14:00 and 17:00. Tickets are through the venues.
The Albany Sat 12:00–23:15, Sun 12:00–22:00
Bubala Covent Garden on Garrick Street
Bubala, the vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant that began in Spitalfields and Soho, opened its fourth and largest site on 19 October in a Grade II-listed building at 14 Garrick Street, Covent Garden. The menu is mezze to share, all vegetarian or vegan, with a set Bubala Knows Best menu.
Saturday 12:00 to 23:15, Sunday 12:00 to 22:00. Bookings are through the website, and a shorter lunch mezze menu, vegetarian or vegan, runs during the day.
Bubala Covent Garden