Poems on the Underground: 40th Anniversary
A delectable feast of poetry and music celebrating 40 years of Poems on the Underground, Transport for London’s great public poetry programme.
Poems on the Underground started life in January 1986 as an experiment by writer Judith Chernaik and poets Cicely Herbert and Gerard Benson. London Underground has supported the programme ever since.
To mark 40 years of bringing poetry into the daily lives of millions of travellers, we’ve got together a line-up of incredible writers, poets and musicians: poet Patience Agbabi; writer and Poems on the Underground’s co-founder Judith Chernaik; artist and poet Imtiaz Dharker; and poet George Szirtes. With music from Apollo String Quartet and musician Juliet Lewis.
Need to know
About the artists
Times & tickets
Dates, times and prices
Dates & times
24 Oct 2026, 5pm
Run time
1 hour and 15 minutes (approx)
All timings are approximate and subject to change
Standard entry
from £17
Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.
Concessions
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Refunds and exchanges
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For your visit
This event is held at the Purcell Room Southbank Centre
The Purcell Room is located in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Purcell Room is an auditorium located within our Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.