Frieze London: How Do the Fair and Frieze Week Work?

What is Frieze London?

Frieze was born in 1991 with frieze magazine, founded by Amanda Sharp, Matthew Slotover and Tom Gidley. In 2003, Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover launched Frieze London in The Regent's Park; Frieze New York and Frieze Masters followed in 2012. The organisation now runs fairs in London, New York, Los Angeles, Seoul and Abu Dhabi, and is part of the MARI network. But it is in London, every October, that it was born and to which it returns.

Frieze London is devoted to contemporary work: pieces made mostly after 2000, presented by galleries from around the world, from the long-established to the youngest. People come to look, to meet gallerists, to acquire — and for the whole week that has grown up around it.

It is this week, as much as the aisles of the fair, that a private visitor comes for: Frieze Masters on the other side of the park, the outdoor sculptures, the galleries of Mayfair, the evening sales, the dinners. This guide shows how to compose it.

The 2026 edition at a glance

Frieze has published the calendar for the 2026 edition: an invitation-only preview day, a morning reserved for guests and members, then days open to ticket holders. Frieze London brings together 172 galleries from 42 countries and regions; Frieze Masters, nearly 140 galleries from 30 countries and regions. The two fairs welcome more than 85,000 visitors each year.

Two fairs, one park

Frieze London sets up in the south of The Regent's Park, with an entrance on the Park Square West side. Its sections shape the visit: the main galleries, Focus, devoted to galleries founded less than twelve years ago, Artist-to-Artist, in which artists present other artists, Editions, for works in limited series, and a section entrusted each year to a curator.

Frieze Masters is held on Gloucester Green, in the north-east corner of the park, near the zoo. It presents works made before 2000 — antiquities, Old Masters, sculpture, decorative arts, modern art, historical Asian art — with its own sections, Spotlight and Reflections. A free shuttle links the two fairs, roughly every fifteen minutes; the walk along the Broad Walk is the other way to pass from one to the other.

Between the two, Frieze Sculpture sets out works in the open air in the English Gardens, south of the Broad Walk. Free and open to all, it is in place from 16 September to 1 November 2026. For a private visit, the essentials come down to three choices: which days, which fair first, and at what pace.

Frieze Week: what happens around the fairs

A whole week has grown up around the fairs. The galleries of Mayfair and St James's often hang their exhibitions for the occasion; No.9 Cork Street, Frieze's permanent space in Mayfair since 2021, hosts invited galleries. The major auction houses hold their modern and contemporary art evening sales in the same week, preceded by exhibitions generally open to the public.

To these are added the city's museums and a second programme, that of the galleries and collectors: dinners, receptions, private evenings, generally by invitation. Each year Frieze publishes Frieze Week magazine, distributed free at the fairs. Our guide What to Do During Frieze Week in London? maps it out.

Planning your stay: accommodation, journeys, budget

Accommodation first: Marylebone puts Regent's Park a few minutes away on foot; Mayfair and St James's, to the south, put the galleries on your doorstep and the park a few minutes away by car. During the week, the sought-after rooms go early, often with a minimum stay. Our guide Where to Stay During Frieze London? compares the districts one by one.

Journeys next: London is a little over two hours from Paris by Eurostar, and Farnborough, London Biggin Hill or London City welcome private jets. Once there, the Underground, walking and a chauffeur complement one another: our guide How to Get to Frieze London? explains how it all fits together. The budget, finally: it is set out in a quote, element by element — district, length of stay, transport, chauffeurs, evenings, size of party.

And one rule that runs through it all: everything that matters is booked early. The 2026 edition opens in a few days, and we work with what remains; for the October 2027 edition, whose dates have not yet been published, winter and spring are the right window.

What to remember

Frieze London and Frieze Masters are held in The Regent's Park from 14 to 18 October 2026: an invitation-only preview on the Wednesday, a VIP and members' morning on the Thursday, ticketed preview days on Thursday afternoon and Friday, general admission at the weekend. Tickets are sold on Frieze's website; VIP invitations cannot be bought. The private experience is composed elsewhere and everywhere: Frieze Sculpture, the galleries of Mayfair, evening sales, museums, fine tables, evenings through private channels subject to availability, all backed by logistics that take account of a vast city. TGZ Conciergerie, an independent house based in Paris, with no affiliation with Frieze, the MARI network, the galleries or the auction houses, and with no official status, orchestrates the entire stay. Every stay is quoted on request, with availability and conditions confirmed before any commitment.