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Aerial Views of the Southbank Centre and Visitors

Royal Festival Hall

Welcome to one of the world’s leading performance venues

Situated in the heart of London, on the banks of the River Thames is the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, a beacon for arts and culture for over 70 years.

The 2,700 capacity Royal Festival Hall auditorium fast became one of the world’s landmark performance venues when it opened as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain. And since the introduction of the Greater London Council’s ‘Open Foyer’ policy in 1983, this Grade I listed building has been open daily, free for anyone to visit and enjoy its light spacious interior.

Find out the latest events happening in our Royal Festival Hall, and discover the best places to eat, drink and shop while you’re here.

What’s inside?

On now & coming up

More info for The Rest Is Politics US: Trump on a Knife Edge
A smiling blonde woman in an orange patterned shirt poses next to a man in a blue suit and purple tie, who is holding up a peace sign with his right hand.
Literature & poetry

The Rest Is Politics US: Trump on a Knife Edge

Be a part of the discussion about the political future of the United States with the popular podcast
Royal Festival Hall
More info for The Rest Is Politics: Off the Record
Hosts of The Rest is Politics UK sitting on a sofa reading the news.
Literature & poetry

The Rest Is Politics: Off the Record

Tune in to this live show of the nation’s most popular political podcast
Royal Festival Hall
More info for TONIC FLOW: A Communal Chorus in Colour and Sound
Two women jump in the air in front of a brightly colored, geometric mural on an outdoor basketball court.
Art & exhibitions

TONIC FLOW: A Communal Chorus in Colour and Sound

Imagine a future overflowing with hope through a collaborative sound and visual installation
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free
More info for Quentin Blake: The Southbank Parade
A trio of illustrations by Quentin Blake depicting members of an orchestra; a woman in a long dress playing a violin, a person in a wheelchair plating the cymbals and a man in tails playing the flute
Art & exhibitions

Quentin Blake: The Southbank Parade

The much-loved illustrator and author celebrates the 1951 Festival of Britain for this installation
Site wide
Tickets Free
More info for Playing with Fire
Yuja Wang plays piano in a dreamy landscape
Classical music

Playing with Fire

Get closer to the explosive talent of Yuja Wang at a groundbreaking concert merging VR and live piano
Royal Festival Hall
Multi-buy
More info for Southbank Centre Tours
A concrete brutalist building with the London Eye and Big Ben in the background
Tours & activities

Southbank Centre Tours

See our spectacular venues from a whole new perspective during our 75th anniversary year
Across the site
More info for Google Arts & Culture
A computer game graphic of a safari with flamingos in the foreground and in a pond
Art & exhibitions

Google Arts & Culture

Try intriguing interactive projects transforming learning, storytelling and play
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free
More info for THE DELUSION: I Can’t Move With You
Six people sitting around a circular table, which is a game board, and looking at a screen
Art & exhibitions

THE DELUSION: I Can’t Move With You

Brave a post-apocalyptic world and play artist Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley’s interactive game
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free
More info for The Prologue
A fuzzy image of a rectangular object cut horizontally by a bright purple beam, with vertical lines and dark spots.
Art & exhibitions

The Prologue

Step through an immersive gateway reimagining the language of technology through poetry and light
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free
More info for Ayoung Kim: Delivery Dancer's Sphere
A woman in a white delivery uniform falling upside down off a motorbike in a South Korean street with neon lights surrounding
Art & exhibitions

Ayoung Kim: Delivery Dancer's Sphere

An enigmatic artwork where Seoul is a labyrinth of endless delivery work controlled by an algorithm
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free
More info for Live Demos
A dark grey, textured geometric bowl with intricate spiky carvings on a plain white background.
Art & exhibitions

Live Demos

The future has landed – explore interactive mixed-reality, trailblazing art, live coding, industry demos and DIY AI prototypes
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free
More info for Liam Young: World Machine
Art & exhibitions

Liam Young: World Machine

A planetary supercomputer transforms Earth into a machine in a mesmerising film artwork
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free
More info for Saturday Talks Programme
An audience watches two women speaking at a panel discussion in a modern event space at night.
Talks & debates

Saturday Talks Programme

K Allado-McDowell, Mark Leckey and Danielle Paterson lead talks and performances on art, AI and tech
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free
More info for Virtual Orchestra: Play Along
A man in a Hawaiian shirt wears a VR headset and headphones, holding two controllers in the clore ballroom
Family

Virtual Orchestra: Play Along

Pick up a virtual instrument and play your heart out alongside the Philharmonia Orchestra
Royal Festival Hall
Tickets Free

View more events in What’s on

For your visit

Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre

The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.

Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.

A Black man with long dark hair sits smiling among the seats of the Royal Festival Hall

Play a part in every performance

Name a seat in our Royal Festival Hall and help support the future of arts and music at the Southbank Centre.

Find out how to name a seat

While you’re with us

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