Summer In The City at London Bridge's Riverside Festival

London Bridge City launches its Summer by the River three months of free entertainment till the start of September

‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford,’ reckoned the great writer Samuel Johnson.

Three centuries on and the capital is still proving him right as London Bridge City launches its Summer by the River three months of free entertainment till the start of September

Yes. Free.

It’s the largest free arts and entertainment festival of its kind in London: music, dance, films, fitness, theatre, comedy and kids’ stuff too. Everything from Shakespeare and singing workshops, to Enid Blyton parody and puppets.

For tennis addicts needing a Wimbledon fix there’s plenty of big screen action – fingers crossed for UK’s top hopes Johanna Konta and Kyle Edmund. Plus the chance to wear a big hat for Royal Ascot racing, and Lycra for the Tour de France (performance enhancing substances optional).

The Summer season kicked off in the riverside setting of London Bridge with a mix of sword dancing (think risky Riverdance); Chaps Choir pop; retro jazz and swing from Georgia and the Vintage Youth; and folksy sea shanties from Dublin’s The Eskies.

The riverside entertainment venue, next to City Hall and named The Scoop, will be a magnet for tourists, lunch-break Londoners, day trippers, scholars and scoundrels alike.

You won’t go hungry or thirsty with Bar by the River and Look No Hands Mum (by the Pier) serving ciders beers, cocktails and the ubiquitous Pimm’s for those long, hot summer evenings.

A must try for food entertainment is the bbq bar pop-up for top-notch quality, freshly-prepped take-away food cooked in impressive looking Big Green Egg bbqs. It did such a roaring trade on the opening night it set off the neighbouring bar’s smoke alarm.

What’s to beat sunset views of The Tower of London while sipping Pimm’s and munching on a vegan halloumi burger and sweet potato fries? And looking forward to a whole summer of not being tired of London.

What you need to know:

All festival events will be available to view here and will be updated throughout the festivals duration – https://londonbridgecity.co.uk/events.

London Bridge City’s Summer by the River runs until Sunday 1st September at London Bridge City, SE1 2DB. Nearest Tube London Bridge.

Programmed days during June & July:

Monday – Fitness classes

Tuesday – Open-air cinema

Wednesday – Culture – comedy, music & theatre

Gill Martin

Gill Martin is an award winning travel writer and former Fleet Street journalist – Daily Mail reporter, Daily Express feature writer and Sunday Mirror Woman's Editor. She is a freelance writer for national newspapers from the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph to tabloids, magazines, regional newspapers and websites. After a six month career break after the Indian Ocean tsunami where she volunteered as a communications consultant in Banda Aceh, Indonesia for Plan, the children's charity, she is now focused on travel. From skiing everywhere from Kashmir to Argentina, Morocco to Turkey, North America and all over Europe; snow shoeing in Canada; captain of the GB team of the Ski Club of International Journalists; whitewater rafting down the Zambezi; electric mountain biking in Switzerland and cycling in Portugal; Kenyan and South African safaris; riding elephants in India and horses in Brazil; paint balling in Romania; opera and archeology in Serbia; Caribbean snorkelling; sampling food and wine in Italy.

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