Yay! Summer is coming! How do we know this? Because the Udderbelly Festival and the London Wonderground are set to re-enchant the Southbank as our favourite summer spot for drinks and entertainment.

And even better, this year the two festivals have merged into one, bringing us the Underbelly Festival! The mother of all Southbank festivals, brought to us by the Hilton Hotels. Right through summer from the 28th of April to the 30th of September, the Underbelly Festival will be in residence, and we can’t wait.

Every year this festival defines our London summer, no one else quite does it the same, and we just can’t wait because it’s not only about the huge selection of street food and access to possibly London’s biggest outdoor bar, there are also the shows. The line up just gets better and better.

Our favs, the boys from Briefs will be returning to to headline with the UK premiere of a brand spanking new show (did someone say spanking?), there will also be a new production Driftwood from famed Australian circus troupe Casus, and the Quebec circus act Flip FabriQue will bring their Edinburgh Fringe hit Catch Me (Attrape Moi).

Comedy headlines include a residence from the Best of the Comedy Store and Comedy Store for Kids (yes the Underbelly festival caters for all ages and tastes). James Acaster, Al Murray with ‘Let’s go backwards together’, Sara Pascoe and Stephen K Amon are also in the comedy line up – and that’s just to start with!

The burlesque and cabaret acts are headlined by boylesque superstars, Briefs, and the House of Burlesque, bringing sizzling, sultry action to the stage alongside cabaret and variety treats like Stars and Strippers – an All-American burlesque revue, Aurora Galore: Glamorous Weirdo, The Extraordinary Cabaret of Dorian Gray, and Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, Between the sheets with Miss Polly Rae, the Amazing Bubbleman, Margaret Thatcher Queen of Gameshows, Hotel Black Cat, Festival of the Spoken Nerd , Joe Black: Meet Me At The Eldorado, Starman: The Musical of David Bowie – there are so many great acts to list that we know you’ll stop reading if we just list them all, so you should definitely head over the www.underbellyfestival.com to take a peek for yourself.

The festival organisers have said it themselves that this year’s programme is one of their strongest yet on the Southbank, ‘and we’re delighted to continue our commitment to bring London’s largest programme of affordable live entertainment to the heart of the capital.’

So, as we said, don’t wait, jump on social media or pop over to www.underbellyfestival.com now to browse for the best tickets of the season!

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