Serpentine Summer Party: How Does the Kensington Gardens Summer Evening Work?
An institution, an architect's pavilion, an evening by invitation: the complete guide, with what can be booked and what cannot.
Last updated 5 October 2026 · 6 min read
The Serpentine Summer Party is the annual fundraising evening of the Serpentine, the contemporary art institution set in Kensington Gardens, London. It takes place at the start of summer around the year's Pavilion, the temporary structure an architect designs for the gallery's lawn; in recent years, on a Tuesday in late June. The evening is by invitation: the Serpentine invites its supporters, and its Patrons and International Council members have access; no place is sold to the public. For 2027, the date has not yet been published: the evening is expected in June. A private visitor lives the stay around it: a hotel near Hyde Park, tables, a private dinner, and a visit to the Pavilion, open to all and free of charge from June to October.
What is the Serpentine Summer Party?
The Serpentine is a contemporary art institution that opened in 1970 in Kensington Gardens, one of London's Royal Parks, in a former tea pavilion built in 1934. Today it occupies two buildings, on either side of the Serpentine lake: Serpentine South, the original gallery, and Serpentine North, opened in 2013 in a former gunpowder store dating from 1805. Entry to its exhibitions is free.
The Summer Party is its annual fundraising evening. It brings together its supporters and figures from art, architecture, fashion and business around the summer programme: an artist-led route through the gardens, the season's exhibitions and the year's Pavilion. In 2024, the evening ran from 7pm to 10pm, at the Pavilion and in the grounds of Serpentine South. The funds raised support exhibitions and free programmes.
What sets it apart is the link between the evening and architecture: each summer, a new pavilion, and an evening that, in effect, opens it. Our Serpentine Summer Party VIP page explains how we compose the stay around it.
The Pavilion: from a party tent to an architectural commission
It all began with an evening. In 2000, for the gallery's thirtieth-anniversary benefit dinner, the Serpentine asked the architect Zaha Hadid for a temporary structure: a tent, in essence. The pavilion was meant to serve for one night; it stayed open from 19 June to 3 September. Since then, the Serpentine has commissioned an architect each year to build a summer pavilion on its lawn.
The Pavilion is open to the public, free of charge, from early June to late October: from 6 June to 26 October in 2025, from 6 June to 25 October in 2026. By day, entry is free; on certain evenings, it hosts performances and talks. For 2027, the Serpentine has not yet announced the chosen architect; we update this guide as soon as it is announced.
| Year | Summer Party | Pavilion open to the public |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tuesday 25 June 2024, 7pm – 10pm | Summer 2024, on the lawn of Serpentine South |
| 2025 | Tuesday 24 June 2025 | 6 June – 26 October 2025, free entry |
| 2026 | Tuesday 23 June 2026 | 6 June – 25 October 2026, free entry |
| 2027 | Expected June 2027 — date not published as of 5 October 2026 | To be announced by the Serpentine |
Who is invited, and why no place is sold
The Serpentine presents the Summer Party as an invitation-only event. It states that its Patrons — its individual patron programme — and the members of its International Council have access to it. This is a supporting relationship with an institution, formed directly with it and on its own terms, not the purchase of a ticket. In some years, the Serpentine has indicated that the evening was full.
It should be said plainly: no concierge can honestly sell a place at the Summer Party, and any offer of a "ticket" should invite caution. Our guide How the Serpentine Summer Party Invitation Works details how the evening really works, based on the information published by the Serpentine.
How to live the week as a private visitor
The evening belongs to its guests; the week belongs to the city. In late June, London is in its season: the gardens are at their greenest, the evenings are long, the great tables are full. Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, which run into one another, become the centre of gravity of a well-made stay.
A well-made stay rests on what is composed: a suite a few minutes from the gardens, a visit to the Pavilion and both galleries on a quiet morning, tables held at the right hours in Mayfair or Knightsbridge, a private dinner on Summer Party night, attire prepared for each evening. Our guide Serpentine Summer Party Dress Code prepares the looks, and our guide How to Get to the Serpentine Summer Party the journeys.
Preparing your stay: hotel, journeys, budget
The hotel first: Kensington, Knightsbridge and Mayfair frame Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The Milestone faces the gardens, the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park overlooks the park, The Dorchester looks onto it from Park Lane — named by way of illustration. Our guide Where to Stay for the Serpentine Summer Party compares each neighbourhood.
Then the journeys: from Paris, the Eurostar links Gare du Nord to St Pancras in a little over two hours; a private flight lands at Farnborough, London City or Heathrow. Once there, Serpentine South is about 900 metres from Lancaster Gate station and 1.2 kilometres from Knightsbridge. A dedicated chauffeur takes care of the essentials.
Finally the budget: every stay is quoted individually, because it is composed. What makes it vary: the address and category of the suite, the length of stay, the mode of transport, the number of chauffeur and stylist days, the format of the dinners and the private evening, the size of the group and the timing of the booking. None of these items includes access to the Summer Party.
Key takeaways
The Serpentine Summer Party is the Serpentine's annual fundraising evening, in Kensington Gardens, around the year's Pavilion; in recent years, on a Tuesday in late June. It is by invitation, with no place sold to the public; the 2027 date has not yet been published. The Pavilion, by contrast, is open to all, free of charge, from June to October. TGZ Conciergerie, an independent house not affiliated with the Serpentine or The Royal Parks, with no official status, provides no access to the evening: it composes the stay around it — hotel, tables, private dinner, attire, Pavilion visit. Every stay is quoted individually, with availability and terms confirmed before any commitment.
Frequently asked questions
As of 5 October 2026, the Serpentine has not published the date. The last three editions were held on a Tuesday in late June — 25 June 2024, 24 June 2025, 23 June 2026 —: the evening is expected in June 2027. We update this guide as soon as it is announced.
In Kensington Gardens, London, around the year's Pavilion and in the grounds of Serpentine South, the Serpentine's original gallery, by the lake. The evening's route runs through the gardens.
No. The Serpentine presents the evening as an invitation-only event, to which its Patrons and the members of its International Council have access. No place is sold to the public, and any offer to that effect should invite caution.
Not announced as of 5 October 2026. Each year, the Serpentine reveals the chosen architect before the Pavilion opens, at the start of summer. We name no one before the announcement.
The essence of what the evening celebrates: the Pavilion, open to all and free of charge from early June to late October, and the exhibitions in the Serpentine's two galleries, free to enter. Add to that the city itself in late June, with its tables and long evenings.
Three to five nights allow you to live the week without rushing it: arrive before the evening, see the Pavilion on a quiet morning, dine elsewhere in the city that same night, then enjoy the season. We adjust to your programme and to the 2027 date, once it is published.
No. TGZ Conciergerie is an independent house, not affiliated with the Serpentine (Serpentine Galleries), The Royal Parks or their partners, and with no official status. We sell no place and promise no invitation: we compose the stay around the evening.
Take it further
Your London stay is prepared now
Tell us how you wish to live the week — the hotel, the tables, the private dinner, the Pavilion — and we compose the complete stay, without access to the evening. A single point of contact, a quote set out item by item, availability and terms confirmed before any commitment.