The United Kingdom has a number of gay villages. Bigger cities and metropolitan areas are most popular as they are deemed to be more tolerant and tend to have "a history of progressive local government policy towards supporting and financing LGBTQ-friendly initiatives." [1] There is also a noted circular pattern of migration, whereby once areas have established a reputation as somewhere LGBT people live, more LGBT people are drawn there. [1] [2] LGBT-inclusive areas of UK towns and cities tend to be defined by "a distinct geographic focal point, a unique culture, a cluster of commercial spaces" and sometimes a concentration of residences. [2] It is thought that LGBT-inclusive areas help towns and cities in the UK to prosper economically, [3] but some believe the building of such areas creates an isolating effect on some LGBT people who want to blend in. [4]
Birmingham is home to 60,000 gay people. [5] The Birmingham Gay Village, which became prominent in the 1990s, [6] is located around Hurst Street in Southside and features clubs, bars and shops.
Birmingham Pride is celebrated each year around the late May bank holiday weekend; its entertainment and festivities are centred around the Gay Village. [7] Organisers estimated that Pride brings around £15 million to the city's economy. [8] In 2014, it attracted over 50,000 people. [9]
The city also has its own LGBT centre, opened in 2013, for support with health and well-being. [10] Midlands Zone, the LGBT magazine for the region, was published every month (1997-2020.)
Brighton has a significant LGBT population, [4] [11] [12] [13] and records LGBT history in the city since the 19th century. [14] Brighton Pride is the largest Pride event in the UK, celebrated at the start of August and attracting around 160,000 people every year. [15] [16] Many LGBT pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, cafés and shops are located around Brighton and in particular around St James's Street in Kemptown. [17] [18]
In a 2014 estimate, 11–15% of the city's population aged 16 or over is thought to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. [19] The city also had the highest percentage of same-sex households in the UK in 2004 [20] and the largest number of civil partnership registrations outside of London in 2013. [21]
Old Market is the main gay village in Bristol, with its scene centred on West Street. [22] Across the city centre, Frogmore Street in the Old City is a gay area. Queenshilling first opened here in 1992, [23] although the first post-1967 gay club to open in Bristol was the Moulin Rouge on Worrall Road, Clifton, in 1970. [24]
The city's first Pride took place in 1977 as a fundraiser. [25] Some unofficial celebrations took place in the 2000s until Bristol Pride was re-established in 2010.
Cardiff has been ranked as the 8th most accepting city in the world for the LGBT community [26] and is home to many popular gay venues such as the Golden Cross. [27] The first Pride to be held in Cardiff took place in 1985. [28] [29]
Portobello, voted as one of the best neighbourhoods to live in the UK by The Times, is a vibrant gay community, with an annual Porty Pride event by the beach and a range of locally owned LGBTQ+ restaurants, cafes and local shops.
The New Town end of Leith Walk from Picardy Place to Broughton Street is known locally as the 'Pink Triangle' and is home to a number of LGBTQ+ venues. [30]
The West End has also historically held LGBTQ connections, and has a number of LGBTQ+ friendly hotels. [31] [32]
Since the 1990s the Yorkshire market town of Hebden Bridge has been branded "the lesbian capital of the UK", [33] [1] and is reported to have the highest number of lesbians per capita anywhere in the UK. [34]
Leeds's large gay district is centred around Leeds Bridge and Lower Briggate in The Calls. [35] Leeds Pride is the most popular Pride event in Yorkshire, bringing approximately 25,000 people to the city each year. [35]
Nottingham has a big LGBT community [13] and hosts Nottingham Pride.
Leicester has a big LGBT community [36] and hosts Leicester Pride. [37]
Liverpool is home to a significant LGBT population, with an estimated 94,000 LGBT people living in the city, equivalent to the LGBT population of San Francisco. [38] Liverpool is also the first and only British city to officially recognise its gay quarter Stanley Street Quarter, installing street signs bearing the rainbow-coloured Pride flag to identify it in 2011 on Stanley Street, Cumberland Street, Temple Lane, Eberle Street and Temple Street. [39] [40]
Liverpool Pride was established in 2010 [41] and draws tens of thousands each year. [42] The city's annual Homotopia festival is run by the only lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer combined arts organisation in northern England. [43] [44]
London's LGBT community has historically been centred around Soho since the 18th century, and Old Compton Street in particular, where bars, clubs, restaurants, cafés, shops and theatres now line the streets. [45] Vauxhall, known colloquially as Voho, is also popular, with bars, nightclubs and a sauna as well as the historic Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Above The Stag Theatre, the UK's only LGBT theatre. [46] Recently,[ when? ] venues in Dalston, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green have become popular with the LGBT community. [46] The Gay Liberation Front in the UK started in London in the 1970s, which spawned the first official UK Gay Pride Rally in the city in 1972. [47]
London's Pride festival is now celebrated across the centre of city at the end of June, with particular focus on the main stage at Trafalgar Square and venues in Soho and Vauxhall. Pride is an annual event that closes London's Oxford Street and draws the largest numbers of spectators in the country each year. [48] In 2014, more than 750,000 people attended London Pride. [49] This number reportedly grew to an estimated 1.5 million in 2019, making it the biggest Pride yet. [50] London is also home to UK Black Pride.
In an Office for National Statistics survey in 2010, London was found to be home to the highest percentage of British people who identify as either gay, lesbian or bisexual than anywhere else in the UK at 2.5%. [51]
Canal Street has been the centre of Manchester's Gay Village since the 1960s. [52] Manchester Pride, held every year in the village at the end of August, started from humble beginnings in the 1980s to achieving tens of thousands of spectators in the ensuing years. [53] Manchester's Gay Village has been named one of the "most successful gay villages in Europe" [54] and the "gay capital of the north," [4] a reputation enhanced by LGBT TV shows Bob & Rose and Queer as Folk , both written by Russell T Davies, which were set there. [55] Cucumber / Banana , also by Davies, was also set there.
