The Institute of Contemporary Arts has followed its bigger cultural brethren and abandoned the entrance fee. Previous visitors to the reclusive gallery on the Mall had been forced to hand over £3 to access exhibitions and the cafe - not a huge sum, but enough to dissuade the penny-pinching types. From today, though, access is free before 11pm. Artistic director Ekow Eshun got in his entry for Pseud's Corner early, describing the decision as......

We think everybody who attended Saturday's sun-soaked Tour de France Prologue would agree that, on the whole, it was a well-organised, popular success. However, with the shadow of the Olympics hanging over every large scale sporting happening in London between now and 2012 our experiences at the race lead us to believe that there are still a few important tweaks that could be made for events like this in the lead up to the......

As the buzz surrounding the weekend's Tour de France action in London builds steadily, more and more people are asking where will be the best places to watch, especially during the Prologue individual time trial on Saturday afternoon. Unlike the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, where the best vantage points are well established, there's no obvious form to go on for this one-off cycling spectacular in terms of where to set out your viewing stall......

Only a fortnight to go now before central London is engulfed by the two-wheeled juggernaut of the world's most celebrated race. "Le Grand Depart" is the title given to the weekend of sport and festivities from 6th - 8th July that marks the first visit to the UK capital of the Tour de France, a cycling contest in the same way that a royal wedding is a quiet ceremony in a local family church.......

>>Before we begin, a small non-profit Theatre group is looking for a free rehearsal space one night a week. Email bookgrocer@gmail.com if you can help or know of any good sized rooms (church halls, pub back rooms, community art centres), the more central the betterFresh this Week: Thursday - it’s not quite a weeknight (Casual Fridays opens up new hangover opportunities; wear a wide brimmed hat to work and no-one will notice) however its......

The super-stacked summer season of stuff to see and do is over... and the even more packed autumn schedule of stuff to see and do has launched without pause for breath. There's no time to stop and stare in London - and why would you want to? Friday 1 September Late at Tate Britain, 6.00pm - 10.00pm, FREE The monthly Late at Tate Britain, held on the first Friday of each month, is tonight......

It's time to dust off that rusty racer - the Tour of Britain comes to London next week as the capital hosts the final stage of the nationwide cycle race. As the Tour of Britain website reports: The 2006 Tour of Britain will consist of six stages starting on Tuesday 29 August in Glasgow. The Tour then takes in new routes in the Northwest, Yorkshire and the West Midlands, before a brand new fifth......

You can't buy happiness... but you can certainly buy things that will bring you happiness. An artwork by a leading British artist, for example, at a really good price could put a smile on a your face and a corresponding spring in your step. Nice artworks by big names at affordable prices - who doesn't love an "everything must go" sale? The next Damien Hirst could be lurking among the items being sold at......

A four-week trial of anti-terrorist screening devices is due to start on the Jubilee Line at Canary Wharf later this week (although there's a bit of dodgy scanning going on there already). The Tories have sent Tessa Jowell a nasty letter accusing Labour of playing politics with the Olympics. And the Conservatives aren't too happy about Hugo Chavez's visit either. The final stages of this year's Tour of Britain will take in eight London......

The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you’d like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. Highlights this week include two appearance by Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell (pictured), along with one by Lionel Shriver, and a new book from Elmore Leonard... Events Around London: Tonight, David Mitchell (pictured), author of Booker nominated Cloud Atlas, will be signing copies of his new novel, Black Swan Green. 12:30pm. Waterstone's, 82 Gower......

This day in London’s history 1984: WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed in St James's Square during a protest outside the Libyan Embassy. She was the first policewoman to be murdered on duty in Britain. The event inspired car insurance salesman Michael Winner to etsablish the Police Memorial Trust and a memorial to WPC Fletcher was commissioned for the square. In 2005, the National Police Memorial was unveiled by the Queen, it stands......

A wealth of sports news today, the major story being that London's bid to host the opening stages of the Tour de France looks likely to be accepted. According to "French officials" whose job it is to assess the applications, London's bid is currently wearing the yellow jersey, with other cities such as Utrecht, Rotterdam, Lugano (which we thought was a car) and Herning struggling behind in the wrong gear (that's enough of the......