The best things to do this July as a student

July in London is packed! From the Pride in London Parade to shows at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. Here's everything worth knowing this month 👇

Join the Pride in London Parade on Saturday 4 July. The parade sets off at noon from Hyde Park Corner, heading down Piccadilly, Haymarket and through Trafalgar Square to Whitehall. 6 stages across central London host performers and speakers throughout the day, and the celebrations last into the evening.

Tickets to join Halls Life on the parade float might be sold out, but you can still grab a ticket for the brunch and join the waitlist in case a parade ticket becomes available. ✨

👉 Grab your ticket to join Halls Life for brunch ahead of London’s Pride Parade

📅  Throughout July

There are plenty of reasons to head to the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park this July. Catch a matinée in the sun or watch an evening performance under the stars, grab a drink from the West End's longest bar, or tuck into a fresh pizza from their on-site pizza oven.

• A Midsummer Night's Dream runs until 18 July. It's Shakespeare's most spellbinding comedy in the magical outdoors.
• CATS, Andrew Lloyd Webber's highly anticipated revival, leaps onto the stage from 25 July, running through to 19 September.

👉 Book your tickets for Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

📅  Until 19 July

This summer, the FIFA World Cup is taking over and London is the place to watch it. The world's biggest football tournament is in full swing, and practically every pub and bar in the city will be showing the biggest games. Time Out have rounded up the best spots for atmosphere and screen size, so you don't have to settle for a bad view.

👉 Find out the best spots to watch the World Cup.

Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern

📅 15 July 2026 –  17 January 2027

Best known for her Silueta Series, Mendieta used natural materials like fire, water and flowers to explore the human body's presence and absence in landscapes. The works themselves were temporary, captured in photographs and film before disappearing entirely.

Sign up to Tate Collective for £5 tickets! 

👉 Find out more.

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller at The National Gallery

📅 2 July – 20 September 2026

The National Gallery is hosting the first ever UK exhibition of Austrian painter Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, and better yet, it's free to visit. Think photographic-quality landscapes of Alpine lakes, Sicilian ruins and Viennese woodland. 

👉 Find out more.

Summer Exhibition at The Royal Academy of Arts

📅  Until 23 August 2026

The Royal Academy's yearly summer exhibition is back, bringing together over 1,800 works spanning painting, sculpture, photography, film and digital art from emerging artists, household names and members of the public. Every Friday in July from 5pm the galleries come alive with DJ sets. Tickets from £23.50.

👉 Find out more.

📅  16 – 26 July

The Somerset House Summer Series runs across 11 nights with open-air gigs held in the courtyard of one of London's most iconic buildings. Expect a line-up of incredible artists from across the world, including The Flaming Lips, Agnes Obel and Grammy award-winning saxophonist Venna. Tickets start at £30 and doors open at 7.30pm each night. It's a great summer evening out right in the heart of the city.

👉 Book your ticket for The Somerset House Summer Series.