David Farnor | On 22, May 2020

Bank holiday weekends are normally a time for going outside to sunbathe in the park or having a BBQ with friends and family. While you can’t quite do all those things during the coronavirus lockdown – although you can have video calls while burning meat in the garden, if you’re lucky enough to have one – there are all manner of events to join in from your own living from.

The early Bank Holiday Friday marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day, with celebrations held throughout the day and evening. The second Bank Holiday weekend is just as packed with events, including Radio 1’s Big Weekend, other concerts, a live watchalong of a film and more. Missed a live event? You can still catch-up with videos on-demand for most of the below.

Here’s your Bank Holiday lockdown entertainment guide.

Chelsea Flower Show – 23rd May

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show has gone digital for the past week, with Saturday marking the final day of its five-day virtual event. World-leading designers and, plant experts present planting tips with on-demand videos, along with tours of their own gardens. Saturday’s videos focus on smaller space gardening plus a special message from the festival’s Director General Sue Biggs.

Royal Albert Home: Charlie Mackesy Draw-along – 23rd May, 3pm

British artist, illustrator and author Charlie Mackesy will deliver an exciting home draw-along as part of the Royal Albert Home sessions.

Lionsgate Live: The Hunger Games – 23rd May, 6pm

Lionsgate is streaming four films from its library for free on Saturday nights on the Lionsgate UK YouTube channel, aiming to encourage donations to NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal and The Film and TV Charity COVID-19 Emergency Response. This weekend, it’s the final one in the run, The Hunger Games. The stream starts at 6pm. (For the full Lionsgate Live UK schedule, click here.)

Radio 1’s Big Weekend – 23rd to 24th May

Big Weekend 2020 goes online with some of the world’s biggest artists joining fans from their homes and maybe even home studios. On Saturday, you can stream new performances from Sam Smith and HAIM, and archive shows from Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, Kings of Leon, Shawn Mendes, Bruno Mars, Stormzy, Alicia Keys and more. On Sunday, there are new lockdown performances from the Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora, Biffy Clyro, Ellie Goulding, and archive shows from Little Mix, Mumford & Sons, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Muse and more.

Bundesliga – 23rd to 24th May

The first major football league to be back in action in Europe, football fans can get their live sporting fix with Germany’s top-flight competition. On Saturday, SC Freiburg take on Werder, Paderborn play Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg play Dortmund, Monchengladbach face off against Leverkusen and Bayern take on Eintracht Frankfurt. On Sunday, see Schalke vs Augsburg (12.30pm), Mainz vs RB Leipzig (2.30pm) and FC Koln vs Dusseldorf (5pm). All of them are available exclusively in the UK on BT Sport – which is also available contract-free as a standalone app for non-BT customers. Find out more here.

Euro 96 Relived – 23rd to 25th May

Euro 96 kicked off once again this May, as ITV Hub has raided its archives to give football fans a slice of sporting nostalgia in the absence of the postponed 2020 tournament. Streaming every match from 1996’s tournament, hosted in England, Euro 96 Relived will take a trip down memory lane and relive all 31 games from one of the most closely contested tournaments in recent history. This weekend, three quarter-finals are on offer, including Spain vs England, France vs Netherlands and Germany vs Croatia – with highlights and full matches available on-demand. Here’s the schedule

Human Rights Watch Film Festival – 23rd to 25th May

This weekend, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival is going online, with a 13-day event streaming on Curzon Home Cinema. The festival, which runs from 22nd May to 5th June, presents films from Germany, Austria, the USA, Armenia, Israel, Denmark and more. They expose and humanise crises related to women’s rights, inspiring leaders, the power of journalism, refugee and exiled individuals and families living with trauma, indigenous rights, the on-going struggle for disability rights and Bangladeshi women working in the fashion industry. For the full line-up, including Q&As, click here

Digital Drag Fest – 23rd to 25th May

This month-long festival, running for an extended length of 27th March to 31st May, brings together some of the biggest names in drag for a string of digital concerts, including Alaska, Alexis Michelle, BenDeLaCreme, Divina De Campo, Ginger Minj, Jackie Beat, Jiggly Caliente, Jinkx Monsoon, Jujubee, Manila Luzon, Miz Cracker, Monét X Change, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Nina West, Peppermint, Sharon Needles, Sherry Vine, Tammie Brown and Trinity The Tuck. Tickets are around £10 per show and none of them is recorded or available on-demand – and an awards show takes place at 10pm on Sunday 24th May. Visit digitaldragfest.com

The Rolling Stones: Live in Hyde Park – 24th May, 8pm

The Rolling Stones continue Extra Licks, their Sunday streaming of past concerts for free on YouTube. Gigs stream at 8pm every Sunday until 7th June, with each concert available on-demand after. This weekend, it’s their Sweet Summer Sun: Live in Hyde Park gig.

The Hairy Bikers – 25th May, 6pm

The Hairy Bikers are hosting a live #CupboardCookIn on the Knorr Instagram page, and their own Instgram account, making home-cooked food with store cupboard essentials.

Women Make Film Q&A – 25th May, 6pm

The Birds Eye View Film Festival is hosting a Q&A with Mark Cousins, director of new 14-hour film Women Make Film, which covers almost 1,000 film clips spanning 5 continents to showcase female filmmakers from 13 decades of cinema history. Join Birds’ Eye View Director-At-Large, Mia Bays and Kate Muir (writer and critic) in conversation with Cousins, Pamela Hutchinson (silent film / early era cinema expert), Robin Baker (Head Curator at BFI National Film Archive), and Kim Longinotto (filmmaker). Watch it on Facebook here.

National Theatre at Home

This week’s National Theatre at Home stream is A Streetcar Named Desire. Gillian Anderson plays Blanche DuBois in the critically acclaimed Young Vic production of Tennessee Williams’ classic play. Available on-demand until 7pm on Thursday 28th May. For National at Home’s complete line-up, click here – or for a full guide to streaming digital theatre at home, click here.

Radiohead

Radiohead has been releasing concert recordings on YouTube for free every Thursday throughout the lockdown – including Live from a Tent in Dublin, Coachella, Buenos Aires, Berlin and Bonnaroo.

Metallica

Metallica has also been releasing gigs for free online on Mondays on YouTube, including Live at the House of Vans, Copenhagen, Munich and Michigan.

 

For more things to keep you occupied, entertained – and even educated – visit our QuaranstreamFest, bringing you curated culture and streaming news every day throughout the pandemic.

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