London festivals to catch this summer: 2022 edition

Notting Hill Carnival, Notting Hill

On the August Bank Holiday weekend, the leafy, distinguished quiet of west London's ice-cream-coloured squares gets blown apart. Carnival returns to Notting Hill this summer for the first time in three years, bringing with it goat curry, steel drums, rum punch, coconuts, jerk chicken and a whole lot of joy.

Lambeth Country Show, Brockwell Park

For one weekend in July, the charms of a traditional country fair roll into Brockwell Park with farm animals, authentic cider and spirited games galore. Highlights typically include the Dog and Sheep Show, where sheep dogs show off their herding skills, and the Adrenaline Tour for daredevil motorcycle stunts. This is not your typical village green affair though; a stage hosting an eclectic music line-up spanning dub, Afro-beat, disco, jazz, folk, ska and soul will remind all festival goes they're in central London,

A true family festival, there's plenty for little ones too, from face-painting to animal-petting, bouncy castles to fairground rides.

Summer Series 2022, Somerset House

Somerset House's annual Summer Series is definitely the belle of the ball in the UK festival scene, inviting music-lovers to experience world-class gigs with a spectacular backdrop. This July, 11 acts will perform across 10 days of refined raving with genre-mashing sounds ranging from avant-jazz to futuristic flamenco. Among the list of confirmed artists are John Legend, Arlo Parks, Carly Rae Jepsen and Tems.

British Summer Time Festival, Hyde Park

After two years of cancellations, British Summer Time (BST) festival returns to Hyde Park, bringing with it a 10-day line-up of musical legends including Elton John, The Rolling Stones and Adele.

All Points East 2022, Victoria Park

All Points East will once again bring a 10-day extravaganza of music to Victoria Park this summer. The festival is split across two weekends, with free, family activities (and another festival, Field Day) running in between. Headline performances this year come from 90s virtual band Gorillaz (19th), Kevin Parker's Tame Impala (25th), American rock group The National (26th), electro duo Disclosure (27th) and golden oldies Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (28th).

Mighty Hoopla Festival, Brockwell Park

Glitter bombing the Jubilee Bank Holiday, Mighty Hoopla is spread over two days this year, with more than 25,000 festival-goers expected to descend on Brockwell Park for 'music, fun and fashion', and above all, a celebration of 'freedom and expressionism'. Steps, Sugababes and Anastacia lead the throwback-heavy line-up.

Birch Arising, Hertfordshire

What's this? A new boutique festival for the boujis crowd. Take a 30-minute train ride from London to leafy Hertfordshire and in a Grade II-listed former Manor House on a 55-acre wooded estate, hotel-cum-members-club Birch is hosting the party its founders have been dreaming of throwing since its opening mid-pandemic in late 2020.

Falling on the summer solstice, the three-day party is a chance to throw yourself into outdoorsy adventures by day before congregating to embrace some twilight magic. Curate your own programme out of pool parties, movie screenings and rustic country fun, while for the spiritual crowd, there's tarot readings, crystal healing, morning yoga and more.

Music comes by way of LA trio the Gabriels, who are headlining Birch Arising before traveling south to play Glastonbury. DJ Greg Wilson promises to keep the crowd dancing after dark.

Resident chef Robin Gill (The Dairy, Darby's) is hosting a gourmet feast in the courtyard, and foodie festival-goers won't want to miss the secluded smokers' feast in the meadow, either. Elsewhere, look out for Mexican street food by the lido, and there will be plenty of barbecue supplies and pizza to go around.

The Great Exhibition Road Festival, South Kensington

The Great Exhibition Road Festival celebrates the arts and sciences in the spirit of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and takes place at fabulous venues in the neighbourhood such as the Royal Albert Hall, Science Museum, V&A, Natural History Museum, Imperial College London and on Exhibition Road itself. Play chess with robots, take a trip with VR, see symphony orchestras in action and listen to talks on a variety of current issues, like how to reduce our use of carbon and help protect the planet.

Field Day Festival, Meridian Water

After a stint over in Meridian Water, Field Day returns to its birthplace of Victoria Park this summer, where 10-day long All Points East pauses to host it on Saturday. Electro pioneers Kraftwerk 3D, The Chemical Brothers, and DJ Peggy Gou are headlining.

Wireless Festival 2022, Crystal Palace and Finsbury Park

Urban music festival Wireless is back and this year, it's doing a double weekender, returning to its spiritual home of Finsbury Park in north London and also entertaining crowds south of the river in Crystal Palace the weekend before. This is not a case of duplicating the line-up, though. Headlining at Finsbury Park are Cardi B (Friday 8), SZA (Saturday 9), and Nicki Minaj (Sunday 10). While down in Crystal Palace, festival goers can pop and lock to A$AP Rocky (Friday 1), J. Cole (Saturday 2) and Tyler, The Creator (Sunday 3).

Hampton Court Palace Festival 2022, Richmond upon Thames

Hampton Court Palace Festival returns this summer with an 11-day, please-all line-up of new and returning favourites, including: UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, McFly, Elbow Michael Ball and Alfie Boe. This highlight of the summer calendar is one for all the family.