It’s now 50 years since The Beatles released their debut single, Love Me Do. The Fab Four quickly gained international fame, and many key moments in their ensuing career took place in London. To celebrate this important anniversary and the band’s close association with the capital, you can explore the sites listed below, all of which provide a great opportunity to connect with the world of Ringo, George, John and Paul.

Abbey Road
Pay a visit to the world’s most famous pedestrian crossing, located in St John’s Wood, where you and your friends can recreate the band’s iconic album cover. Afterwards, enjoy refreshments at the nearby Beatles Coffee Shop.

Beatles Tours
Beatles experts, including Beatles Coffee Shop owner Richard Porter, conduct regular tours of London locations relevant to the band. There are a wide range of tours to choose from, both pedestrian and chauffeur-driven, and you can see everything from studios and film locations to the church in which several band members were married.

Madame Tussauds
Get up close to the Beatles in their heyday thanks to the startlingly realistic wax figures of the band at Madame Tussauds. Make sure you get a photo with your favourite Beatle!

Let It Be
Enjoy an innovative theatrical experience at the Prince of Wales Theatre, where the Beatles’ history is retold through film footage and the live performance of more than 20 of their greatest hits. Let It Be is on in London until January next year – book your ticket now.

British Music Experience
Head to The O2 in Greenwich for an immersive introduction to the best of British music, which of course includes The Beatles! Using images, video and a wealth of audio clips, the British Music Experience brings The Beatles’ magic alive, and you can even see John Lennon’s glasses.

Beatles Shop
For the perfect end to your trip, head to this charming shop for a unique souvenir. The Beatles Store offers everything from mugs and t-shirts to platinum-coated albums.

Which Beatles hotspots have you visited in London and are there any we’ve missed?

London’s largest ever street music competition, The Big Busk sees young musicians and singers from across the capital performing in iconic venues for your pleasure – and your votes.

Running from 21 July to 25 August, the big buskers are cropping up all over London. Venues include The British Music Experience, BT London Live sites at Hyde Park and Victoria Park, and the Clapham Common Bandstand.

In case you don’t happen to catch all of the performers on your travels, you can see them online and vote for your favourite. The three categories are Youth, Soloists and Duos and Groups. Check out the performances so far at www.molpresents.com/gigs/vote. Prizes include studio time, musical instruments, a scholarship and (appropriately) a Transport for London busking licence.

Have you seen any of the Big Busk performers? Who do you think should win?

From the rural beginnings with speeches from Shakespeare, through the Industrial Revolution, with nods to our great institutions (the NHS, Great Ormond Street Hospital, the inventor of the World Wide Web), with comedy from Messrs Bean and Bond, Boyle’s show stretched both our imaginations, and it seemed, the walls of the stadium, as the show seemed to encompass the whole world inside the “steel O” to misquote Shakespeare! Here are my top 10 moments from the show, with tips on places to visit in London if you were similarly impressed.

1. Bradley Wiggins and that Huge Bell
What a way to start. Winner of the Tour de France and in possession of a snazzy new yellow jersey, Londoner Bradley Wiggins rang the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world, at 23-tonnes cast by the Whitechapel Bell Company (est in 1570). Fancy visiting their factory? You can.

2. Kenneth Branagh as Isambard Kingdom Brunel
I’m a huge fan of actor Kenneth Branagh, and his reading of the “Isle is full of noises” speech was fantastic. He was representing Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an engineer responsible for many of the UK’s bridges and dockyards. You can learn more about this famous chap at the Brunel Museum, and take a tour through his Thames tunnel in Rotherhithe.

3. London Symphony Orchestra (and, of course, Mr Bean)
Have you ever seen a better one-finger ostinato than that performed by Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean? It was one of several very funny moments, but behind it all was the London Symphony Orchestra, with Vangelis’ tune from Chariots of Fire swelling under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. You can see the orchestra play throughout the year in London.

4. James Bond Visiting Buckingham Palace
Another brilliant comic turn, this time from HM The Queen herself. A pouty Daniel Craig took a trip to Buckingham Palace before executing the most incredible arrival at a party ever; you too can visit the Queen’s residence during the summer months. And if you’re a big Bond fan, don’t miss the current Barbican exhibition about our most famous spy.

5. JK Rowling Reading Peter Pan
Another of my highlights was hearing Harry Potter author JK Rowling reading from Peter Pan, before a team of hundreds of children performed a piece representing the wealth of children’s literature from Great Britain. If you were inspired by the literary display, why not try our Peter Pan Day Out, or visit the Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter to see behind the scenes of JK Rowling’s incredible world.

6. Tim Berners-Lee – Inventor of the World Wide Web
An unsung hero of the modern age, and a key player in the digital revolution, Londoner Tim Berners-Lee made a guest appearance in the Ceremony, live tweeting “This is for everyone” which certainly made me want to cry! You can learn more about computer scientists like Tim at the Science Museum in London.

