Can you hear that? It’s the sound of spritz’s fizzing, lawns being mown and Beyoncé echoing from Tottenham Stadium. Summer is here. And with it, Pride month. Eurovision may have passed, but gay Christmas is around the corner and its advent is just as exciting as the day of the parade on July 1. The entire month of June is dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride, and London is one of the best cities in the world to experience it.
The four weeks ahead of the parade are filled with LGBTQ+ events suitable for everyone — no matter age, gender, sexuality, or relationship with nightlife. It’s important to note that not every queer event revolves around clubbing, despite what both stereotypes and history might suggest. Whilst clubs have provided a safe haven for the queer community in the past, we no longer need only come out at nighttime. From sports teams like Goal Diggers FC, Kickout Boxing and Queens of Peckham basketball, to coffee mornings, book clubs, exhibitions and pubs, London is home to a buzzing LGBTQ+ scene and, as the below shows, Pride month is your proof.
Mighty Hoopla
Pride month’s opening weekend kicks off with London’s biggest “pure pop” festival. With 10 stages, more than 200 performers and 60,000 attendees, Mighty Hoopla returns to Brockwell Park in four days time. As ever, the line-up is jam-packed with a mix of modern LGBTQ+ stars — look out for Olly Alexander and July Jones — as well as the classic, community-appointed icons (Nadine Coyle, Kelly Rowland, Kelis, Aqua, Natasha Bedingfield, and Jake Shears to name a few).
June 3-4, Brockwell Park, SE24, mightyhoopla.com
Adonis
What happens at Adonis, stays at Adonis. Not for the faint of heart, Adonis is the all-day queer techno party guaranteed to make you forget your troubles. It’s everything you could want from a rave: dark, sweaty, loud and brimming with secrets. It’s just about the closest thing London has to Berlin. This weekend is the all-nighter, but there’s a day event on June 17 as well.
June 3, 60 Dock Road, E16, adonis.eventcube.io
We/Us exhibition’s closing weekend
If you haven’t already seen this historic exhibition, now is your final chance to do so. Photographer and artist Roman Manfredi’s latest exhibition We/Us celebrates butches and studs from working class backgrounds. The display is co-curated by celebrated artist Ingrid Pollard, is free to visit and is well worth seeking out. Don’t miss the chance to see this honest, necessary and all too rare portrayal of an underrepresented group of people.
Until June 3, 373 Kennington Road, SE11, spacestationsixtyfive.com
Lesbian singles night
The Common Press — also known as Glass House — opened in 2019 as an LGBTQ+ multidisciplinary venue just off Brick Lane. Spread across two buildings, one takes the form of a coffee-shop and bar, whilst the other is an intersectional bookshop and workspace dedicated to queer books and their writers. In need of some new reading material? This is your answer. The venue hosts a wide range of events and on Sunday will host a lesbian singles night. See you there.
June 4, 18 Bethnal Green Road, E2, glasshouse.london
Queer Reflections on Horror: Jennifer’s Body
Fancy a night at the flicks? On June 8, Dalston’s much-loved Rio Cinema is screening cult queer horror film Jennifer’s Body (featuring one iconic — albeit slightly twisted — scene between Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried). The film is followed by a Q&A with author of From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, Joe Vallese.
June 8, 107 Kingsland High Steet, E8, riocinema.org.uk
Queer Britain x Canopy King’s Cross Pride Market
The UK’s first LGBTQ+ museum, Queer Britain, first opened its doors in 2018, founded by Joseph Galliano, a former editor of Gay Times, and Ian Mehrtens. This Pride month, the museum is taking over part of King’s Cross’ Canopy Market, bringing 10 queer vendors selling everything from original artwork and jewellery to ceramics, wine, and coffee. Whilst you’re in the area, be sure to pop into the museum for a heavy dose of queer history.
June 9-11, 2 Granary Square, N1C, queerbritain.org.uk
Christine and the Queens’ Meltdown festival
The 28th edition of the UK’s longest-running artist-curated music festival, the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown, is set to be hosted this year by LGBTQ+ royalty, Christine and the Queens. From Friday 9 until Sunday June 18, the Southbank Centre will host an array of emerging queer talent, from rising stars Amie Blu, Metteson and Lynks, to established collectives such as Pxssy Palace.
June 9-18, Southbank Centre, SE1, southbankcentre.co.uk
Butch, Please! presents Hot Butch Summer
One of London’s most beloved monthly lesbian nights, Butch, Please!, at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a trans-inclusive night for butch women and is the school disco of queer dreams. Every month sees a new theme — Butch Leather, Butch Plaid and so on — usually alluding to dress code. For June, we’re asked to channel “Hot Butch Summer” — interpret that as you wish. Expect cheesy tunes, drag king performances and queer joy in abundance.
June 10, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, 372 Kennington Lane, SE11, vauxhalltavern.com
Transmissions presents: Bound
You may be well-acquainted with the sticky floors of infamous gay club Dalston Superstore, but have you ever watched a movie in the basement? On June 13, popular transgender club night Transmissions hosts a film screening of cult queer movie, Bound, starring the endlessly hot Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly.
June 13, Dalston Superstore, 117 Kingsland High Street, E8, dalstonsuperstore.com
Queer coffee morning
If you’ve exhausted Hinge, Tinder, Bumble and Grindr, are sick of the apps and craving real life interaction, A Whole Orange events could be your answer. Founded by Kim Malone Crossley, the platform provides a matchmaking service, “for queer singles ready to mingle”. Expect coffee mornings, bar meet-ups and even hands-on creative workshops, such as zine making.
June 15, Corner, 117 New Cross Road, SE14, eventbrite.co.uk
Body2Body
Described by founder Alex Loveless as a “sexy and dangerous late night party for trans mascs and hot lesbians”, Body2Body takes place on a monthly basis and jumps between sweaty basement club VFD and its usual hub, Dalston Superstore. If you’re fed up with all the techno usually on offer at LGBTQ+ events, this club night plays unpretentious 90s/00s classics, modern R&B, with a sprinkle of reggaeton and pop too.
June 24, VFD, 66 Stoke Newington Rd, N16, @body2body_body2body
Fridays at Retro Bar
One for the central London lovers. Every Friday night from 8pm, a roster of DJs takeover the best gay bar you’ve never heard of. A stone’s throw from the Strand, Retro Bar is relatively unbeknown to London’s LGBTQ+ community — it might even be our best kept secret. Expect Northern Soul, flowing pints, and the perfect balance of older and younger clientele. Like a time portal to the Seventies, this is the type of place you could attend alone and leave with five new friends.
2 George Court, WC2N, retrobarlondon.co.uk
PRIM pop-up
DJ, writer, fashion stepper, activist and multi-hyphenate K Bailey Obazee was named by ES Magazine as London’s coolest librarian. When she’s not behind the decks, Obazee works as the founder of PRIM Library and OKHA, the queer and black book club, platforms that were “born out of not seeing enough queer Black stories”. On June 25, OKHA will be discussing Linton Kwesi Johnson’s Mi Revalueshanary Fren, while for the month PRIM will be popping up on Regent Street.
