Lady Gaga’s Leotard, Last Prom, Thames Festival: London Weekend

Lady Gaga is going for the biggest arena she can find on her return to London. Not content with the O2’s 20,000 seats, she’s got the 55,000 at Twickenham Stadium.

We look forward to the steak-colored leotard, now that the wondrous meat-dress predecessor has been retired.

In a busy weekend for London rock fans, Noel Gallagher and Elbow play Friday; Jack White and Leonard Cohen on Saturday at the Roundhouse and Wembley Arena.

Information: http://www.rfu.com/TwickenhamStadium, http://www.itunesfestival.com, http://www.wembleyarena.co.uk.

The weekend-long Mayor’s Thames Festival offers fireworks, poetry and music. The free event, between Westminster and Tower bridges, will be the biggest in its 16-year history.

Highlights include a celebration of Korean culture, along with a 1,000-strong steel-pan concert in homage to Brazil, host country for the next Olympics.

Information: http://thamesfestival.org/
Saturday

The Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall has works by Puccini and Verdi leading into the usual “Land of Hope and Glory,” “Jerusalem,” “God Save the Queen” and patriotic flag-waving all around.

Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, SW7 2AP. Information: +44-845-401-5045; http://www.royalalberthall.com or http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms.

Earlier, Kylie Minogue will gyrate in Hyde Park as part of the Proms events. She’ll face competition on the open-air stage from Il Divo, tenor Alfie Boe, and the London Community Gospel Choir. The show, presented by Terry Wogan, starts at 5:15 p.m. and tickets are 35 pounds ($56).

The Queens Arms is just around the corner from the Royal Albert Hall, hidden in one of Kensington’s best mews. The pub’s menu lists cask real ales and wild salmon fishcakes.

30 Queens Gate Mews, SW7 5QL. Information: +44-20-7823-9293 or http://www.thequeensarmskensington.co.uk
Saturday Night

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Julius Caesar” puts a new perspective on the play. Rome is moved to an anonymous, possibly African state, with an all-black cast. Jeffery Kissoon is imperious as Caesar and Ray Fearon delivers a passionate “friends, Romans, countrymen” speech.

Noel Coward Theatre, 85-88 St. Martin’s Lane, WC2N 4AU, through Sept. 15. Information: +44-20-7759-8010 or http://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk.

Les Deux Salons, near the theater, is a French-style brasserie. Michelin-starred chef Anthony Demetre refines the winning formula developed at Arbutus and Wild Honey. He serves afternoon tea, as well as pre-and post-theater menus.

40-42 William IV Street, London, WC2N 4DD. Information: +44-20-7420-2050 or http://www.lesdeuxsalons.co.uk/
Sunday

Sterling Clark, heir to the Singer sewing-machine fortune, spent decades in Paris collecting art. The loot he took home includes a Monet from his series of cliffs at Etretat with each- colored light flecking the water. Clark bought it for the ridiculously low sum of $5,500 in 1933 -- a fraction of what a Renoir cost him (the receipts are on show).

“From Paris: A Taste for Impressionism” ends Sept. 23 at the Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly. Information: http://www.royalacademy.org.uk or +44-844-209-0051.
Sunday Night

The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games at the Olympic Stadium features more than 1,000 dancers and actors. The event is titled “Festival of Flame” and headlined by Coldplay.

You can watch it at the BBC Big Screens in Woolwich and Waltham Forest, or the BT London Live screen in Trafalgar Square.

Information: http://bbc.co.uk/bigscreens or http://www.btlondonlive.com/

(Mark Beech and Farah Nayeri write for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are their own.)