August bank holiday in Knightsbridge: Proms, Plated and park days
The last bank holiday of the summer falls on Monday 31 August, and Knightsbridge has rarely had a better week leading into one. The Proms have a run of big-name nights, the Plated dining festival enters its final days, and the park and museums are at their late-summer best. Here is how we would plan the week, from tonight's concert to the Monday finale.
At the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is the place to be all week:
- Tuesday 25 August, 7pm: Bond and Beyond, with Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and the BBC Concert Orchestra playing music from Skyfall, The Spy Who Loved Me and more.
- Wednesday 26 August, 7pm: the long-awaited Proms debut of the Metropolitan Opera's Met Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in an all-Strauss programme with soprano Elza van den Heever singing the final scene of Salome.
- Thursday 27 August, 6pm: the Met Orchestra returns with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato for Mahler's Rückert-Lieder and his Fourth Symphony, opening with Kaija Saariaho's Lumière et pesanteur.
- Friday 28 August, 7.30pm: Grammy-nominated Dutch-Turkish band Altın Gün makes its Proms debut with Derya Yıldırım, Jules Buckley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
- Sunday 30 August, 4.30pm: a short walk away at the Royal College of Music, the BBC Concert Orchestra plays new pieces by the latest winners of the BBC Young Composer competition.
- Bank holiday Monday, 7pm: Enchanted, a celebration of Alan Menken's Disney music with Sarah Hicks, the BBC Philharmonic and performers from the National Youth Music Theatre, including songs from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. It is British Sign Language interpreted; details on the BBC Proms listing.
Eat: Plated's final weekend
Plated, the month-long Knightsbridge and King's Road dining festival, ends on 31 August, so this is the last weekend for its set menus and one-off dishes across more than 30 venues. For a sundowner, the Knightsbridge Partnership points to CLAP's seventh-floor rooftop, where the Golden Hours menu has cocktails, bubbles and rosé from £9.50.
Play: park, museums and Harrods
In Hyde Park, boating on the Serpentine now includes electric pedalos alongside rowing boats and manual pedalos, and you can simply turn up at the boathouse. The Science Museum's free Future of Food exhibition is reaching its final days, and the Paradox Museum opposite Harrods on Brompton Road is a reliable rainy-day option for children. Harrods, meanwhile, has already opened its Christmas shop, if you want first pick of the 2026 baubles, and the Food Halls are as tempting as ever for a bank holiday picnic.
Unwind
If the forecast disappoints, the spas at the Bulgari Hotel, with its 25-metre pool, and the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park are both close at hand. The Knightsbridge Partnership's bank holiday guide has more ideas, including afternoon tea at The Lanesborough, currently themed around Bridgerton, and terrace dining. Book Proms tickets and restaurant tables early, and travel light: South Kensington and Knightsbridge stations will be busy on Monday evening.
Lead image: Adriano Aurelio Araujo via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
