32 Londoners, London Eye

London is a city of spectacular sights and incredible inhabitants, from the historic Tower of London to the shiny new Shard, and from Chaucer’s courtly medieval city to Zadie Smith’s multi-cultural modernity. Now an exciting one-off cultural adventure allows us to connect the two: learn about legends that London has produced while taking in a panoramic view of the landscape that inspired them.

32 Londoners celebrates the 15th anniversary of the London Eye. To mark the occasion the spinning wheel will be slowed down and all of its 32 pods will transform into an intimate lecture space. Each capsule will capture a different facet of London’s cultural composition, representing the 32 different London boroughs. The series of talks focuses on legendary Londoners, both historic and contemporary, and the speakers include eminent academics, public figures and global experts. Charting London’s long history and dazzling diversity, the subjects will range from Thomas Becket to Naomi Campbell . Demonstrating the variety of talent, subjects span from literature, music, fashion, theatre, art and politics. The speakers include former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone discussing politician Herbert Morrison , former poet laureate Andrew Motion examining John Keats ’s life and work, and biographer Claire Tomalin exploring the diaries of Samuel Pepys .

This is a unique chance to appreciate London’s rich history form both a visual and cultural perspective. As the joint project of innovative arts organisers A Curious Invitation and Antique Beat, the evening oozes offbeat cool. Guests will be entertained with a reception in the Featherless Flight Lounge before finding their chosen pod and enjoying refreshing Hendricks gin cocktails. With such a dizzying selection of lectures the only struggle is picking a pod. But hurry, tickets are disappearing fast - for sold out events there's a second release of tickets to be announced on their website shortly.