The Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary
Event Highlights: 2026 Listings
In 2026, the Southbank Centre marks its 75th anniversary with a forward-looking programme inspired by the optimism and creativity of its founding event, 1951’s Festival of Britain. The season explores what it means to be an arts centre of the future for the next generation of artists, audiences and communities in a presentation of bold commissions and landmark collaborations. From You Are Here — a landmark, site-wide celebration of British youth culture, directed by Danny Boyle, Gareth Pugh, Carson McColl and Paulette Randall — to a major Anish Kapoor exhibition at the Hayward Gallery; from the groundbreaking mixed-reality odyssey Playing with Fire with pianist Yuja Wang to Goalhanger: The Rest is Fest, a weekend uniting the nation’s favourite podcasts live on stage; from the joyous family festival Imagine to the genre-defying orchestral innovation of Multitudes, these highlights of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary season capture the creative energy, curiosity and rebellion that have defined it since 1951 and that continue to shape its future.
MULTI-ARTS | YOU ARE HERE
Sunday 3 – Bank Holiday Monday 4 May 2026, across the Southbank Centre site; ticketed (on sale soon).
The centrepiece of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary, You Are Here is a kaleidoscopic, site-wide takeover; an electrifying journey through 75 years of British youth culture in an immersive fusion of performance, live music, dance, fashion and art.
Created, directed and designed by Danny Boyle, Gareth Pugh and Carson McColl and Paulette Randall, the takeover brings together thousands of participating performers, spilling out across the entire Southbank Centre site over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
Every experience of You Are Here will be unique. Audiences are invited to journey through iconic, hidden and reimagined spaces across the site, as familiar buildings are turned inside out by site-wide art installations, large-scale performances, surprise guest performers and breath-taking choreography.
Tracking a riotous journey from monochrome 1950s austerity to a full-technicolour present-day, You Are Here traces the story of British youth identity and cultural invention through the decades. It links moments of rebellion, resilience and joy across generations, showcasing the legacy of the Southbank Centre’s place in contemporary culture and a new generation of cultural trailblazers shaping the future now.
At its heart, You Are Here is an exploration of rebellion and euphoria; a journey through history and an incredible party. The future is charged with promise and is yours to shape.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/you-are-here-our-75th-anniversary/
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FAMILY | IMAGINE
Wednesday 11 – Sunday 21 February, across the Southbank Centre site; ages 0-6 months upwards, ticketed (on sale soon)
Imagine, the Southbank Centre’s annual festival of fun and creativity for every family returns, transforming the site into one giant playground during February half-term. Next year’s festival includes the Southbank Centre’s biggest ever sleepover with children’s author Jacqueline Wilson and a virtual festival experience on Roblox, inviting young people to compose, share and explore music in a global virtual community.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/imagine
MULTI-ARTS | CLASSICAL | MULTITUDES
Thursday 16 April – Fri 1 May 2026, across the Southbank Centre site, featuring Southbank Centre Resident Orchestras; ticketed (on sale now)
Multitudes – the Southbank Centre’s multi-arts festival powered by orchestral music – returns for its second year, presented in collaboration with its six Resident Orchestras: Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Orchestra.
Audiences can expect bold reinterpretations, imaginative collaborations, and performances from some of the world’s most visionary artists — alongside landmark large-scale orchestral concerts that showcase the grandeur and tradition of classical music at its finest.
The Rite by Heart sees Aurora Orchestra perform Stravinsky’s revolutionary work entirely from memory, accompanied by a dramatised introduction that brings the words of the composer and his collaborators to life.
The worlds of heavy metal and orchestral music collide in a truly head-banging show from the Philharmonia Orchestra, Forged in Sound: Heavy Metal Orchestrated, fusing heavy metal’s industrial sound with classical music including Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre.
Alban Berg’s devastating opera Wozzeck thrums with drama, intrigue and searing music in a semi-staged version from the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition, Southbank Centre Resident Artist Manchester Collective joins forces with dance-theatre company Thick & Tight, plus electronic music artist CHAINES, for a defiant live performance with Saariaho’s fragile yet fierce Sept Papillons at its heart.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/events/multitudes/
VISUAL ART | ANISH KAPOOR
Tuesday 16 June – Sunday 18 October 2026, the Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery; ticketed (on sale soon).
Next summer, the Hayward Gallery will present a landmark exhibition of Anish Kapoor, marking his highly-anticipated return to the space after it was the first public gallery in the UK to host a major survey of his work in 1998. Curated by Ralph Rugoff, the show will bring together the essential languages of Anish Kapoor’s practice, spanning recent and seminal artworks.
Anish Kapoor is internationally renowned for making art that provokes the senses and the mind. Over the last four decades, he has relentlessly experimented with a wide range of materials to create sculptures and paintings that spark a deep sense of mystery. From black holes to boundless mirrors, Kapoor’s work interrogates what he calls ‘the space of the object’, inviting us to look twice and question how we experience our environment. www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/anish-kapoor
LITERATURE & SPOKEN WORD | GOALHANGER: THE REST IS FEST
Friday 4 – Sunday 6 September 2026, across the Southbank Centre site; ticketed (on sale soon).
Goalhanger: The Rest is Fest will take over the entire Southbank Centre site for an exclusive weekend of live events, bringing together live editions of chart-topping shows including The Rest Is…History, The Rest Is…Politics and The Rest Is…Entertainment, uniting them on stage for the first time.
Taking place across the Southbank Centre’s iconic site, the festival marks a landmark collaboration between Europe’s largest arts centre and the UK’s largest independent podcast producer.
Inspired by the spirit of 1951’s Festival of Britain and its celebration of innovation, Goalhanger: The Rest is Fest promises to look to the future with a live programme brimming with ideas, curiosity, and conversation.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/our-75th-anniversary
CLASSICAL MUSIC | MIXED-REALITY | PLAYING WITH FIRE: AN IMMERSIVE ODYSSEY WITH YUJA WANG
Friday 11 September – Sunday 13 December 2026, Queen Elizabeth Hall’s Undercroft Space; ticketed (on sale soon)
The UK premiere of Playing with Fire: An Immersive Odyssey with Yuja Wang is a groundbreaking 50-minute immersive experience that transforms the traditional piano recital into a mixed-reality odyssey starring world-renowned pianist Yuja Wang.
Wearing mixed-reality headsets, audiences are taken on a deeply personal journey through music, memory, and imagination, blending immersive visuals, spatial sound, storytelling, and virtual performance.
Playing with Fire is produced by VIVE Arts and Atlas V and directed by Pierre-Alain Giraud. Yuja Wang appears courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft.