What to expect from BST Hyde Park and where to eat, drink and stay

Each summer, BST Hyde Park sees Knightsbridge become a playground for revellers exploring the district far beyond the headline acts. For those marking their calendars for this year’s event, here’s the best way to spend a memorable weekend in the area.

In little over a decade, BST Hyde Park has emerged as one of London’s essential events for music lovers. Since 2013, the three-week festival has transformed Hyde Park into a vivid summer showcase for the world’s biggest acts – with this year’s bill among its very best. From 27 June to 13 July, expect an eclectic crowd flooding through the gates to embrace a genre-hopping list of headliners to suit all tastes.

Part of a new wave of blockbuster female artists headlining festivals around the world, Olivia Rodrigo and double Grammy-winner Sabrina Carpenter (this month’s giveaway prize) are major draws, promising immaculate shows shaped by powerhouse pop. Elsewhere, American musicians Noah Kahan and country star Zach Bryan arrive at the peak of their powers. They’ll take their place alongside bona fide rock royalty as Neil Young appears with Yusuf/Cat Stevens, while soul icon Stevie Wonder, and the Electric Light Orchestra’s last-ever show rounds out an impressive roster.

Start the day right with Cedric Grolet’s superlative pastries at The Berkeley. Known for melding the worlds of patisserie and art, the French chef’s signature trompe-l’œil cakes and immaculately folded, vanilla-crème-enhanced pain suisse are must-orders. Each season also brings with it a collection of new signatures. While spring saw a fairytale red apple with a tart apple juice jelly complemented by a lightly spiced cinnamon mousse, the summer collection promises to be zesty – the perfect way to add some zing to the day.

One of the borough’s hottest new restaurants is nearby at The Capital Hotel. Returning to west London after winning a Michelin star for his celebrated Hackney hotspot Cornerstone, chef Tom Brown’s new flagship restaurant celebrates sustainable, seasonal seafood. If Neil Young’s I’m the Ocean was a menu, it would be the three-course lunch menu at Tom Brown at The Capital – featuring a creamy crab custard, tuna tartare drizzled with soy and delicate turbot with smoked eel butter.

For those seeking a swifter option, all-day café CLAP KA-FE excels at classic Japanese lunches, including sandos, salads and bento sets. Our top tip? Finish on a sweet note with a KA-FE Charlotte, an indulgent Japanese sponge soaked in espresso with a milk chocolate mousse and coffee praline. You won’t regret it.

Keen to continue the party after the encore? Knightsbridge’s stellar set of late-night hangouts includes the sophisticated seventh-floor bar and terrace at CLAP London. With a sleek aesthetic that echoes Tokyo’s vibrant nightlife, Nippon-inspired cocktails (don’t miss the yuzu-spiked Shibuya Shakedown) and sizeable Japanese whisky selection, it’s the perfect spot to keep the vibe going. Keep an eye out, too, for the rumoured reopening of Nolita Social – the Bulgari Hotel’s sleek subterranean bar whose on-point live music and secret cigar lounge make it one of the summer’s most anticipated returns.

Alternatively, take a cue from Sabrina Carpenter and enjoy an espresso at the Knightsbridge outpost of Shot London. Open until 11pm, its dramatic gold bar and expansive menu of brews from some of the world’s best coffee producers sets the tone for a caffeine-fuelled post-gig debrief. It’s also home to the most expensive coffee in the UK (search the menu for the Japan Typica Natural) if you want to be one of the few who sample a taste.

A new wave of luxe lodgings has placed Knightsbridge among London’s best postcodes to bed down in. One of the buzziest is London’s first all-suite hotel The Emory, which launched last summer. Offering a privileged perspective across Hyde Park and seductive living spaces with interiors by blockbuster designers, it’s tailor-made for an afterparty, while a rooftop bar, cigar terrace and fine dining courtesy of decorated chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten add up to a statement stay.

For something more sedate, the Knightsbridge Hotel occupies a quiet spot on a leafy street with 44 charismatic rooms defined by designer Kit Kemp’s signature Modern English style. Seeing Stevie Wonder? Request Suite 302. It’s statement floral headboard and leafy treetop views is something straight from The Secret Life of Plants album.

Among London’s top shopping destinations, Knightsbridge delivers on festival fashion. Pair a chocolate-brown suede trucker jacket from Reiss with some 501 ’90s jeans from Levi’s or, just a short walk away, go all-out with a personal shopping service at Harvey Nichols where you can have your own private suite to try on a selection of pieces hand-picked for you by your very own fashion insider.

The morning after the night before, soothe weary limbs at The Lanesborough Club & Spa, which – although among London’s most exclusive health and fitness clubs – welcomes non-residents to its sumptuous circuit of saunas, steam rooms, hydrotherapy pools with a spa day pass. The Essential Nourishing Pedicure is a post-festival essential with an extended foot massage and wild chamomile power mask to rejuvenate tired soles.

If you’re begging please, please, please to see the double Grammy-winner Sabrina Carpenter this year at BST Hyde Park—we have exactly what you’re looking for. This month, you could be in with a chance to WIN two tickets to see the Espresso singer in @knightsbridge_ldn’s May giveaway.

Head to @knightsbridge_ldn for full details.

Currently based in London, Ben Olsen is a former editor at GQ, Monocle and The Evening Standard and has since contributed to the likes of Conde Nast Traveller and the Guardian.