One of my favourite things about London is the abundance of various events taking place around the city throughout the year. You can never be bored here. Even though I’ve lived here for almost 5 years now, I keep discovering new things to do all the time. Today, I’m taking you to two sister events that took place on one week in May 2024 – Belgravia in Bloom and Chelsea in Bloom.

Belgravia and Chelsea are neighbouring areas in central-west London. For a week, the posh part of London saw numerous flower displays scattered around the streets. A few of them were large installations erected in public spaces, others were adorning the windows of participating shops and restaurants.

The two events, although separate, take place at the same time, just a stone’s throw away from each other. They both have an official website each, where I could find maps of the areas with most notable displays marked.

I decided to visit Belgravia first. Looking for the larger installations with a map felt like treasure hunting and was a fun activity to do. The 2024 Belgravia in Bloom event was under the theme of games, so I wasn’t surprised to spot a big snakes and ladders display and a house of cards. One of the restaurants put up an impressive playing card flower sign too.

The shops and cafes decorating their windows with hundreds of colourful flowers looked incredible too.

After walking around Belgravia, I went to check out the similar Chelsea in Bloom event. I’m not sure if there was a common theme there, but the displays were truly impressive. The huge caterpillar surrounded by fruits at Sloane Square was probably the most spectacular.

The Winnie the Pooh piece was another favourite of mine, and – understandably – it was a big hit amongst the little ones.

Overall, it was great fun walking around the streets, admiring the displays. The weather was surprisingly great for London standards too, which certainly made the experience even better!

One note for the future though, I’ll have to try to get there earlier next time. I got to Belgravia around 9am on a Saturday and it was pretty quiet, but by the time I got to Chelsea, it was already incredibly crowded. It’s probably better to visit earlier in the morning, ideally on a weekday.

I certainly hope that this is an annual event. I can’t wait to visit Chelsea and Belgravia in Bloom again next year. This will definitely be one of the staples in my calendar. After all, who doesn’t love a fun, free outdoor event in the spring!

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