27 May, 2024
Electric avenues
Experience the future of Grand Prix motor racing at this year's Formula E World Championships in London Docklands. The Season 10 international finals of the all-electric event take place over the weekend of 21-22 July, on a unique circuit which runs from inside the ExCel Centre to the streets of Royal Docklands and back. Blisteringly fast yet pollution free, this is racing at its most electrifying, with 22 world-class drivers and 11 teams, including Jaguar, Maserati, McLaren and Porsche.
Music maestros
The BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall return for Britain's biggest festival of classical music, featuring the world's most famous orchestras and soloists - as well as some special pop Proms, including the first all-disco night, and concerts devoted to film composer Henry Mancini and jazz legend Sarah Vaughan. This year's First Night of the Proms falls on Friday 19 July, and the season continues right through till 14 September, with some 90 different concerts over an eight-week run.
Turning Japanese
Formerly known as the V&A Museum of Childhood, the Young V&A reopened in 2023 after a £13 million programme of redesign and restoration, though still on its original site in Bethnal Green. It boasts one of the world's leading collections of children's toys, games and costumes, and also hosts regular exhibitions, such as Japan: Myths to Manga, which runs until 8 September and explores Japanese art, technology and design, from the woodblock prints of Hiroshige to Hello Kitty.
Heavens above
Most of us have been to St Paul's Cathedral and marvelled at its magnificent dome, but few people get to go behind the scenes and visit the upper galleries. Book a guided tour, though, and you'll get to see Sir Christopher Wren's grand library and his original Great Model for the cathedral, made in 1673, as well as the Geometric Staircase (which featured in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), and spectacular views of the cathedral's main nave.