From the tube turning 150 in style, to Richard Branson blasting off into space, London is action-packed this year…
The Diamond Jubilee came and went, and then so too did the Olympics. At least then we had Christmas to look forward to though, but that has now gone and so has the New Year fun fest.
To top it all off, today is “divorce Monday” with more people heading for splitsville than at any other time of the year. And even if you’re not going down that path – let’s face it, you’re probably looking at a fair few months of short days, long nights and tiresome commutes before your next holiday.
But, while you can be forgiven for being down in the dumps and you can allow yourself a few days of early-January pity, it’s key to remember that good things lie ahead. Lots of good things in fact. Weird, wonderful things. Challenging, inspiring things. Dangerous, naughty, frivolous things and oh, a fair few money-making, business-growing things too.
So here’s what London has in store for you in 2013:
January
January is the unofficial French wine month, with scores of French wine events planned across the capital. That’s one resolution abandoned in the first month of the year itself.
8 January – 2012’s Q4 results released. They will show whether the Olympic boost to the economy in Q3 has turned into a slow but at least more sustainable boost.
10 January – London Underground turns 150! It may have its faults, but you have to give the network credit for functioning for so long and still somehow ferrying one billion passengers each year.
13 January – Celebrate the tube’s birthday by going on the single-most expensive ride ever. For £180 you can be part of history as you get taken round the Circle Line from Moorgate. Don’t worry it’s not a total rip-off, you will be put in first class and pulled by a steam engine that used to propel trains but has been out of action for more than a generation.
Launch of London Metropolitan Line in 1863
16-20 January – London Art Fair opens at Business Design Centre in Islington, brining over 130 galleries and 25,000 visitors.
20-23 January – Britain’s Got Talent auditions hit London if you’re still certain about that drunken promise of a career change.
February
1 February – The View from The Shard opens, allowing us all to see London from 1,016 ft.
Source: The View from The Shard
16 February – Ultimate Fighting Championship comes back into town, bringing you violence with no-rules, a prohibition on eye gauging and fish hooking! Ok, those are not the official rules, rather a friends’ take on them, but UFC comes pretty close. People can’t get enough of the blood sport though and upon being legalised in New York state, two matches netted more than $20m for the state in various charges, not a bad start.
March
10 March – Alert! It is Mother’s Day people! Dare not forget this on pain of death or worse guilt-tears from the woman who gave you life, or bore your children. If you do, it will be made all the worse as Mother’s day is pretty impossible to miss these days with adverts popping up all over the place as retailers guilt us into spending somewhere between £700m to £1.6bn on gifts each year.
22-24 March – If you were foolish to ignore the last listing, it might be a good idea to check out London’s Chocolate Festival to show just how sorry, you really are.
April
13 April – Virgin’s London marathon looks set to be bigger than ever and with sponsors like Lucozade, Adidas, Run Britain and Holiday Inn, marathon organisers are confident they will exceed previous fundraising highs.
13 April – In less fun, but no less important news – all LSE listed companies will have to start reporting on their carbon footprints as of today.
18 April – Big Business meets start-ups at London’s silicon roundabout. The day-long, virtually free event helps SMEs and big businesses exchange ideas and hopefully sink some much needed funding into future projects.
May
3 May – Local elections held. Unfortunately, London will not be voting this time round, but Londoners are nonetheless in for a treat if the vote is anything like the 2011 local elections. When they rolled around, Conservatives were dealt a blow by Labour although they still came out miles on top. The Liberal Democrats lost out majorly, seeing their control almost halve.
11-12 May – London Pet Show patters into town. Laugh if you must, but the pet industry is a multi-billion-pound powerhouse, and its growing… woof on that.
21-25 May – May Chelsea Flower Show turns 100 with almost 160,000 visitors expected this year, including the Queen who is a keen horticulturist.
June / July
6-7 June – The Great British Business Show bowls over Kensington Olympia.
7-9 June – Why sit in the office when you can have your meetings down at Hurlingham’s Road Polo in the Park sipping on some Veuve Clicquot. The event is a firm favourite with the business crowd so go on strut your stuff and hobnob the bigwigs to your heart’s content.
18-20 June – Another business-meets-pleasure racing win. It’s Ascot time, darling.
23 June – 26 July – The City of London Festival celebrates its 51st year, offering 150 events at over 60 London locations with the intention of “celebrating London” and promoting “people that live, visit or work in this international city.
24 June – 7 July – Game, set, match at Wimbledon as the tournament help bring in £100m to London over the two-week period, likely more if Murray actually wins this year.
Festival Galore
Who says fun can’t be profitable? London is rocked by all kinds of major music festivals in the summer, which benefits both our ears and the pockets of local London businesses – albeit not those of festival goers.
A few major attractions include, Field Day (25 June) and LoveBox (19 – 21 July) and the Proms at the other end of the music appreciation spectrum which will run throughout the summer.
Sadly this year though, Live Nation events such as Wireless Festival which have been hitting Hyde Park for a decade will not be held. Organisers pulled out in October over issues such as noise complaints and late licences.
August
2-4 August – Ride London cycles into the capital for the first time.
Inspired by the Olympics the event will encourage all ages and skill levels to go out and cycle around London, with a 100-mile cycle race for the true enthusiasts. The rest of us should really work on hitting the beach though as August is as ever rather a slow month.
September (also known as Conference time)
14-18 September – Lib Dems descend on Glasgow for their convention, probably not the most weather-appropriate location that time of year for the sandal-loving yellows, but the four-day affair will likely see tempers rising over issues like taxation, Europe, the coalition and of course the mansion tax.
22-25 September – Labour Party convention held in Brighton and everyone will be dying to know the answer to just one question – will it be humanly possible to utter One Nation more times than that in 2012? For anyone who has been playing the One Nation drinking game, we sincerely hope not.
29 September – 2 October – Conservative Party conference returns to Manchester. Whether David Cameron and Boris Johnson will be doing the Gangnam style dance again, or whether they will be outwardly sparring, remains to be seen.
October
17-20 October -– Frieze fanfare returns to Regents Park, promising to be bigger, better and more bizarre than ever before as cutting edge contemporary artists are displayed alongside classical big name masters for the 2nd year running.
November
7 November – Lord Mayor’s Show parades around Central London, much as it has for over 800 years, with City of London freemasons donning their caps and robes to celebrate the heritage and successes of the city.
23 November – The Rugby World Cup may not be coming to London until 2015, but fret not fans, for Wembley Stadium will play host to the Rugby League World Cup in 2013. While the final will be played in Manchester, the event will be a good precursor of what to expect when the all of rugby’s mightiest men descend on London in a few years.
Keep your eyes peeled for the second edition of Future London, the conference all about making our city better and more tech-savvy in the years to come. The date and details are yet to be confirmed but sponsors London First do hope they will be able to hold the event again and repeat last year’s success.
December
It just happened, but true to form it will happen again and when it does you better be ready for another Christmas Party season and pre-New Year festivities.
And, if you live up to all your 2012 resolutions and somehow get £200,000 to play around with you will be glad to know that Virgin Galactic should be embarking on its maiden voyage.
Richard Branson’s family and friends are all expected to blast off into space at the tail end of December, making us wonder what on earth 2014 could have in store?
You need to read:
2013: What are businesses hoping for in the New Year?
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