Southbank Centre – Your family update

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On August 29, 2026
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In News
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New term, new fun

Though the summer holidays are sadly starting to end, there’s still plenty of fun for all the family just around the corner! Scroll down and discover stage adaptations of your little ones’ favourite books, interactive music and art to join in with, and lots and lots of free events.

Book lovers

A colorful children's illustration of a red alien and a blue alien holding hands on a desert planet under a huge moon.

The Smeds and the Smoos

WED 28 OCT – SUN 1 NOV

Jet off on an out-of-this-world family adventure and find star-crossed aliens, music and cosmic laughs in an Olivier Award-nominated show based on the beloved book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

★★★★★ edinburghfestivalsforkids

British Sign Language interpreted: Thu 29 Oct, 2pm & Sat 31 Oct, 3.30pm

Southbank Centre - Your family update

Four mice puppets in a line, wearing party hats.

There’s a Bear on My Chair

FRI 11 DEC – SUN 3 JAN

They’re a mischievous pair, are the mouse and the bear… pull up a seat for puppets aplenty and lots of laughs as Ross Collins’ books come alive on stage.

★★★★ The Stage

WordPlay is back

An audience of parents and babies watch a stage performance, with a mother holding her baby up in the foreground.

WordPlay: Ages 0 – 2

FRI 18 SEP – FRI 18 DEC

Join us each fortnight for beautiful new songs and live music for you and your baby to enjoy together, within a free playful, squishy space.

A group of children raise their hands while following along with a performer on a brightly lit stage.

WordPlay: Ages 3 – 5

FRI 18 SEP – FRI 18 DEC

Wriggle on down each fortnight for delightful new songs and live music for you and your child, in a free soft sensory environment.

Join the fun

A group of diverse children stand in a line singing or speaking during an interactive activity.

Youth Voices Open Day

SAT 26 SEP

Aged 9 – 18 and love to sing? Drop in for a free fun, welcoming sample session with the Youth Voices choir and see what it’s all about!

A young girl in a floral dress dances with other children under vibrant pink and purple lighting.

Saturday Sessions

SAT 3 OCT – SAT 5 DEC

Discover free performances, workshops and fun for children aged 5 to 11, including a relaxed offering.

Children enjoying a dance event

Ballroom Boogie x Toasty Tots XL

SAT 3 OCT – SAT 5 DEC

DJ sets, singalongs, dance breaks and feel-good tunes for all ages, all in one joyful, free welcoming space.

Classical kiddos

A man in a Hawaiian shirt wears a VR headset and headphones, holding two controllers in the clore ballroom

Virtual Orchestra: Play Along

SAT 12 & SUN 13 SEP

Pop on a headset, pick up a virtual instrument and play your heart out alongside the Philharmonia Orchestra in this free virtual reality experience.

A musician kneeling and playing an instrument in front of a family.

OAE TOTS: A Musical Adventure with Don Quixote

SUN 17 JAN

Go on a wacky adventure with a would-be knight at an interactive family concert with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Special offer for today

A gif of an outdoor wide shot shows two people standing on a concrete terrace looking at a large, curved, mirror-polished steel sculpture that reflects the sky and surrounding brutalist architecture and a silhouette of a person standing in front of a replica of the Earth

Anish Kapoor

UNTIL SUN 18 OCT

★★★★★ London Standard

Make a day of it on Sunday 30 August by pairing Anish Kapoor with half-price entry to Luke Jerram’s Gaia – a seven-metre Earth created using detailed NASA imagery and set to a surround-sound score, suspended above the Royal Festival Hall stage.

The 50% discount to Luke Jerram: Gaia applies automatically at checkout when you add both Anish Kapoor and Luke Jerram: Gaia tickets to your basket for Sunday 30 August.

Installation view of Anish Kapoor, Tsunami, 2025. © Anish Kapoor. All rights reserved, DACS, 2026. Photo: Dave Morgan

Outdoor art

Two women jump in the air in front of a brightly colored, geometric mural on an outdoor basketball court.

TONIC FLOW: A Communal Chorus in Colour and Sound

UNTIL SUN 20 SEP

Will you press the buttons in this free sound and visual installation by artist Lakwena Maciver and musician Abimaro Gunnell?

Three people jump over multicolored spots on the floor

Luke Jerram: Stepping Out

UNTIL WED 30 SEP

Your feet make the tunes as your steps trigger music in this free installation from artist Luke Jerram and composer Dan Jones.

An illustration of a skater

Quentin Blake: The Southbank Parade

UNTIL SUN 8 NOV

Look out for rock stars, ballet dancers, authors, skaters and heaps more free characters all around our site from the much-loved illustrator and author.

In the shop

A gif of Trixie products

New-in from Trixie

Inspired by the infinite imagination of a child, Trixie’s broad range of products creates a playground from which imagination can take flight.

From our friends

Blood, guts and nasty cuts (family)

SAT 19 SEP | ROYAL INSTITUTION

Join historian and literary scholar Alanna Skuse as she explores the weird and wonderful ways that humans have treated accidents and illnesses, from magical remedies to robot surgeons, bloodletting to snake venom.

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