I can’t tell you how many firsts happened within the walls of GAY Bar on Old Compton Street. Countless LGBTQ+ people, young and old, have flocked from far and wide over the years, perhaps for their first gay bar experience, or their first alcoholic beverage, or even their first taste of a different, brighter, queerer life.
Sadly, years of late nights, gigs, and one-night flings came to an end when GAY Bar closed for the final time in early October. Following the announcement by venue owner Jeremy Joseph, it felt like the end of an era for many.
The closure of GAY Bar, following the closure of GAY Late in 2023, brings to light an issue that has been brewing for quite some time: London’s LGBTQ+ venues are disappearing. In 2017, Urban Research Institute at University College London According to a report, the number of LGBTQ+ venues in London fell by 58% between 2006 and 2017, from 125 to 53. A few years later, in early 2024, the number of LGBTQ+ venues had declined by 61% since 2006. mayor of london.
And things are not so bright for non-LGBTQ+ spaces. some predictions London’s nightlife venues could be cut by 50% by 2030. The economic realities of running a hospitality business do not distinguish national insurance premium increases or minimum wage increases among the increasing costs facing pubs, clubs and bars.
But business costs are just one issue facing LGBTQ+ venues. “People don’t have the disposable income to go out and spend that much,” laments John Sizzle, managing director of The Divine, former managing director of The Glory, and a stalwart of the capital’s LGBTQ+ nightlife scene.
“Young people spend all their money on rent,” he continues. The current state of the housing market, which is often heard among millennials, is also a frightening realization that the rising cost of living and lack of sufficient wage growth means that living in a big city is largely out of reach for almost everyone. some research It even suggests that people are paying more than 60% of their take-home pay, or more than twice the recommended amount, on rent.
Considering the affordability of living expenses these days, it’s no surprise that people are spending less money on going out. And between stagnant wages and rising costs of doing business, hospitality faces a “perfect storm,” Sizzle argues.
David Ian, director of the Miri Group, which runs the queer comedy club and bar Betty & Joan’s, echoes this sentiment. In addition to rising costs, his business is dealing with “constant competition with a lot of other things that aren’t necessarily LGBT-specific, but appeal to the same market.”
One of the ways people are trying to alleviate this challenge is by offering more experiences. The problem, as Ian points out, is that if everyone does this, there will always be “an oversupply of events for people’s time.” Ian also highlights another factor, the negative effects of greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. It means that queer people no longer feel the need to go to LGBTQ+-only spaces.
Lazaro Lazarus, one of the directors of the Black Cap Community Group, which is currently preparing the iconic LGBTQ+ venue to reopen, agrees. According to the latest information, they were scheduled to open in December last year. Despite the delays, things are now moving “in the right direction”. The state of LGBTQ+ nightlife and hospitality is a concern for the group as the venue hasn’t opened yet, but it’s optimistic that customers will return.
“There’s more to a venue than just declaring it’s a gay venue,” says Alex Loveless of La Camionera. The lesbian bar, which opened in May 2024 after starting as a pop-up, is in the unique position of having a community desperate for a new space and willing to throw emotional and financial support behind it.
By the end of 2023, She Soho was thought to be the only lesbian bar in London, with two others in the rest of the UK. Within hours, tens of thousands of people had gathered Crowdfunding campaign Move in to find a suitable permanent home.
Lovelace believes La Camionella is a sign of things to come. “It’s becoming more specialized, more of a subculture, rather than just an all-encompassing gay bar.” Like many businesses, La Camionera has taken a financial hit, but considers itself lucky to have “good landlords,” “fair rents,” and a supportive customer base — “optimal conditions.” In other words, it’s weathering harsh winds for hospitality.
Still, it’s a struggle. “We don’t really make a profit,” Lovelace said. “I’m the owner, so I’ll take whatever’s left. That’s enough.”
There is a common belief that LGBTQ+ venues have to be about more than just drinking. It’s the brainchild of Isabella Ruiz, vice chair of the Friends of the Joiners Arm Group, who aims to bring back the feel of another iconic LGBTQ+ space to a new setting in Hackney in the new year. “Everything is going well.”
“We are deeply rooted in tradition [of The Joiners Arms]“But we are also now committed to serving the needs of our community,” Lewis said. Being a community group brings “multiple benefits” to its cause, Lewis explains.
This campaign has deep roots in the LGBTQ+ and Hackney communities and caters to the needs of both wherever possible. Mr Lewis hopes the space can be used for a drop-in legal clinic as well as homeless and refugee charities. Black Cap aims to do the same.
