IWM will open a major video games exhibition, mark significant Cold War anniversaries and celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee as part of our 2022 programme.
The year will also see the launch of IWM Live, an all day event featuring talks, tours, workshops, demonstrations, and activities at IWM Duxford in June. The airfield will also host a thrilling range of Air Shows and Flying Days between April and October.
Read on to discover more about what to expect at IWM in 2022. Sign-up for our eNews to stay in touch and receive updates from the museum.
Falklands 40
IWM London and IWM North, April – June 2022
Spring 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the Falklands Conflict, when Britain and Argentina fought over the sovereignty of British dependent territories in the South Atlantic.
It will be marked by highlighting and enhancing stories and displays, both online and at IWM London and IWM North.
Visitors will be able to explore the experiences of those who witnessed or participated in the fighting, and those who dealt with the conflict’s aftermath.
Flying Programme
IWM Duxford, April – October 2022
IWM Duxford’s 2022 Flying Programme will be back and bigger than ever next year with a series of uniquely themed Flying Days on various dates throughout April to October and our two annual Air Shows, the Duxford Summer Air Show and Battle of Britain Air Show.
Taking place on 18 - 19 June and 10 - 11 September respectively, these weekend events will feature an array of entertaining ground content and, of course, our signature aerial displays.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
IWM London, IWM North and IWM Duxford, Summer 2022
During her 70 year reign, and indeed throughout her lifetime, Her Majesty The Queen has lived through times of conflict and has had an enduring relationship with the armed forces.
This relationship can be traced and explored through IWM’s collections in enlightening and powerful ways, bringing human stories to the foreground and revealing a strong shared history.
At IWM London, the remarkable 70-year reign of Her Majesty The Queen – the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee – will be celebrated in a new exhibition of iconic and poignant photographs.
Two cherry trees have been planted at IWM Duxford as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy, a nation-wide tree planting initiative created to mark the Platinum Jubilee. Visitors will also be able to follow a trail telling the story of British and Commonwealth aviation during The Queen’s 70-year reign and see a large-scale projection of recently digitised film from IWM’s archive.
The Main Exhibition Space at IWM North will host projections of film and photography that depict The Queen’s long history of involvement with the military and demonstrate the various roles she has played in war and peacetime.
This exhibition will showcase how the Queen’s life has been touched by war and conflict, from meeting troops before D-Day, to serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945 and standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on VE Day.
Visitors will also be able to explore further at IWM London, IWM Duxford and IWM North, discovering collections and displays with a special connection to the Queen’s experience of war.
War Games
Real Conflicts | Virtual Worlds | Extreme Entertainment
IWM London, September 2022
Video games dominate the entertainment industry today, a sector which has storytelling at its heart.
Games often draw their inspiration from real conflicts and events, but can the truth and reality of war be experienced in the virtual world of a video game?
Opening at IWM London in September 2022, War Games: Real Conflicts | Virtual Worlds | Extreme Entertainment will allow visitors to explore the relationship between video games and conflict, the virtual and the real.
The exhibition will challenge perceptions of how video games interpret stories about war and conflict through immersive installations and unique perspectives from key voices in the industry. Showcasing a broad range of video games, from Second World War shooters to strategic survival games set against the backdrop of conflicts, War Games will be presented alongside historic objects from IWM’s collection.
Alongside a museum wide programme of events and gaming, the exhibition will consider how video games can shape our understanding of conflict and reflect the truths of war.
War Games: Real Conflicts | Virtual Worlds | Extreme Entertainment is supported by lead sponsor Rebellion.
Nuclear Legacies
Cuban Missile Crisis 60 and Operation Hurricane 70, October 2022
2022 marks two crucial anniversaries in British and global Cold War history: the 70th anniversary of Operation Hurricane, when Britain detonated its first nuclear weapon, and the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union that threatened to draw the world into nuclear war.
These important events will be marked and examined at IWM Duxford, still an active RAF airfield during the early years of the Cold War and now home to a wide range of aircraft from this defining period in our history.
Also in 2022
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Conflict of Interest Series 2
Spring 2022
Following the success of the IWM Institute’s podcast series – Conflict of Interest – 2022 will see the launch of series two. While series one explored the world’s most complicated contemporary conflicts, these new episodes of Conflict of Interest will look further back to the Cold War and beyond.
Episodes will pair IWM curators and witnesses to war with celebrity guests to address why the USA fought in Vietnam; how the world was brought to the brink of nuclear war by the Cuban Missile Crisis; Communism in North Korea; and the Japanese experience of the Second World War.
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IWM Live
IWM Duxford, June 2022
This year sees the launch of IWM Live, a new live history event, taking place at IWM Duxford.
IWM Live will present a unique opportunity to listen to and meet a fascinating selection of authors and experts, as well as learn from IWM’s curators and conservators; hear amazing stories from veterans; and see rarely seen objects up close and in person.
More information about the programme of talks, tours, workshops, demonstrations, and activities with experts from IWM and the wider field will be announced in 2022.
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Redeveloping displays at Churchill War Rooms
August 2022
August will see the redesign of five displays at Churchill War Rooms, using engaging storytelling techniques to bring the secrets of the site and its people to life.
New displays in the historic rooms will bring to life some of the site’s most significant events and the hidden experiences of those that worked there.
IWM has also commissioned a new animation for the Churchill Museum, which will introduce both the public and private life of Winston Churchill to visitors, giving a broad introduction to the museum’s fascinating exhibits.
