Entertainment in Greenwich

If you were thinking of seeing a show during your stay in Greenwich, you don’t need to travel to the West End, instead see what’s on at the Greenwich Theatre on the corner of Greenwich Park. Admittedly, if you like grand productions and gargantuan auditoriums, this won’t be your cup of tea. However, fans of intimate theatre from talented touring companies will enjoy this little gem of London’s cultural scene.

The O2 is one of the most famous entertainment venues in the world. It barely needs an introduction. It sits at the tip of the Greenwich Peninsula and has hosted some of the biggest and best entertainment events in the nation’s history. Formerly the Millennium Dome, this iconic landmark of London was transformed into a venue and opened in 2007. Today, it is officially the world’s busiest arena, outselling Madison Square Garden in New York, and boasting a capacity of 20,000 people. Due to its incredible flexibility, The O2 can be transformed into an ice rink, basketball court, boxing arena, tennis court, exhibition space, conference hall, and concert venue. It means there could be a huge variety of events on during your stay, so check its programme and see if anything takes your fancy.

Housed in The O2, you’ll also find indigo at The O2, a comparatively-smaller, still-whopping 2,800 capacity venue which books a consistently high-quality programme of live music and comedy acts ranging from Ed Sheeran to Jimmy Carr, not to mention talks and shows, with past speakers including the likes of Bill Clinton.

Getting tickets for The O2 often requires a fair bit of prior planning, not to mention a few pennies in your wallet. If you’re staying with us at our London Greenwich hotel and you’re looking for somewhere to see some spur-of-the-moment live music, we have a couple of places to recommend. Jazz fans should make their way to Oliver’s Jazz Bar on Nevada Street, next door to Heap’s Sausages, one of our favourite places to eat in Greenwich. There’s live music every night of the week, with some of the most celebrated artists from the international jazz scene booked to play this intimate stage. It opened its doors in 2003 and since has built a stellar reputation as one of London’s best.

The New Cross Inn is one for fans of rock music. It’s a pub, a hostel, and a 250-capacity live music venue. Again, there’s live music every day of the week. You can find it on New Cross Road. If you prefer to take part than watch, head down on a Tuesday for their popular open mic night.

Any music-lovers staying with us in July will want to visit the Old Naval College. As well as being one of the top activities in Greenwich, it also hosts Greenwich Music Time, the six-day summer music festival. The stage sits on the edge of the River Thames, and hundreds of people pack the College grounds for some big name entertainers such as Cliff Richard, Jools Holland, and Little Mix.

You can’t beat a night of comedy. Here in Greenwich you can visit one of the most popular comedy clubs in London. Up the Creek is on Creek Road, you can head down for a night of top class comedy acts and belly laughs every day from Wednesday through to Sunday. When all’s said and done, our London Greenwich hotel is less than a fifteen-minute walk away, or continue your night at some of the nearby bars from our Greenwich nightlife page.

Considering there are 11 professional football clubs in London, you’d think Greenwich would be in on a bit of the sporting action. Sadly, the local team, Greenwich Borough FC, are about as amateur as it gets. Nevertheless, if you fancy seeing The Cannons play a home game, you can make your way to the Badger Sports Ground in Eltham.

Alternatively, if you fancy some Football League action, this side of the Thames The Den isn’t far away if you want to watch Millwall. Or, go east to The Valley and watch Charlton Athletic. As far as Premier League teams are concerned, the closest will have you crossing the Thames to the London Stadium, home of West Ham, or White Hart Lane, home of Tottenham Hotspur.