A longstanting Soho tradition – it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025 – this annual neighbourhood knees-up is organised by volunteers from the Soho Society, and sees the garden of Soho’s St Anne’s Church bursting with live music and entertainment.
The main draw of the day is the Soho Waiters’ Race. A tradition dating back to 1955, it starts at 3.15pm outside the French House, and sees a gaggle of waiters pelt through the streets of Soho, each holding a tray stacked with a bottle of champers, a glass and a napkin, all of which must be intact when they cross the finish line Another crowd favourite is the Soho Dog Show, which awards eight different prizes including ‘Dog who looks most like their owner’.
Alongside this, visitors can expect six hours of entertainment including live music, drag performances, snail racing, a spaghetti-eating contest, a tug-of-war, foodie stalls, tarot readings and a Pimms bars.
Best of all? It’s absolutely free to attend, although the gardens have a maximum capacity of 500, so turn up nice and early or be prepared to queue.