Throughout 2026, one of the most influential London cultural institutions marks a historic milestone. The Southbank Centre celebrates 75 years since the opening of the Royal Festival Hall with an ambitious, year-long anniversary programme that positions the site as a living vision of the arts centre of the future. Rooted in postwar optimism and driven by contemporary creativity, the season stands out among the most significant arts events London will host in the coming year.
London cultural institutions and a legacy of renewal
Opened in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain, the Royal Festival Hall emerged as a symbol of hope and renewal in the aftermath of World War II. Today, it remains the founding cornerstone of the Southbank Centre, whose riverside campus has grown into a vital cultural ecosystem. The 75th anniversary programme reflects on this legacy while asking how art, technology, and collective experience can continue to shape society.
Conceived as a forward-looking celebration, the 2026 programme explores future-facing ideas, from youth culture and immersive performance to the evolving relationship between art and technology. It also extends beyond London, unfolding as a nationwide initiative that brings music, literature, and visual art to communities across the UK.
Immersive futures at the Southbank Centre
The Southbank Centre’s anniversary year reaches a defining moment in May with You Are Here, a sweeping, site-wide takeover conceived by Danny Boyle in collaboration with leading voices from theatre, fashion, and music. Spanning the entire complex, the project traces 75 years of British youth culture through an immersive blend of live performance, film, fashion, dance, and spoken word—transforming the Southbank into a living map of collective memory and cultural energy.
Among the standout exhibitions of 2026 is Anish Kapoor’s long-awaited return to the Hayward Gallery, nearly three decades after his last presentation there. The landmark show brings together early seminal works and recent monumental installations, unfolding Kapoor’s ongoing exploration of perception, space, and the viewer’s physical presence through mirrored surfaces, void-like forms, and sculptural architectures that challenge scale and the sublime.
The year continues with a series of forward-looking projects that explore the future of art and experience. Pianist Yuja Wang presents Playing with Fire, a groundbreaking immersive mixed-reality work that reimagines the concert format, while the Goalhanger Southbank Centre Takeover transforms the site into a live platform for contemporary storytelling, bringing chart-topping podcasts into the cultural arena for the first time. Together, these projects position the Southbank Centre not as a retrospective institution, but as a living laboratory for the arts of tomorrow.
A cultural milestone with contemporary meaning
Marking 75 years since the Royal Festival Hall first opened its doors, the anniversary year positions the Southbank Centre not as a monument to the past, but as a platform for what comes next. Drawing inspiration from the Festival of Britain’s belief in progress through culture, the programme reaffirms the role of London cultural institutions as places of openness, experimentation, and shared imagination.
