A riverside London destination is offering families a free week of entertainment this August, as new research lays bare the financial strain the school summer holidays place on households across the country.
London Bridge City‘s Summer by the River festival will host a dedicated Family Week from 11 to 18 August 2026, bringing together live music, interactive activities, immersive storytelling and open-air cinema screenings — all free to attend — on the banks of the Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge.
The initiative comes as new polling by Save the Children reveals that 88% of parents feel the summer holidays place both financial and emotional pressure on their families. Almost three in five parents (59%) described the summer break as the most challenging period of the year — a figure that surpasses even Christmas, cited by 32% of respondents.
What’s on during Family Week
The programme kicks off on Tuesday 11 August with Mini Folk, a combination of live music and craft activities at The Clubhouse, followed by an open-air screening of the Wicked sing-along in the evening. On Wednesday 12 August, the Bureau of Silly Ideas presents Tree Fellers, an interactive wet-play treasure trail featuring hidden squirters in the Pocket Garden.
Thursday 13 August sees two events: Forest of Figments, in which children can enter the immersive Book Nook with The Tale Travellers for storytelling adventures before creating their own stories; and a lunchtime concert in the award-winning Putting Down Roots Pocket Garden featuring Garance Louis, a French multi-disciplinary performer whose practice spans theatre, music and film. The week concludes on Tuesday 18 August with an open-air screening of How to Train Your Dragon.
Beyond the dedicated family events, outdoor cinema screenings will run throughout the week, set against views of the Thames and Tower Bridge. Food and drink — including pizza, strawberries and cream, and Aperol Spritzes — are available to purchase separately from riverside traders.
The wider Summer by the River programme
Family Week forms part of London Bridge City’s broader Summer by the River festival, which runs from 19 May until 27 September 2026 and encompasses free live music, DJ sets and large-screen sporting moments across the site’s half-mile of river frontage.
The Clubhouse, a walk-in summer pop-up inspired by a classic English sports club, will host Club Pravha on Tuesday and Friday evenings — offering 2-for-£12 Pravha beers — followed by open-air film screenings from 7pm. Saturday evenings will feature DJ-led sets from 6–8pm.
For those wanting a more active outing, a padel court has returned to Hay’s Galleria as part of the Central London Alliance’s London Sports Festival, open to all ages and abilities until 23 August. The court operates 16 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be booked via the London Sports Festival website at an additional cost.
A response to growing holiday cost pressures
The cost of keeping children occupied during the six-week school summer holidays has become an increasingly prominent concern for UK families. Research consistently shows that the so-called “holiday hunger” and “holiday poverty” gap — whereby lower-income families face compounding costs for childcare, food and activities when school is out — places disproportionate strain on household budgets.
Against that backdrop, free public programmes such as Family Week represent a practical alternative to paid-entry attractions and ticketed events. London Bridge City, which encompasses More London, Hay’s Galleria, Cottons Centre and No.1 London Bridge and spans 21.5 acres of mixed-use riverside space, has positioned its summer festival as an accessible destination for both Londoners and visitors.
Full details of upcoming events at Summer by the River are available on the London Bridge City website.
