As spring blends into summer, High Street Kensington is playing host to a vibrant line up of events and cultural launches. From a free World Cup-themed football festival and summer opera in Holland Park, to new exhibitions at the destination’s cultural venues, a dolls house festival and free art at Kensington Gardens Serpentine – there’s plenty of reasons to visit. Discover the programme highlights at www.highstreetkensington.co.uk including:
World Cup Festival Takeover in High Street Kensington
World Cup fever will hit High Street Kensington’s market on 27th June with a free football festival takeover. Jubilee Square will be decorated and themed to reflect the competing nations, the event will run from 10-4.30pm and feature a dedicated ‘football zone’- with a DJ and games galore. Highlights include a giant 14-person table football, fun sub-soccer pods (a table football game played with your feet), a spin-and-win game, plus a skills showcase by a freestyle footballer. Adding a touch of comedy, slapstick actors will interact with the crowds disguised as larger than life pundits, referees and football scarf sellers. And, celebrating both Kensington’s international cultures and participating World Cup countries, there will be a world-flag face-painting artist plus a delicious array of international street food and multitude of cultural performances including samba dancers and musicians. The event coincides with an England game later in the evening; so, it’s the perfect excuse to get into the football festivities early.
Opera Holland Park sings free Songs on the Steps performances
Taking place at 1pm on most Fridays from mid-May to the end of July, visitors to Holland Park will be treated to a free taste of Opera Holland Park’s 2026 season. Songs on the Steps will feature new and familiar songs and arias certain to capture the imaginations of opera devotees and park passers-by – and an exciting musical trailer to the company’s summer line-up. This includes Puccini’s La Fanciulli del West (Tue 26 May – Fri 12 June), Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Thu 28 May – Sat 13 June) and Will Todd and Maggie Gottlieb’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Fri 19 – Sat 27 June). www.operahollandpark.com
Kensington Dollshouse Festival Summer Show – 15-16th May for lovers of the teeny-tiny
From miniature cakes and a KFC chicken buffet to intricate dolls house furnishings and peg dolls, the Kensington Dollshouse Festival is a must visit for those who find joy in the teeny-tiny. Taking place 15-16th May at the Kensington Town Hall, top miniature artists and doll house makers from around the world will be displaying and selling their everyday life items fascinatingly scaled down to perfection. Tickets from £5-£25. For more information: https://dollshouseshowcase.com/
Serpentine celebrates nature at two free summer-long free exhibitions by David Hockney and Cecily Brown
Reflecting the surrounding nature of Kensington Gardens, Serpentine is staging works by two prestigious artists this summer – David Hockney and Cecily Brown.
David Hockney: A Year in Normandie and some other thoughts about painting, invites viewers to slow down and notice the extraordinary within the everyday in his first exhibition at Serpentine. Created specifically for this presentation, the new paintings extend his lifelong fascination with the act of looking, affirming his belief that simple beauty is worth celebrating. The free exhibition brings Hockney’s celebrated panoramic frieze A Year in Normandie to London for the first time. Inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, this monumental work captures the changing seasons at the artist’s former studio in Normandy. Running until 23rd August, the exhibition is free but ticket slots for June and beyond will be bookable shortly.
In Picture Making, Cecily Brown, known for her vigorous brushwork, vivid colour and dynamic compositions, focuses on themes of nature and park life. It features paintings inspired by Serpentine’s unique location in Kensington Gardens – a site of personal significance to the artist. The exhibition represents a homecoming for the British artist who has worked in New York for the past thirty years. Running to 6th September, entry is free, with time-slot entry pre-bookable. For more information https://www.serpentinegalleries.org
