‘Shoe Lane Library is for everyone’: We talk to the Toast Finalist Toast the City Meet Sona Kalenderian of Shoe Lane Library, a welcoming Square Mile sanctuary offering free community and wellbeing events—visit and join in.
Open House Festival: The best guided walks in the Square Mile Toast the City As we celebrate the Square Mile with our Toast the City Awards 2026, here are some amazing City-based Open House Festival tours, including close looks at some of our nominees. Money, money, money What is the City of London most famous for? Money, of course. This Open House tour, of the Square Mile’s financial past [...]
Summer loving! 9 amazing things to do in London this August Life&Style We round up the best things to do in London this August Are you staying in the City this month, or fleeing the urban heat to enjoy these climes somewhere more appropriate, like a beach? If you’re staying put in the Square Mile this August, fear not: we’ve got you covered. Here are some of [...]
Death Note: The Musical review – a high-shine, high school take on the trolley problem August 12, 2026 Adapted from a much-loved Manga series, Death Note the Musical is an impressive, high-shine production, with rudimentary philosophy.
Barbican: Collabs like SXSW are the future of creative industries June 4, 2026 This week SXSW returns to London for its second year. For decades, this festival has brought together music, tech, film and the arts, creating cultural moments and sparking new ideas. The Barbican is proud to be a part of it, hosting a number of world film premieres in the heart of the City. SXSW shares our belief that great things happen [...]
£450m City block approved after developers lop three storeys of plan May 29, 2026 Revised plans for a new £450m tower in the City have been rubber-stamped by the Square Mile’s planning committee after developers chose to lop three stories off the building’s design in response to fierce local criticism. The City of London Corporation greenlit an adjusted proposal for the 1 Silk Street mega-scheme on Thursday, saying it [...]
In Other Worlds at the Barbican: Is this what the future looks like? May 21, 2026 In Other Worlds | The Barbican | ★★★★☆ The Barbican seems to have found its groove when it comes to contemporary art, utilising its modernist spaces to create sprawling, immersive exhibitions that couldn’t exist anywhere else. Last year Feel the Sound explored the concept of noise in all of its forms – scientific, spiritual, cultural [...]
Secret Barbican: visit these beautiful parts of the famous building May 19, 2026 I’m not sure anyone can really consider themselves an ‘insider’ at the Barbican. It’s a giant, complex dream of a place, a vision of what a community and a life might be like with creativity at its heart. I’m just lucky enough to be one of the people looking after it for a bit. And [...]
The City pub boasting taxidermy boar, deer and squirrel April 29, 2026 Our Toast the City Awards celebrating the best of the Square Mile returns later this year. Adam Bloodworth dines at City pub The Jugged Hare WHAT’S THE VIBE? At The Jugged Hare, I pass a boar growling at me. It has been upturned and beheaded and presented unceremoniously on a dining table. Fierce-eyed boars, slender [...]
Barbican Centre: the brutalist landmark weaving art into everyday London life. April 2, 2026 For many people, the Barbican is a place to visit, to catch a show, enjoy some food or just hang out. For others, like Jo Davis (Head of Retail) and Oluwatoyin Odunsi (Senior Producer for Learning & Participation), it’s a place of work – as seen in the video below. And for a fortunate few, [...]