The city of Manchester is estimated to be home to between 24,950 and 34,930 lesbian, gay and bisexual people. [56]
Sheffield is reportedly home to between 27,635 and 38,689 lesbian, gay and bisexual people and 3,300 trans people. [57]
In the 1990s, Sheffield's gay scene was concentrated in Attercliffe. By the 2010s, it had moved to the city centre. [58] In 2018, Sheffield had its first "gay quarter" established. Located on the corner of The Moor and Hereford Street in the city centre, it takes in the long-established Dempsey's bar and club and the newly opened Queer Junction. The 2018 LGBTQ+ Pride was its 10th anniversary.
A gay village, also known as a gayborhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establishments, such as gay bars and pubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, restaurants, boutiques, and bookstores.
Canal Street is a street in Manchester city centre in North West England and the centre of Manchester's gay village. The pedestrianised street, which runs along the west side of the Rochdale Canal, is lined with gay bars and restaurants. At night time, and in daytime in the warmer months, the street is filled with visitors, often including LGBT tourists from all over the world. The northern end of the street meets Minshull Street and the southern meets Princess Street; part of the street looks across the Rochdale Canal into Sackville Gardens.
LGBT History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. LGBT History Month provides role models, builds community, and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. As of 2022, LGBT History Month is a month-long celebration that is specific to Australia, Canada, Cuba, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Reading Pride is an annual LGBTQ+ event held in Reading, Berkshire, England, that serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities of Reading and the Thames Valley.
Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual LGBT pride event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, organised by Brighton Pride, a community interest company (CIC) which promotes equality and diversity, and advances education to eliminate discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ) community.
Akt is a voluntary organisation based in England, created in 1989 to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) young people who are homeless or living in a hostile environment. It started in Greater Manchester in 1989 and opened in London in 1996, and expanded to Newcastle in 2013, Newcastle upon Tyne and Bristol.
The LGBT community of Brighton and Hove is one of the largest in the United Kingdom. Brighton, a seaside resort on the south coast of England, has been described in some media as a "gay capital" of the UK, with records pertaining to LGBT history dating back to the early 19th century.
LGBT+ Labour is the socialist society officially representing the LGBTQ wing of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the organisation is to campaign within the Labour Party, and the wider Labour movement to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) people, and to encourage members of the LGBT community to support the Labour Party.
Gaydio is a radio station for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) community in the United Kingdom, and is broadcast on 88.4 FM in Greater Manchester, 97.8 FM in Brighton, on DAB digital radio in Greater London, parts of the Home Counties, Manchester, Stockport, Brighton, Birmingham, Glasgow, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Bristol, Newcastle upon Tyne and Portsmouth, and online through its website, mobile apps, Smart Speakers and the UK Radio Player. Since October 2018 a separate company, Gaydio Brighton, also operates a service in Brighton on 97.8FM and DAB Radio. The majority of Gaydio is networked with several content splits and bespoke local programming in Brighton & Manchester.
Pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements. Pride has lent its name to LGBTQ-themed organizations, institutes, foundations, book titles, periodicals, a cable TV channel, and the Pride Library.
Manchester Pride is a charity that campaigns for LGBTQ+ equality across the United Kingdom, predominantly in Greater Manchester. The Charity offers dialogue, training, research and policy analysis, advocacy and outreach activities focusing on LGBTQ+ rights.
The Pride Quarter, also known as the Stanley Street Quarter, Liverpool Gay Quarter or Village, is an area within Liverpool City Centre, England. It serves as the main focal point for Liverpool's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The quarter is made up of mixed use developments including residential blocks, hotels, bars, nightclubs and various other businesses, many of which cater for the LGBT community. Aspects of the annual Liverpool Pride are also held in and around Stanley Street.
Pride House is a dedicated temporary location which plays host to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) athletes, volunteers and visitors attending the Olympics, Paralympics or other international sporting event in the host city. The first was organized for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Pride in Liverpool, is an annual festival of LGBT culture which takes place across various locations in Liverpool City Centre including the gay quarter. Audience numbers reach up to 75,000 people, making it one of the largest free Gay Pride festivals in Europe.
The LGBT community in Liverpool, England is one of the largest in the United Kingdom and has a recorded history since the 18th century. Many historic LGBT firsts and pioneering moments in the LGBT rights movement either took place in Liverpool or were achieved by citizens of the city.
New York City has been described as the gay capital of the world and the central node of the LGBTQ+ sociopolitical ecosystem, and is home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ+ populations. Brian Silverman, the author of Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day, wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most powerful LGBT communities", and "Gay and lesbian culture is as much a part of New York's basic identity as yellow cabs, high-rise buildings, and Broadway theatre". LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". LGBTQ advocate and entertainer Madonna stated metaphorically, "Anyways, not only is New York City the best place in the world because of the queer people here. Let me tell you something, if you can make it here, then you must be queer."
LGBT Foundation is a national charity based in Manchester with a wide portfolio of services. With a history dating back to 1975, it campaigns for a fair and equal society where all lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ) people are able to reach their full potential. They support over 40,000 people directly every year, and a further 600,000 online. They provide direct services and resources to more LGBT people than any other charity of its kind in the UK.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community in Manchester.
The Rainbow Plaque programme is a UK scheme to create commemorative plaques to highlight significant people, places and moments in LGBTQIA+ history. Emulating established UK blue plaque programmes run by English Heritage, local authorities and other bodies, the first permanent rainbow plaque was unveiled in York in July 2018. Some UK LGBT locations are denoted by pink plaques, an idea that predated rainbow plaques.