The London special events thread

This thread is intended for noting non-routine special events taking place in London which visitors might be interested in seeing - the sort of stuff that might genuinely be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

It would be good if this thread were not cluttered with normal everyday things like the Changing of the Guard or the Ceremony of the Keys.

The Queen travels from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament to open the new session of Parliament. This is one of the great ceremonial occasions in the calendar, as it's the only time in each session in which the three constituent parts of Parliament are all assembled together: the Sovereign, the Lords and the Commons.

The ceremonies inside the Houses of Parliament are not open to the public, but the procession is quite a sight. After the ceremonies, the procession returns the Queen to Buckingham Palace.

More details about the entire occasion are here on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Opening_of_Parliament

Timings for the procession and a map of the route can be found here: http://www.householddivision.org.uk/state-opening-of-parliament-military-participation

Open Garden Squares Weekend, June 13 & 14. Annual event. Features about 200 gardens many of which are not normally available to the public. £10 tickets sent by post, order soon. You are already too late to enter the lottery to tour the garden at #10 Downing Street. I can not make it this year.

http://www.opensquares.org/

Great idea! Cheers!

For anyone in London July/August this year there is the Heartbreak hotel at Greenwich.

Welcome to Heartbreak Hotel, a utopia for lost souls and broken hearts. Once a diamond on the English coastline, now as dilapidated and mysterious as the characters within its walls. This summer, The Jetty ? London?s most exciting new riverside arts venue - is transformed into Heartbreak Hotel, an intricately designed purpose built structure where the audience check-in to an immersive and unique theatre event.

You can get there by tube (boring), river bus (better) or best of all fly over the Thames on the Emirates Airway.

http://thejettygreenwich.co.uk/

http://www.emiratesairline.co.uk/