“It’s going to be an interesting time to open a new pub,” Lewis says, acknowledging that FOTJA is wary of the issues facing nightlife. But they go on to explain that opening a new space isn’t about making money. “If we were just thinking about running a successful profitable pub, we wouldn’t be opening. Now is the worst time to do that. It’s about providing a space that many people in our community don’t have access to.”
Similarly, The Divine focuses on programming that offers a variety of experiences. Shizuru said the venue hosts nine events a week, ranging from quizzes to cabaret shows. Similar to The Glory, The Divine’s owners provide an important space for alternative and emerging drag artists and performers to experiment outside of central London.
“We hope this will increase drink sales,” Sizzle said. “If we didn’t have that, we’d be essentially empty…and it’s not just our venue.”
Mr. Sizzle makes a valid point in highlighting what he calls a “healthy” club scene these days, with people willing to spend all of their disposable income on occasional, mostly mobile club nights. However, these do not always take place in queer venues, which leads to a necessary distinction between nightlife and venue.
While LGBTQ+ venues seem to have stagnated, if not diminished, LGBTQ+ nightlife persists. Loose Change, Pxssy Palace, and INFERNO are examples of queer-run, community-based club nights that have utilized a variety of spaces over the years.
There appear to be few subsidies or support programs that companies can apply for. With the exception of The Divine, which received a survival grant from Arts Council England during the coronavirus pandemic, queer venues have received little financial support.
When asked, the mayor’s office pointed out to Pink News: plan It was intended to help businesses “on the verge” of going out of business, but most business owners felt it was an intervention that came too late.
In February, the Mayor of London Independent night task force Supporting London’s nightlife. The task force, which included a variety of voices, including queer voices, was to spend six months analyzing the issues facing nightlife and recommending ways to ensure the survival of the nightlife scene.
By early December, nearly 10 months after the announcement, only two executives Pink News spoke to had heard of the task force, and only one had heard of it.
Sadly, there is a lot of cautious optimism in the task force’s thinking. I hope La Camionnaire Loveless won’t be as “obscure” as former Night Emperor Aimee Lame. He also hopes this will go some way to reducing the “Kafkaesque” nature of licensing laws. New powers given to the Mayor of London April Business owners welcome the move.
“The fact that they have set up a task force feels positive,” says Ian from QCC. “The fact that I didn’t know anything about it and I haven’t heard from them might suggest that nothing is going on…” Ian, who was invited to the Mayor’s Pride Reception at Outernet earlier this year, was disappointed by the lack of engagement with the company and instead felt “like I accidentally got caught in some kind of pink laundry.” He hopes for more in the future.
FOTJA’s Lewis echoes this sense of precarious hope, warning: “I don’t think it’s going to be a silver bullet.” Sizzle is also skeptical that the task force can bring about any meaningful change, and does not believe it is the solution to the industry’s financial problems.
A spokesperson for the Mayor told PinkNews: “London’s LGBTQI+ venues are at the heart of the capital’s nightlife and vital to London’s status as a beacon of inclusivity, inclusion and diversity around the world. The Mayor has pledged to do everything in his power to protect these important venues and is proud to have played a part in halting their significant decline in the decade leading up to his election.”
Regarding the taskforce, a spokesperson said the Mayor “looks forward to receiving his recommendations and new licensing powers from the Government to enable him to further support the capital’s nightlife as we build a better, fairer London for everyone.”
In general, the outlook for the current state of queer venues is a mix of optimism and concern. While the threat looms large, remedies remain elusive. Sizzle commented: “This won’t go away.”
But one thing is clear: queer nightlife is here to stay regardless. The opening of other LGBTQ+ venues in recent years, such as The Rising in Southwark and The Arzner in Bermondsey, as well as the work of the Black Cap community and FOTJA, demonstrate the community’s commitment to holding spaces for gay people. “You can’t eradicate culture just because there’s a recession. That always comes through,” says the defiant Shizuru.
Lewis from FOTJA picked it up. “It’s a struggle, it can be brutal, and there’s a lot we face. In some cases, the outcome may mean queer nightlife looks different, but we’re never going anywhere. Queer nightlife will always exist, because there will always be a reason to celebrate queerness. And if any group is always going to bend themselves into weird shapes to hold space, it’s us.”
Ian is similarly adamant about the resilience of the queer community, but warns that “it would really be great if we could be nurtured more” by those in power as well as those in the community. “People need to get out and use their space,” he says matter-of-factly. Sizzle agreed, noting that there’s a lot of lip service being paid to saving queer spaces, “but they’re not really participating in it. People are talking a lot of nonsense.”
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Source: PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news – www.thepinknews.com
