Hammersmith's Free Summer Festival Begins on June 6

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Line-up in Lyric Square includes tennis, picnics, opera ... and a giant squid

Hammersmith's eighth annual Summer Festival begins on June 6 and runs through till July 22.

The festival begins with promises to offer an action-packed summer with Wimbledon, the Royal Opera and a giant squid lead the line-up.

The festival begins on Saturday June 6 with a free guided walk around Hammersmith before the action moves to Lyric Square.

From June 8 to July 22, Hammersmith’s Lyric Square will host an exciting programme of cultural events and activities, designed to invigorate the town centre for workers, residents and visitors.

Now in its eighth year, the festival is organised by the HammersmithLondon Business Improvement District (BID) and promises to be bigger and better than ever before.

The festival will get underway with a three week long Theatre in the Square season as the BID once again teams up with the Lyric Hammersmith to provide innovative performances from some of the best theatre companies in the country.

Boy Meets Girl kicks off the season on Tuesday, June 9. Grab a pair of headphones from the Zest Theatre Tent and follow the journey of Boy & Girl who journey into the unknown in an interactive love story set in Hammersmith. Cut out the hubbub of King Street and watch how the relationship blossoms in front of you.

Week two, beginning on Tuesday, June 16, brings the phenomenal Monotone Man, who searches for the colour in our lives while combining music, physical theatre and a transforming set. The season draws to a close with Citizen Squid, on Tuesday, June 23 as the Puppets with Guts company, who worked on the extraordinary War Horse puppets, unleash Barbara the Squid on Lyric Square.

All shows will be staged on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12noon – 3pm and will be taking place as part of the HF Arts Fest.

To coincide with the London Festival of Architecture, John Humphrys, renowned presenter of the award-winning Today programme on Radio 4 will be hosting a Question Time style event in the Lyric Hammersmith from 6pm on June 18.

A panel of experts will be provocatively debating how Hammersmith would change without the flyover and what the alternatives could be. This event will be supported by a three day exhibition, in a pop-up gallery in Kings Mall between 12noon – 6pm, 11- 13 June.

Presenting images of Hammersmith: Past, Present and Future, this exhibit will examine the upcoming projects that could radically transform the town centre, including the flyunder. This will also feature the design work of local school children who have vividly imagined a Hammersmith of tomorrow. These events are also being held as part of HF Artsfest.

Pull up a deckchair and watch as all the drama from SW19 unfolds live on the HammersmithLondon Big Screen broadcasting all the action from the Wimbledon Tennis Championships from Monday, June 29 to Sunday July 12. Then join the audience on Friday, July 3 as HammersmithLondon beams Mozart’s Don Giovanni live from the Royal Opera House into Lyric Square.

Picnic in the Square is also back by popular demand when local people will be invited to unwind during their lunchtimes, so sit back and soak up the sun on rolled out turf and or enjoy an outdoor snack at 20 foot long picnic from 13-15 July and 20- 22 July, between noon and 3pm.

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Throughout the festival you can also get active and learn about the local area by taking part in Free Guided Walks on Saturday, June 6, Saturday, July 4 and Saturday, August 1.

On June 6 the blue badge guide will tell you exactly why Hammersmith in the 1800s was known as Popes Corners. On July 4 celebrate the return of the Great Chiswick River Swim and on August 1 walkers can uncover the history of Olympia. Walks start at 11am.

For more information on all these events visit HammersmithLondon.

May 28, 2015