London Remembers Landmark Year for Doctor Who and Other Famous Figures and Events in 2013

    LONDON, ENGLAND, February 07, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Doctor Who's half-century celebrations continue with a screening of 'Tomb of the Cybermen' starring second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, at the British Film Institute on Saturday 9th February. Following January's screening of the first ever episode of Doctor Who starring William Hartnell in the lead role, this is the latest instalment in the BFI's monthly countdown to November's 50th anniversary of the famous BBC science fiction series.

Such a landmark does not come in isolation in the capital this year, with cultural heavyweights past and present, dead and alive, taking centre stage in London with a flurry of high-profile anniversaries. From celebrity birthdays to King Henry V's coronation: 2013 is the year the Tube turns 150, two classical maestros complete double centuries and Jack the Ripper makes it 125 years on the loose and avoiding the noose.

Composers Benjamin Britten, Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi all celebrate key anniversaries with a hefty programme of commemorative events in London. In May, a Wagner Anniversary Concert at the Southbank Centre is conducted by Sir Andrew Davis and kicks off 'Wagner 200' - a wide-ranging, London-based festival celebrating his bicentenary. Verdi's own double century celebrations begin with Peter Konwitschny's new production of 'La Traviata' at the ENO's Coliseum from February through to March, while 'Nabucco' is performed later in the spring at the Royal Opera House.

Britten is the major pull, however, with the British centurion composer featuring heavily in the BBC Proms from July to September. Kings Place hosts a three-day 'Britten at 100' festival in February, there are summer productions of 'Gloriana' at the Royal Albert Hall and 'Death in Venice' at the Coliseum, while the moving 'War Requiem' is performed at the Albert Hall on Remembrance Sunday, 11 days before what would have been the 100th birthday of Britain's most influential composer. Travellers arriving from outside London to watch any of these superb concerts can conveniently book their accommodation on LondonTown.com, where there's a wide range of London hotels available to suit all budgets.

Legendary Londoner Sir Michael Caine turns 80 years old on 14th March with a special four-month exhibition at the Museum of London focusing on the key moments of his career. Also turning 80, Yoko Ono curates the annual Meltdown Festival at the Southbank in June, while architect Richard Rogers is subject of a Royal Academy summer exhibition to coincide with his 80th birthday. Not quite an octogenarian just yet, Sir Paul Smith's four decades in the fashion business are remembered in the London Design Museum from November.

Elsewhere, the centenary of Igor Stavinsky's masterpiece 'The Rite of Spring' is remembered in three separate ground-breaking reinterpretations at Sadler's Wells from April to June; Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' turns 200 with an Open Air Theatre performance in Regent's Park in June; the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show celebrates 100 years at the Royal Hospital in May; the 100th anniversary of Bollywood takes centre stage in the annual London Indian Film Festival in July, while the Rocky Horror Show embarks on a 40th anniversary tour.

Besides the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, other historical landmarks specific to London include the 125th anniversary of the Jack the Ripper killings, the 400th anniversary of the Globe Theatre being burnt to the ground, and the 150th anniversary of the Football Association - to be marked by the second Champions League final in three years at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25th May.

Finally, there's a raft of royal celebrations to get your teeth stuck into in 2013. Last year all eyes were on the Queen for her Diamond Jubilee, but the exact 60th anniversary of Her Majesty's Coronation on 2nd June 1953 comes this year and will be celebrated with a four-day Coronation Festival in Buckingham Palace gardens in July. Throw on an extra zero and you get the 600th anniversary of the coronation of King Henry V - remembered with a performance of Shakespeare's 'Henry V' starring Jude Law in the title role, which runs at the Noel Coward Theatre through to February 2014.

All of these wonderful celebratory events are covered in LondonTown.com's London Events in 2013 page. This press release features extracts from London 2013: Major London Anniversaries, an article in the new 244-page guide book to London in 2013, published by LondonTown.com. To purchase a copy of London 2013 - The Annual go to http://www.londontown.com/2013/

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