The world is quite a different place to what it was about nine months ago. The planet’s digital footprint has effectively been forced to widen.
Industries that have existed in both the virtual and real world are focusing their efforts in the digital sphere, now more than ever. Businesses have had to do this in order to serve their customers in these unprecedented times.
Live-streaming platforms for video games and digital content such as Twitch and Periscope are already well-established and online casinos are a trend that has been on the web for many years. These past months, many other forms of entertainment are now also turning to the internet. With music shows, art exhibitions and theatre plays all making the transition online, we’re confident there will be plenty to keep Londoners entertained this autumn.
Here are just a few events you can find on the go in the capital city, but also being screened and live-streamed to homes all around England and the rest of the world.
London Jazz Festival
Aptly named ‘Living in Two Worlds’, the famed London Jazz Festival will happen live and online this year. From the sweet sounds of Tigran Hamasyan to the beautiful notes hit by Linda May Han Oh, there will be something on offer for everyone. Fans of RKDIA, Yuri Goloubev, and Imaani will be pleased to know their jazz idols will be accompanied by special guests this year as well.
Live from the Barbican
The Barbican have come up with a popular concept, branded ‘From our Hall to your home’. While they’ve put the right measures in place to have a small audience present, they’re also streaming the events for others to indulge in from the comfort of their abodes. The Kanneh-Mason Family in Concert, Richard Dawson’s songcraft and the SEED Ensemble are among more than a dozen shows you can choose from in the coming months.
The British Museum
History buffs and fans of the contemporary arts can take advantage of what the British Museum have put together during these socially-distant times. Their Arctic: culture and climate exhibition, as well as the Tantra: enlightenment to revolution, look particularly attractive. These are paid events, which you can attend in person, and can find out more about online. Edmund de Waal: library of exile and Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman are free exhibitions – and well worth taking in, too.
Alice in Wonderland
Staying with museums, but turning to virtual reality, the Victoria and Albert Museum will be hosting a free VR experience inspired by Lewis Carroll’s fabled Alice in Wonderland. ‘Alice: Curiouser and Curioser’ will plot approximately 150 years of the story’s influence on culture. This 45-minute ‘trip’ is bound to impress.
“Since their creation, the Alice books, with their mind-blowing ideas and concepts, have been a source of inspiration for new technologies from silent film to CGI,” the Smithsonian Magazine quoted senior curator of theatre and performance, Kate Bailey, as saying.
“Alice’s impossible journey through a fantastical universe becomes possible in this exciting new creative platform. From rabbit holes to mirrors, flamingoes to hedgehogs, Wonderland is the perfect world for VR.”
Oscar Wilde’s London – Virtual Tour
Now you can take in the sights, sounds and sites of London with the famous Oscar Wilde, sort of.
Wilde is known as the first modern celebrity for his wit, writing and other skills. Award-winning guide and Wilde fan Simon Whitehouse takes participants back in time to the late 1800s, when Wilde was out and about in London. Highlights of the tour are plentiful, including the breath-taking Royal Arcade and famous St James Theatre. Considered Wilde’s greatest achievement, the play, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, opened at St James Theatre all those years back.
So there you have it. A fair few things to get involved in online that will otherwise stretch your usual habits of just watching whatever is on Netflix, doing your banking or tucking into a bit of online shopping.