Society summer: your guide to London's hottest parties and events

Summer party season is nearly upon us, and the air in London is thick with promise. As the days creep towards their longest point, the capital’s great and good are preparing to quaff champagne in the reassuringly elite environs of various galleries, private gardens and stately homes. Here is our insider’s guide to what really goes on at the capital’s most exclusive summer parties, as well as the glitziest events that mere mortals can go to.

Vibe: The Royal Academy celebrates its Summer Exhibition, the world’s oldest submission exhibition, with a big bash. Guests share whispered remarks about the sprawling hodgepodge of paintings and sculptures by artists both internationally renowned and completely unknown. The exhibition is Marmite with critics, but everyone enjoys the party.

The guest list: London’s finest. Expect people like Claudia Winkleman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Zadie Smith, Cush Jumbo, Nick Grimshaw, Lila Moss, Grayson Perry.

Memorable moments: “I’m making a record — it’s really bitchy,” Charli xcx said at the party in 2023. A year later that record would come out, and it would be called brat, and the world would never quite be the same.

Vibe: Held in an Edenic secret garden in Bloomsbury. Very civilised, Woolfian event where editors and authors in tea dresses and suits chat high art. Everyone from Nobel laureates to bright-eyed interns decamps to a nearby pub for a tipple afterwards.

The guest list: Upper-echelon literati that could feature Kazuo Ishiguro, Tom Stoppard, Sally Rooney, Max Porter, Katherine Rundell, Hanif Kureishi.

The vibe: Actors, artists, aristos and royalty gather on the lawns around the gallery in Hyde Park to see the new Serpentine pavilion, designed by a different artist each year. It’s the crème de la crème of the summer parties.

The guest list: A-listers from both sides of the pond. Past attendees include Venus Williams, Benedict Cumberbatch, Skepta, Anna Wintour, Alexa Chung, Nile Rodgers and Bianca Jagger. Cate Blanchett is co-hosting this year, so expect some starry thesps in tow.

Best moments: Princess Diana wore her “revenge dress” to the party in 1994, while Sienna Miller and Jude Law made their first public outing as a couple in 2004. In recent years the thousand-berry cakes crafted by chef Skye Gyngell have proved Instagram dynamite.

Vibe: MPs, wonks and hacks cram into The Spectator’s back garden for a champagne-fuelled jolly. It would be disastrous if it rained, but it seems God loves the Speccie. All eyes will be on Michael Gove this year for the first party under his stewardship.

The guest list: It may be the Tory bible, but here the political divide is bridged and guests huddle in red and blue (and now turquoise) factions throughout the garden. Nigel Farage, Bridget Phillipson, Piers Morgan, Sophie Winkleman, Wes Streeting, Jordan Peterson and Justin Welby have all attended.

Memorable moments: Last year’s party was held days after Labour’s thumping election victory. Liz Truss told the Standard she was “feeling good” after losing her seat, before being hugged by a tearful Kemi Badenoch. Newly minted MP Nigel Farage gleefully chain-smoked throughout the evening.

The cool new kid on the block in the London day festival scene, Lido takes place over two weekends in Victoria Park. Among the headliners are Charli xcx and Jamie xx, who have also curated the line-ups on their days. Charli’s day is “Partygirl” themed, so expect to see Brat collaborators like AG Cook and The Dare.

Once the exclusive domain of the upper class, Ascot has become less fusty and — dare we say it — edging on cool, thanks to its new creative director Daniel Fletcher, who threw a trendy party to launch the British summer season attended by all of London’s bright young things.

The royals and red-trouser brigade will still be there in their fascinators and tail coats, but there will be a crew of well-dressed young people there too.

The greatest festival in the world is back again before a fallow year in 2026. The five-day bacchanalia draws everyone from seemingly the whole of Liverpool to old rockers and young pop stars. If you want to go star spotting, head to Glasto’s infamous gay club, NYC Downlow. Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott sweated their Friday night away there last year, while Dua Lipa also made a beeline after her headline slot before winding up at the Stone Circle for sunrise. Will 2025 headliners Olivia Rodrigo and Rod Stewart follow suit?

Strawberries and cream, overpriced champagne and leisurely sporting entertainment. What could be better? The public ballot may have closed but you can still queue for tickets on the day. Centre court has played host to some great celeb-spotting: Alexa Chung and Tom Sturridge once (by accident?) went on a double date with Oli Green and Sienna Miller (Sturridge and Miller used to be engaged — all very modern.)

Last year’s queen of Wimbledon was Zendaya, fresh off her tennis movie, Challengers.

Henley’s six-day rowing extravaganza sees the Thames lined with stripe-jacketed men and befrocked women, with the VIP enclosures full of socialites like Georgia Toffolo and Hum Fleming. It’s all achingly upper-middle class: Theresa May was once spotted throwing shapes to Craig David at the Henley Festival (July 9-13) which follows the regatta, and bills itself as “The UK’s only black-tie music and arts festival”.

F1 vehicles and classic cars wing their way around the Duke of Richmond’s sprawling estate for Goodwood’s Festival of Speed, a celebration of all things automotive. It draws a starry crowd, with previous Goodwood motorheads including Renée Zelwegger, Max Verstappen, David Beckham and Liz Hurley. The best celeb-spotting is to be done at Cartier’s “Style et Luxe”, a presentation of mint vintage cars. Actors Marisa Abela, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were there last year.