Southbank Centre has announced the full line-up for Multitudes 2026, its multi-arts festival powered by orchestral music. The festival will run from 16 to 30 April 2026 and forms part of the venue’s 75th anniversary year.
At the heart of the programme is a major new event focused on Alexander McQueen, exploring the music that defined his fashion legacy.
Alexander McQueen music concert announced
A key highlight of Multitudes 2026 is Un-natural Harmony: The Sound of Alexander McQueen, taking place on 29 and 30 April. The large-scale concert revisits the music used in McQueen’s most iconic runway shows, reimagined for a live orchestral setting.
The event is a new collaboration between the London Contemporary Orchestra, conductor Robert Ames and John Gosling, McQueen’s longtime music director and creative collaborator. Together, they bring McQueen’s distinctive sound world to the concert hall.
Reimagining McQueen’s runway sound
The live score has been co-created by Gosling and Ames and is conducted by Elayce Ismail. In addition, the performance includes a newly commissioned film by Douglas Hart and Eddie Whelan.
Alongside the music, the concert features live choreography by Holly Blakey. As a result, the event brings together music, film and movement in a single performance.
The programme spans centuries and genres. Classical works by Purcell, Handel and Mozart sit alongside contemporary tracks famously used on McQueen’s catwalks. These include The Rolling Stones’ Paint It, Black and Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, the final track played at McQueen’s last runway show, Plato’s Atlantis.
About the Multitudes festival
Multitudes was launched in 2025 and aims to reimagine the orchestral music experience. It does so by combining music with fashion, dance, film, circus and visual art.
This year’s festival brings together all six of the Southbank Centre’s resident orchestras. These are Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Orchestra.
In its debut year, the festival attracted 59 per cent new bookers to the Southbank Centre’s classical music programme. As a result, Multitudes has positioned itself as a gateway for new audiences.
Multitudes 2026 programme highlights
Elsewhere in the programme, Aurora Orchestra will perform Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring entirely from memory. Meanwhile, Philharmonia Orchestra will explore the meeting point between orchestral music and heavy metal.
In addition, the London Philharmonic Orchestra will present a semi-staged production of Berg’s Wozzeck. The BBC Concert Orchestra will also appear with an immersive interpretation of Liszt’s Dante Symphony, created in collaboration with visual artist Mat Collishaw.
The festival further includes contemporary circus interpretations of Bach’s The Art of Fugue by Circa and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. Towards the end of the programme, audiences can also see An Evening with an Immigrant, written and performed by Inua Ellams with a newly commissioned orchestral score by Laura Mvula.
Ticket information
Un-natural Harmony: The Sound of Alexander McQueen sits at the centre of the 2026 programme. Overall, the concert celebrates the lasting cultural influence of one of fashion’s most visionary designers.
Tickets for Multitudes 2026 go on sale to Southbank Centre Members on 26 January. General sale opens on 28 January.
Full programme details are available at www.southbankcentre.co.uk/multitudes