As the Winter Olympics kicks off in Italy, we will all be following the ups and downs of Team GB on the ski slalom and bobsleigh courses. But the Olympics are just the start of the major sporting and cultural events to add to your diary this year.
Keep reading for your rundown.
Sporting events
March
The Formula One World Championship begins in Australia on 6 March.
After a dramatic 2025 season filled with twists and turns both on and off the track, the championship came down to a thrilling final race in Abu Dhabi. For the first time in 15 years, the final drive of the season was a three-way race to secure the title.
Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri all had a chance to lift the trophy. Norris’s maiden win sets up a potentially thrilling 2026 season.
The championship arrives in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix on 5 July.
April
The World Snooker Championships at Sheffield’s iconic Crucible Theatre will be played out between 18 April and 4 May.
Zhao Xintong won the 2025 event, beating Mark Williams to become the first Chinese player and the first amateur to win the title in the modern era.
Exhibitions
June
The Tate Modern in London will house a major retrospective of the work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo this summer.
Frida: The Making of an Icon promises to dive into Kahlo’s life and legacy through more than 130 works that explore themes of identity and politics through self-portraits, photographs, and personal artefacts.
The exhibition runs from 25 June 2026 to 3 January 2027
September
The Bayeux Tapestry will be making history in 2026, when it is loaned out to the British Museum.
Depicting the 1066 Norman Conquest of England, this 11th-century textile artwork will be packaged and moved from the Bayeux Museum later in the year and will be on display at the British Museum from September 2026 until June 2027.
This is an unprecedented opportunity to see this incredible work of art up close and on British soil.
Stage and screen
Showing now
Paddington: The Musical is currently showing at the Savoy Theatre in London and will continue to do so for the rest of 2026.
Capitalising on the enduring legacy of Michael Bond’s creation and three recent feature films, the marmalade-loving bear from Peru has a new incarnation.
The show opened to rave reviews and is a must-see for theatre-lovers of all ages.
March
Lesley Manville (Mum, The Crown) and Aidan Turner (Poldark) will appear at the Lyttelton Theatre from 21 March.
They star in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the classic novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Here, you’ll witness Marianne Elliott’s take on Christopher Hampton’s celebrated adaptation.
June
The gang are getting back together in June as Toy Story 5 hits cinemas. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack (among others) are set to reprise their roles alongside new cast members.
Things are changing in Bonnie’s playroom when a new toy arrives in the form of a frog-like electronic device, a tablet named Lilypad.
July
Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) achieved huge critical and commercial success with Oppenheimer back in 2023.
He returns with his epic take on Homer’s Odyssey, starring Matt Damon in the title role. Tom Holland is set to star as the hero’s son Telemachus, while Zendaya will portray Athena, goddess of wisdom.
December
Denis Villeneuve will return to the story of Paul Atreides for a third (and possibly final) time in December.
Dune: Part Three is scheduled for release on 18 December and is expected to at least partly adapt Dune Messiah, the sequel to Frank Herbert’s original Dune novel.
Books
March
Originally published in Japan back in 2017, Asako Yuzuki’s Butter became a word-of-mouth success when Polly Barton’s English translation arrived in 2024.
Expect a return to the themes of food and female friendship in the follow-up, Hooked.
September
Sebastian Barry first wrote about the American Civil War in the award-winning Days Without End. The follow-up, A Thousand Moons, continued the story that will become a trilogy in 2026.
Depicting the aftermath of war in the late 19th century, The Newer World arrives in September.
