Story of London Festival

London's history as a centre for ideas, invention and pioneers is being celebrated this autumn, with the Story of London Festival.

This year's festival runs from Friday 1 until Sunday 10 October.

Around 100 events are being planned for audiences from every corner of the capital to get involved in, encouraging them to share in the story of the most exciting city in the world. One of the aims is to raise the profile of cultural attractions throughout the city, to people living locally, as well as Londoners from across the capital and tourists.

The Story of London aims to enable Londoners and visitors to explore the role the capital has played in technological, scientific, cultural and social advances over the centuries - and discover how the city will change and develop as it faces the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.

These achievements will be highlighted through a range of events and activities, including film, music and live performance, guided walks, talks and debates, exhibitions and workshops. From art, fashion and poetry, to history, science and technology, to transport and the environment, there will be something to suit every interest.

The season will include the legacy of Jimi Hendrix at the Handel House Museum; the development of surgical practices at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons; a new project that 'remixes' archive film to create new visions of London; and the chance to create your own version of London's future 'in a box'. There will be talks from the likes of environmentalist Sir Crispin Tickell at the Museum of London; musician Billy Bragg and architect Sir Terry Farrell at the British Library, plus BBC Home Editor Mark Easton, who will be speaking at the Wellcome Trust. Poet John Hegley will be taking part in a special Poems on the Underground event at LSO St Luke's. Other names will be confirmed shortly.

There will be opportunities to use the latest technology to help you navigate and explore the city in a new way, including a look at what London would be like had Joseph Bazalgette not developed the first sewage and an experiential look at London architecture involving newly composed music. The Londonist will be hosting a special pub quiz, in conjunction with the Royal Institution at its 'Time and Space' bar.

Following the extraordinary success of the walking tours through Brunel's tunnel at Rotherhithe – the first to be constructed under water – there will be guided train journeys. These will include a descent by temporary staircase into the Grand Entrance Hall, which was originally constructed above ground, before being sunk for the railway.

Key partners in the Story of London include the Heritage Lottery Fund, which is supporting a range of events, with awards being given to London community groups, heritage and arts organisations that show an exciting legacy of famous figureheads and unsung heroes, charting the ever-changing face of London as a city of ground-breaking ideas and innovation. From the story of Grade I architecture and its changing environs, to the history of social housing in the East End, or Ghandi's student days in Wandsworth to the stories behind London's famous Blue Plaques and London's street theatre, a myriad of inspiring stories are waiting to be told this Autumn.

English Heritage will be putting on events at Down House, where Darwin wrote 'On the Origin of Species', Chiswick House whose gardens were birthplace of the English Landscape Movement, and a range of other activities looking at some of London's greatest and lesser known heritage assets.

Find out more at the Story of London website.