“The season” has a Regency ring to it, harking back to an era when the great and the good came up from the country to entertain in their London townhouses. Today’s season has a much broader canvas. The guest lists are more diverse, while the marquee occasions – from the Chelsea Flower Show in May to the Frieze contemporary art fair in October – are global in appeal and on a scale too vast for even the grandest Mayfair ballroom.
It is this eclecticism that gives the season its particular flavour, says Liza-Jane Kelly, head of London residential at Savills. “In London, you get lots of worlds rubbing shoulders at the same parties – people from politics, business, culture and showbusiness,” she says. “It makes for a more interesting and exciting crowd.” So which occasions create the key moments in the London season?
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show in May is widely considered the start of the London season, says Pete Bevan, co-head of prime residential London at Savills. “The gala opening is a really glamorous moment.” Clearly, the show – visited by the King and Queen – gains traction everywhere, from Tatler to Instagram and beyond. But Bevan argues that the social wattage of such events brings added lustre to wider London life. Beyond the confines of the flower show, for example, the King’s Road is decked out with floral displays, while Chelsea’s restaurant and bar scene is livelier than ever for the five days of the event.
