| More than half of London's LGBTQ pubs, clubs and music venues have closed in the last decade, research commissioned by the city's mayor shows. Shocking figures from the Greater London Authority have shown that six in 10 LGBTQ+ venues in London closed their doors between 2006 and 2022, while in just three years alone, between 2019/22, the number of London nightclubs fell by 22%. The trend has continued in the past 12 months with us losing bars like G-A-Y in Old Compton Street, The City of Quebec by Marble Arch and Hairy Bears favourite XXL in Vauxhall. | |
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While there are still around 200 bars and clubs left in the capital, there are only about 50 LGBTQ+ venues remaining. London's mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan said urgent action needed to be taken in light of the "shocking" statistics.
"I want London's LGBT+ community to feel truly valued, happy and safe in our great city and I know how important these spaces are to its well being," said Sir Sadiq Khan in a statement. "Where they have survived, LGBTQ+ spaces are extremely valuable." With anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes on the rise, the importance of safe spaces for queer people cannot be underestimated. | 
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan. Photo: Chabad Lubavitch CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons |
| Amongst those bars that have closed in the past three years are G-A-Y Late in Soho, The Glory pub in Haggerston in East London and some of the city's best known and most iconic gay bars, such as The Black Cap pub in Camden High Street, North London and the Joiners Arms, Hackney Road also in East London, which have closed down as part of plans to redevelop them. | |
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In the 60's The Black Cap became predominantly known for its gay clientele and its drag queen cabaret, so they started to promote themselves as the
"Palladium of drag". By the 70's a regular performer each Sunday lunchtime was Rex Jameson's drag persona, Mrs Shufflewick. Sunday crowds were large
and included Charles Hawtrey, Barry Humphries and Barry Cryer. In more recent times The Black Cap had become home to The Meth Lab, a night of queer
cabaret featuring Meth and the Familyyy Fierce. The Meth Lab hosted a number of stars from RuPaul's Drag Race.
The Joiners Arms opened in 1997 and was described as "Britain's trendiest gay dive" with gay public figures including Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane and Patrick Wolf known to have frequented the venue, which had been open to a range of gay subcultures such as the bear scene and drag queens. | 
Now closed: The Black Cap Photo: R Sones CC BY-SA 2.0 Wikimedia Commons |
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In the last decade many of London's LGBT pubs and nightclubs became thriving businesses but rent hikes from landlords and construction for London housing
and public transport projects have more recently forced many to close their doors. Petitions and protests at the closure of venues have drawn support
from hundreds of patrons, but they have limited power to resist large property owners and off-shore investors leading redevelopment projects, the Mayor's
report says.
One of the most recent bars to close G-A-Y Late, succumbed to several external pressures, including building works, parking and safety concerns. In a statement issued to social media, the venue's owner, Jeremy Joseph said the decision was made with "great sadness". "I have done everything I can to try to fight on and keep G-A-Y Late going, at a great cost to my own mental health, but it is simply not possible to run it in its current location, and it's starting to take too much of a toll on me personally," he wrote. Just a few months later Jeremy Joseph then told us that he had had to make another "tough decision" and close the main G-A-Y bar in Old Compton Street after his other venue, Heaven nightclub, was temporarily closed following an incident when it was reported that a member of security staff allegedly raped a woman. | |
| Jeremy Joseph went on to say, "This isn't an easy decision [to close G-A-Y]. To me it is more than just a bar, it's also my home - I've lived above it for over 15 years." The closure of Heaven while its licence was under review had put G-A-Y Bar "at risk financially" and "Even now after Heaven's reopening, the damage financially and mentally has been irreparable," he said. | 
G-A-Y Bar in Old Compton Street Photo: Ross Burgess CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons |
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Ben Campkin, Senior Lecturer in architecture at University College London, who compiled the research on London's gay venues said LGBTQ+ spaces remain vital,
despite social media making it easier for LGBTQ+ people to communicate. "The ... evidence we have collated disputes unsubstantiated but often repeated claims
that LGBTQ+ spaces are no longer needed, or have been replaced by digital apps, which tend only to serve small sections of these communities." Ben continues,
"Where they have survived, LGBTQ+ spaces are extremely valuable... and the consequences of closures are acutely felt."
Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan added, "We will carry on working with venues to make sure they stay vibrant". He explained that he and Amy Lamé, Night Czar of London, are actively supporting "venues at risk". "Unfortunately, the combination of the pandemic, cost of energy prices, landlords raising their rents and so forth has made it difficult. Amy is working incredibly hard with my team to make sure we keep what we've got." | |
| Amy Lamé says, "We must protect our cherished queer venues from closure. I recognise the importance of these venues to a really important community and we will carry on working with venues to make sure they stay vibrant and stay safe. There are LGBTQIA+ Brits across the country who come to London because we've got these venues and these safe spaces, and they can be themselves. It's important to understand the responsibility we've got to the rest of the country as well." | 
A night out with the boys Photo: Delegate CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons |
| How can you can support London's queer and gay bars? Well we've listed some of our favourite LGBTQ+ venues in our comprehensive OutGoing Guide to London, so you can enjoy your night out in style and find out more about Pride in London 2025. | |
