Westlife take over The O2 for three nights, West Ham host QPR in a Friday-night London derby, and the BFI London Film Festival hits its first full weekend with galas at the Royal Festival Hall. Sunday brings NFL back to Tottenham and the free-to-watch Royal Parks Half through central London — and the Albert Hall, Sadler’s Wells and the West End fill in the evenings.
Westlife 25th Anniversary — The O2 (Friday 9–Sunday 11 October)
Westlife 25: The Anniversary World Tour plays Greenwich for three nights, with special guest Ana Sky. Doors 6.30pm on Friday and Saturday, 6pm on Sunday. Official tickets are through The O2 / AXS only — AXS is The O2’s ticketing partner, and tickets go on The O2 app.
Event details — The O2 / AXS (official venue tickets).
West Ham United vs Queens Park Rangers — London Stadium (Friday 9 October, 8pm)
A Friday-night Championship London derby in Stratford. General sale is open through the club’s own box office, with adult tickets from £35 at face value (under-18s from £15). Tickets download from Friday 2 October; the club’s public Ticket Exchange only opens once 85% of tickets are sold.
Event details — West Ham box office (eticketing) (official club tickets, face value) — prices and sale info: whufc.com.
BFI London Film Festival — Royal Festival Hall, BFI Southbank & West End cinemas (all weekend; festival runs 7–18 October)
The 70th LFF’s first full weekend. Galas at the Royal Festival Hall include Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine (Friday 6pm and Saturday 11am), Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters (Friday 9.15pm), Brad Bird’s animated Ray Gunn (Saturday 2.15pm) and late addition Artificial, Luca Guadagnino’s OpenAI drama with Andrew Garfield (Sunday 9pm). Screen Talks include Naomi Ackie (Saturday), and Javier Bardem, James Gray and John Malkovich (Sunday); galas sell fast, so check for returns on the BFI site.
Event details — BFI London Film Festival (official festival tickets).
NFL London Games — Eagles vs Jaguars — Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Sunday 11 October, 2.30pm)
The Philadelphia Eagles face the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second of Tottenham’s 2026 NFL London Games. General admission was showing no availability on the stadium page when checked, so look for returns on the official NFL London portal (Ticketmaster is the NFL’s sales channel for Tottenham games); hospitality is still on sale. The NFL now uses all-in pricing, with digital tickets sent up to 72 hours before kick-off.
Official tickets and FAQs: NFL London Games — stadium listing: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Partner option: Ticketmaster UK.
Royal Parks Half Marathon — Hyde Park & central London (Sunday 11 October, from 8.45am)
The half marathon starts on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park at 8.45am and loops through Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens on closed roads, with runners finishing between about 9.50am and 2pm. It is free to watch from the route, and the event village has family activities from 10.15am. Plan around closed roads and weekend engineering works on parts of the Circle and District lines (Saturday and Sunday).
Official: Royal Parks Half — also listed by The Royal Parks.
Acosta Danza – Cuban Baroque — Sadler’s Wells (Friday 9 & Saturday 10 October, 7.30pm)
Carlos Acosta’s company pairs a new Andonis Foniadakis premiere set to Esteban Salas’ Salve Regina with Goyo Montero’s Chacona, danced to Bach with live guitar and piano. The run ends Saturday. About 1 hour 20 minutes including an interval; tickets from £15 plus a £4 transaction fee.
Official: Sadler’s Wells (official venue tickets).
Black Panther in Concert — Royal Albert Hall (Friday 9 October, 7.30pm)
Marvel Studios’ Black Panther screens with Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning score played live by the Chineke! Orchestra under Damon Gupton, with talking-drum soloist Massamba Diop, who plays on the film’s soundtrack. It runs about 7.30–9.45pm. Tickets via the Hall.
Official: Royal Albert Hall — programme notes: Chineke!.
Arsenal vs Leeds United — Emirates Stadium (Saturday 10 October, 12.30pm)
An early Premier League kick-off at the Emirates. This one is for members only: the ballots have closed, and remaining seats go through the club’s Ticket Exchange to eligible members. There is no general sale, so don’t buy from resale sites.
Event details — Arsenal ticket information (official club tickets).
West End if you want a seat and a story
RENT at the Tom Stoppard (event; ATG Tickets). Also Jordan Fein’s Into the Woods at the Noël Coward, where preview prices run until 10 October (event; official tickets), Christine Baranski and Richard E. Grant in Hay Fever at Wyndham’s (event; official tickets), Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? @sohoplace (event; official tickets), and James Graham’s The Standard of Living at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (event; official tickets).
Coming next week (not this weekend): The World of Hans Zimmer at The O2, Monday 12 October; The Pussycat Dolls at The O2, Tuesday 13 October; Tom at the Farm at the Barbican, 13–17 October; Frieze London & Frieze Masters in Regent’s Park, 14–18 October.
Skipped / out of window: The Last Ship and ENB’s Rhythm Riot ended 3 October, and The Strokes play The O2 on 6–7 October, before this weekend. Chelsea v Bournemouth (Saturday 10 October, 3pm) and Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest (Sunday 11 October, 2pm) are members-only, with hospitality the only open option, so they’re not listed. London Cocktail Week has moved to March 2027. Sholay in Concert at the Albert Hall (Saturday 10 October) was reported as nearly sold out.
Tickets and tours
For club nights and live music across the weekend, search Skiddle. For sightseeing, cruises and attraction entry, see Viator’s London experiences. For attraction passes and sightseeing, browse the London Pass from Go City. For shows at LW’s West End venues, book direct with LW Theatres. For a wider West End agency catalogue with availability and offers across shows, see London Box Office. For major music, arena and NFL London tickets, Ticketmaster UK is a tracked partner option; it is not every venue’s official box office (The O2 sells through AXS, and West Ham through its own eticketing box office). Whatever you pick, confirm times and ticket details with the organiser before you travel.
Browse the full events calendar for more dates into October.