Celebrities, patrons, and art world luminaries descended on London’s Kensington Gardens in droves on Tuesday night for the much-anticipated, invitation-only Serpentine Summer Party.
Among notable art world names were gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac, auctioneer Simon de Pury, patron Maja Hoffmann, and mega-collector Eugenio Re Rebaudengo. Some of the best-known figures in British contemporary art were also in attendance. They included Yinka Shonibare, Grayson Perry, Anish Kapoor, Isaac Julien, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and Marc Quinn. Notable international names included Indian artist Subodh Gupta, German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans, American artist Alex Israel, and Lebanese architect-of-the-moment Lina Ghotmeh.
Newer staples of the social scene were also present, including Daniel Lismore, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Sedrick Chisom, Georg Wilson, and Alex Margo Arden.
Guest, Daniel Lismore, and Lady Monika Bacardi attend The Serpentine Summer Party 2026 at Serpentine South in London, England. Photo: Jed Cullen/ Dave Benett/ Getty Images for Serpentine.
The Serpentine’s artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist presided over all, responding generously to the continuous flow of guests who swarmed around him. Even randoms, like me, received a warm “so glad you’re here.” Host committee chair Isha Ambani, a billionaire heiress and increasingly prominent philanthropist on the U.K. arts scene, was also in the spotlight.
Celebrities were out in force. One of this year’s hosts, Salma Hayek Pinault, arrived with her daughter. She was joined by two co-hosts, the Mexican filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu, and fellow actors Jeff Goldblum, Rebel Wilson, Richard E. Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kyle MacLachlan, Michael B. Jordan, Isla Fisher, Sienna Miller, and Celia Imrie.
Subodh Gupta, Princess Alia Al-Senussi, Simon de Pury, and Bharti Kher attend The Serpentine Summer Party 2026 at Serpentine South in London, England. Photo: Dave Benett/ Getty Images.
Models braved the heatwave en masse, including Pixie Geldof, Georgia May Jagger, Alexa Chung, Adot Gak, and host committee members Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Adwoa Aboah. Other notable figures included filmmaker Robert Eggers, designer Ron Arad, singer Caroline Polachek, and fashion designers Ozwald Boateng and Harris Reed.
The star-studded Serpentine Summer Party is the closest thing the U.K. has to a Met Gala, despite the British Museum‘s burgeoning efforts, though it is markedly more laidback. Still, the glitzy gala is a crucial fixture of the art world calendar as U.K. institutions seek to adopt American fundraising models in the face of public spending cuts.
Isabel Martínez Abascal, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Isha Ambani, Michael Bloomberg and Bettina Korek attend The Serpentine Summer Party 2026 where Isha Ambani was Chair of the Host Committee at Serpentine South in London, England. Photo: Max Cisotti/ Dave Benett/ Getty Images for Serpentine.
Serpentine Galleries has long led the way, receiving only five percent of its income from the government and independently raising the remaining 95 percent. Ticket prices for the event are tiered according to a patron’s membership level, but range from £2,000 to £5,000 ($2,630–$6,580) for non-members. Serpentine Galleries did not confirm whether this year’s event raised more than previous editions.
Under the glow of the golden hour, hundreds milled around an immersive installation by Jesús Rafael Soto and an undulating brick structure by the Mexico City architects Lanza Atelier, designers of this year’s Serpentine Pavilion commission. Ruinart champagne, that beloved fuel of the art world’s upper echelons, flowed freely. Whispering Angel rosé, meanwhile, was accompanied by whisperings of a secret, ultra-VIP gathering just before the party started. One particularly important guest from New York was apparently running late, which pushed back the speeches.
Food served at the Serpentine Summer Party. Photos: Jo Lawson-Tancred.
The party food, courtesy of culinary artist Laila Gohar, was certainly unique. Those brave enough to tackle, with their teeth, vast cobs of thickly glazed corn were impressively composed in doing so. An easier sell was a table covered in dense slabs of chocolate and gooey, ganache-filled bars that drew an eager crowd.
As the light dimmed, chatter turned to evaluating the night. One art world vet glanced over an empty dance floor and recalled summer parties long past, when revelers would stay much later to enjoy performances by the likes of Pharrell Williams. Nonetheless, they decided, the atmosphere this year had been good. For those night owls who boldly persisted, an after party was planned at hotel St. Clement, latest venture of Soho House founder Nick Jones.