7. Dancer Akram Khan’s Moving Nod to Mortality
Earlier silliness was tempered with stillness as another Londoner, British Bangladeshi dancer Akram Khan performed a moving dance work called Mortality. Having held the post of associate artist at the Southbank Centre, he’s currently associate artist at Sadler’s Wells, and regularly performs in London. Keep an eye on our dance pages to see him perform again in London.

8. David Beckham’s Speedboat Along the Thames
Later, the mood changed again, as we were treated to the view of the lovely David Beckham sweeping along the Thames on a speedboat. Were you tempted? I’ve done it too, on one of the Speedboat Tours available in London, and I totally recommend it. (I can’t promise you’ll get the same fireworks as you pass under Tower Bridge, but the adrenaline rush is the same!)

9. The Olympic Cauldron by Thomas Heatherwick
There were so many well-kept secrets surrounding the ceremony, but one of the best was the cauldron and the identity of the final torchbearers. It was yet another emotional moment when the young athletes circled the stadium, and lit the 204 petals representing each country, which then rose together to create the cauldron. Want to know more about the Thomas Heatherwick Design Studios? There’s an exhibition dedicated to the team on at the V&A until 30 September.

10. The Great British Music
Finally, what about the amazing music that played throughout? So many great British musicians were given a moment in the spotlight: from Elgar to Underworld; from Charles Parry to the Arctic Monkeys; from the Sex Pistols to Dizzee Rascal. If you’re a fan of Sir Paul McCartney, make sure you visit the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing next time you’re in London; you can also pay tribute to the history of British music at the British Music Experience at The O2.

What were your favourite moments? Let us know in the comments below.

The British Music Experience is inviting you to “Face the Music” by guessing which pop stars are represented in the abstract images above.

If you guess correctly, you could win prizes including tickets to gigs at The O2, a signed Epiphone guitar, tickets to the L.E.D. Festival and a private tour of the British Music Experience for you and your friends.

To enter, go to www.britishmusicexperience.com/facethemusic

The establishment tried to close Radio Caroline, the famous 1960s pirate radio station, many times but it kept bouncing back, and now it’s popped up once again – this time at the British Music Experience.

Radio Caroline has, in fact, never gone away. Its dedicated team of DJs and managers have ensured this important part of the swinging 60s continues to broadcast to this day, playing a mix of 60s and 70s music and current bands.

A ban on offshore pirate radio, a government raid and a shipwreck all threatened to shut the station, but it survived, and now you can hear the live show and see the DJs in action at the British Music Experience.

Part of London 60s Week, the story of Radio Caroline is told in a fascinating exhibition from its humble beginnings, to its heyday of famous DJs of the 60s and 70s and the present day. There is also a collection of memorabilia and a mock cabin of the Radio Caroline ship.

The station helped launch many DJ’s and musician’s careers including Tony Blackburn, Johnnie Walker,  The Kinks, The Who and The Rolling Stones.

Peter Moore, Radio Caroline station manager told Visit London: “Caroline was the generator of a lot happening in the 60s – without us a lot of things wouldn’t have happened. Once we set it running it took off on its own, the fashion, the stars….The government started thinking ‘how do we get the lid back on this?’ so our history is of various governments trying to stop us somehow.”

Moore added. “The tinge of illegality, although it wasn’t really illegal, gave it a nice edge. And of course the fact that these disc-jockeys were like the superstars of the present day – they were big, big stars.”

The station’s ultimate goal is to broadcast aboard their ship Ross Revenge live from a London location, also allowing it to become an attraction seen by tourists and locals alike, so watch this space.

Radio Caroline at the British Music Experience in The O2 was part of London 60s Week which finished on Sunday, but its stay has been extended until 7th August – so don’t miss it!

Radio Caroline wishes to thank London 60s Week for making the exhibition possible.

Fans can peruse two floors of images, shot by “band insider” Phil Griffin including previously unpublished and private photos, as well as pics from upcoming official Bon Jovi book When We Were Beautiful. The British Music Experience will also be showing teaser screenings of the soon-to-be-released Bon Jovi documentary of the same name.

If you’ve already got Bon Jovi gig tickets, there’s an extra reason to get your ripped denim-clad self to the BME, as entry is reduced to £5 for Bon Jovi ticket holders.

Here’s Jon Bon proving he’s still a beauty rocking a fetching skull necklace.

When We Were Beautiful at the British Music Experience, 7-25 Jun 2010, entrance to museum £15, £5 for Bon Jovi ticket holders. www.britishmusicexperience.com/Bon-Jovi

There’s lots to choose between, from an adult sleepover at Churchill War Rooms to late night 10th birthday celebrations at Tate Modern. Play instruments into the night at the British Music Experience or see 19th century surgery by gas light at The Old Operating Theatre.

Tell us what you’d like to see at this year’s Museums at Night.

Catch Andy Warhol‘s amazing Michael Jackson portrait as it comes to London for just three days next week.

The iconic MJ picture will go on display at the British Music Experience from Thursday 6 August and will be its only European showing before it returns to New York to be sold.

The portrait was commissioned to celebrate record sales of the King of Pop’s Thriller album in 1984. If you’d like to own it, the opening bid starts at just $800,000!

Don’t miss your chance to see this unique piece of music history.