The 70th BFI London Film Festival runs from Wednesday 7 to Sunday 18 October 2026, with more than 250 films across twelve days. Most of it happens in a half-mile stretch of the South Bank, with galas and premieres in the West End.
Both of those areas share a characteristic that matters if you are not walking home: a car cannot get anywhere near the door.
| | | | :-- | :-- | | Dates | Wed 7 – Sun 18 October 2026 (70th edition) | | Main venues | BFI Southbank · BFI IMAX · Royal Festival Hall | | Gala venues | West End cinemas around Leicester Square | | Nearest Tube | Waterloo · Embankment · Southwark (South Bank) · Leicester Square · Piccadilly Circus (West End) | | Opening gala | 7 October — Elsinore | | Closing gala | 18 October — The Debut, Royal Festival Hall | | Tickets | Via the BFI; members book first, galas sell out fastest |
Programme details as of 2 September 2026. Fares are estimates; we confirm the final price.
Leicester Square is pedestrianised — plan around it
This is the single fact that catches people out. The square itself and most of the streets feeding it are closed to general traffic, and on premiere nights the closures widen for red-carpet setup, often from mid-afternoon.
So there is no such thing as being dropped at a Leicester Square cinema. What there is, instead, is a ring of streets a two-to-four-minute walk away where a car can legitimately stop:
- Charing Cross Road — the most reliable, and closest to the Odeon
- Whitcomb Street and Panton Street — quieter, good on busy premiere nights
- Irving Street towards Charing Cross — useful heading south or east
- Haymarket — best if you are travelling on towards Westminster or the river
On a gala night, name one of those when you book instead of the cinema. The difference is a short walk versus a driver circling a closed square.
The South Bank venues each behave differently
The three main festival venues are within ten minutes of each other on foot, but they are not interchangeable for a pickup.
BFI Southbank sits underneath Waterloo Bridge. The road access is Belvedere Road, behind the building, rather than the riverside walkway you arrive on. Almost everyone gives the driver the riverside address and then cannot find the car.
BFI IMAX is marooned in the middle of a roundabout at the south end of Waterloo Bridge, reached by pedestrian subways. No vehicle stops at it. Walk through to the Waterloo station side and use the Waterloo Road or York Road frontage.
Royal Festival Hall has proper set-down on Belvedere Road too, which is why the closing gala on 18 October is the easiest of the big nights to leave — provided you have arranged something, because a thousand people leave together.
Late screenings finish after the Tube
Festival programming runs later than ordinary cinema listings. Second and third screenings of the evening routinely finish between 11pm and midnight, and Q&As push that further — a scheduled 10:45pm finish becomes 11:20pm when the director stays to talk.
The last southbound and westbound Tubes from Waterloo and Embankment go around 00:15 to 00:30, and the Night Tube does not run on every line or every night. October is also the month when the walk home stops being pleasant.
The practical answer is to decide before the film, not after it. Our late-night London taxi guide covers how the city's transport behaves once the evening peak has gone; the festival-specific point is simply that Q&As make finish times unreliable, so a fixed pickup time is a worse plan than a pickup you arrange when the lights come up.
The weekend the festival overlaps everything else
Two Sundays inside the festival are unusually congested in central London.
11 October brings the Royal Parks Half Marathon, which closes roads across the West End and Westminster from 9am — including routes you would normally use to reach the South Bank from the north or west.
18 October, the closing day, is busier still: the Royal Festival Hall gala, the final day of Frieze London in Regent's Park, and an NFL game at Wembley, all in the same city on the same afternoon.
If you hold tickets for either Sunday, treat the journey in as a weekday-peak trip rather than a relaxed weekend one.
Frequently asked questions
Q: When is the BFI London Film Festival 2026? A: Wednesday 7 to Sunday 18 October 2026. It is the 70th edition, with over 250 films, based mainly at BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX and the Royal Festival Hall, plus West End gala venues.
Q: Can a taxi drop me at a Leicester Square cinema? A: No. Leicester Square and most surrounding streets are pedestrianised or closed, and premiere nights widen the closures from mid-afternoon. Use Charing Cross Road, Whitcomb Street, Panton Street or Haymarket instead — all two to four minutes' walk.
Q: Where do taxis pick up at BFI Southbank? A: On Belvedere Road, behind the building, not on the riverside walkway you arrive along. Giving the riverside address is the most common reason people cannot find their car.
Q: How do I get home after a late festival screening? A: Last Tubes from Waterloo and Embankment run around 00:15 to 00:30 and the Night Tube does not cover every line. Because Q&As make finish times unpredictable, arrange the car when the screening ends rather than booking a fixed time in advance.
Q: Is the London Film Festival affected by other events in October 2026? A: Two Sundays are. The Royal Parks Half Marathon closes central roads on 11 October, and 18 October combines the closing gala with the last day of Frieze London and an NFL game at Wembley.
Q: Which festival venue is easiest to reach by car? A: The Royal Festival Hall, which has proper set-down on Belvedere Road. BFI IMAX is the hardest — it sits inside a roundabout reached only by pedestrian subway, so vehicles use the Waterloo Road or York Road side instead.
In short
Never give a Leicester Square address; give Charing Cross Road. At BFI Southbank, say Belvedere Road. And because a Q&A can add half an hour to any screening, book the car when the credits roll rather than before you go in.
Get a fare estimate for your journey, or see taxis in London for how fares work across the city. We provide the journey directly with our own licensed drivers — no third parties, no forwarding.