There are some London summer traditions that feel less like events and more like rites of passage. This month, we’re taking an insider look at two favourites with particularly lovely links to the Goodenough community.
The BBC Proms | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
18 July to 12 September 2026
If you’ve never done the Proms, allow us a gentle nudge. Founded in 1895, the BBC Proms were created to make classical music accessible to wider audiences, and more than a century later they remain one of London’s great cultural institutions. Across eight glorious summer weeks, the programme stretches from orchestral masterworks and opera to jazz, film scores and contemporary music. You can dress up, dress down, stand in the Arena with the devoted “Prommers”, or simply book a seat and let the music do the work.
Then there is the venue itself. The Royal Albert Hall, opened by Queen Victoria in 1871 as part of Prince Albert’s vision for a cultural and scientific quarter in South Kensington, is one of the most recognisable performance spaces in the world. Magnificent, slightly eccentric, unapologetically grand, and somehow still capable of feeling intimate.
A small insider detail we’re rather proud of: Goodenough College is able to provide access to the Royal Albert Hall for its members as part of its vibrant programme of intellectual, social and cultural events and activities. As one member put it: “It gives you a life experience you will not get anywhere else in London.” Quite.
Summer Exhibition 2026 | Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly
16 June to 23 August 2026
Joyful, eclectic, occasionally bewildering, and entirely wonderful, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is one of those distinctly London experiences we recommend to almost everyone. Running since 1769, it is the world’s oldest open-submission art exhibition, bringing together celebrated artists, emerging talent, architecture, sculpture, photography and the occasional piece that prompts heated debate over lunch (more on lunch next week).
Set within Burlington House on Piccadilly, the exhibition fills room after room with hundreds of works, hung salon-style in a glorious visual abundance. You do not need an art history degree to enjoy it. Curiosity is more than enough.
The Royal Academy also holds a special place within the Goodenough story. A valued partner organisation, the College hosts the Royal Academy’s Starr Fellow each year, among other ongoing collaborations and exchanges that enrich the intellectual and cultural life of our community.
Two London institutions, two excellent reasons to plan a summer visit, and two reminders that culture tends to be rather better when experienced with a little context, a little conversation, and perhaps a stroll back through Bloomsbury afterwards.