London Games Festival unveils events line-up

The London Games Festival has detailed four new cultural events that will take place during the 11-day celebration next month.

The festival begins with our very own EGX Rezzed on March 30th, and will also include a schools-focused eSports tournament, a games exhibition, a closing weekend parade and a live music concert. The festival closes on April 9th.

Dear Esther Live sees the revival of The Chinese Room's sell-out show ahead of its UK tour. It will feature a big screen play-through of the title and will take place on Saturday, April 1st at 7pm at St John's at Hackney.

Then on Tuesday, April 4th, the Gfinity Arena will host the Digital Schoolhouse eSports Tournament Ground Final. It is the first UK inter-school eSports competition, which has featured some 400 students playing Rocket League.

Between April 7th to 9th is the Now Play This exhibition at Somerset House. There will be over 50 games to play from international artists and well known developers.

Finally, there will be the London Games Festival Games Character Parade on April 8th. Hundreds of games characters will take to the streets in London, and people can join the parade by visiting www.games.london/parade. 

"Growing the city's culture and creative industries is so important, and as Mayor, I'm delighted to welcome this year's London Games Festival, which promises to showcase the best of the city's imagination, game design and innovation," said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. "Home to more than 500 games companies and top talent from around the world, London is right at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, and this exciting festival celebrates the richness of our thriving games industry."

LGF will feature some 40 events in total and expects to attract 50,000 people. It also includes EGX Rezzed (March 30th to April 1st), the Games Finance Market (April 4th to 6th), the BAFTA Games Awards (April 6th), a summit programme of talks and lectures, plus a series of Fringe events.