London - Free Shows and Music
Television and Radio Show Audience
Location: various but TV shows tend to be at Television Centre West London with radios shows in Central London
Tube: Various
Nearly all television and radio shows have free admission for audience. They give members of the public to watch their favourite shows and it also gives a very interesting insight into how television and radio programs are made.
I recall once seeing one of the BBC’s top comedy shows being recorded and had not realised how bad an actor one of the most popular characters in the show was.
Attending recordings isn’t something that can be done spontaneously and tickets need to be booked in advance. It also goes without saying the more popular the show the greater the demand for tickets.
The BBC as the national broadcaster and have the most tickets on offer. The best way to book tickets is to visit their website at https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows
For ITV programs they have an information site at https://www.itv.com/beontv/articles/ticketsforitvshows
Hat Trick Productions is an independent production company producing many popular shows for both the BBC and ITV. Their booking site is at https://x.com/HatTrickBox
Many TV shows are produced by independent production companies and SRO are a good site to get tickes for these programs https://www.sroaudiences.com/
Music
Most of the major arts centres offer good quality free foyer concerts including:-
The Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank of the river (Tube: Waterloo), has frequent live concerts https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/?event-type=free
The Barbican in the City (Tube: Barbican, Moorgate) has occasional free Friday lunchtime concerts by teh LOndon Symphony Orchestra https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2026/event/free-friday-lunchtime-concert-8
Many City churches have free lunchtime concerts, full details available from the City Of London Information Centre near St Paul's
London boasts some of the best music colleges in the world and many offer free concerts.
The Royal Academy Of Music, Marylebone Road (Tube: Baker Street) has many free events, details on their https://www.ram.ac.uk/whats-on/free-events
The Royal College Of Music, Prince Consort Road (Tube: South Kensington), offers a mixture of free and relatively inexpensive concerts. https://www.rcm.ac.uk/events/
For non-classical music there are many options, mostly pubs.
The Shadwell Arms in Dalston has many free concerts in it's backroom, with many upcoming bands playing here.
The Good Mixer, in Camden Town is the supposed home of Britpop and is where Amy Winehouse debuted, they have free gigs most Thursdays and Sundays
The Gladstone, Borough: Most Tuesdays and Sundays feature free gigs from various indie, folk and alt artists. There's delicious Indian-English fusion food too, though sadly the food is not free.
If jazz and blues are your scen, then you will be spoiled for choice, here's a selection.
Ain't Nothin' But: in Soho is a Blues venue established in 1993, with free entry until 20:30, after which a cover charge kicks in.
Jamboree, King's Cross: Every Sunday afternoon from 15:00 - 17:00
The Oval, Croydon: free blues sessions
The Ivy House, Nunhead: has a jazz band on the stage every Sunday afternoon from 4pm-6pm.
NT's Loft, Hackney: Wednesdays have a session of improvised jazz, soul, broken-beat and hip-hopstarting at 20:00. Entry is free until 19:30.
Magic Garden, Battersea: Every second Thursday of the month sees a free blues jam
If you fancy a traditional British pub sing-a-long then Mr Fogg's Tavern, on St Martin's Lane every Thursday evening (20.30-22.30), or the Duke of Kendal at Marble Arch, Sunday's from 19:30 will be right up your street.
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