January 18, 2022
Flesh Queer Festival and 4 More Can't-Miss UK LGBTQ Events in 2022
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 3 MIN.
The Union Jack is about to get some rainbow flair! The Flesh Queer Festival is slated to take place May 28 and 29 at a location not far from London. It will be a first in Britain, featuring camping as well as electronic music, NME reports.
The festival is set to take place "at Springfield Farm in St Albans and welcomes LGBTQ+ individuals, their friends and allies," the article notes.
"Rebekah, Object Blue, Chippy Nonstop, Jaguar, SPFDJ, Juliana Huxtable, LSDXOXO and VTSS are among some of the acts confirmed for the festival (see full line-up in the Instagram post below)."
"The two-day May event will feature three stages showcasing House and Techno DJs alongside emerging artists and community collectives," the
The manifesto adds: "With another first, 100% of the lineup will be made up of underrepresented artists. 90% of the lineup will be women, trans and non-binary artists including a spectrum of ethnicities. As such, Flesh will address the long-term issue of male dominated festival programming. Flesh will break the cycle by allowing emerging and underrepresented talent to break through on a major platform."
Tickets for the two-day event come in two tiers: One includes camping for both days for £114 (about $150), while the ticket for the concerts – without camping – costs £89 (about $120).
The Flesh Queer Festival is one of several LGTBQ+-themed events travelers to the UK might put on their itinerary.
Theater lovers keen to take in a show in London's West End can now purchase tickets to see "Rocket Man" star Taron Edgerton on stage with "Bridgerton" star Jonathan Bailey, as well as Jade Anouka and Phil Daniels, in the Ambassadors Theatre production of Mike Bartlett's "Cock," in which a gay couple's relationship becomes complicated when John (Bailey) begins an affair with a woman (Anouka). The play is set to run from March 5 - June 4.
Transgender charity Sparkle has announced the dates for its 2022 Sparkle Weekend, an annual, "free-to-attend celebration of gender diversity, held in Sackville Gardens at the heart of Manchester's Gay Village."
This summer's Sparkle Weekend is scheduled to run July 8th - 10th.
Naturally, England has pride – and Pride. Birmingham Pride, with its Main Stage, Cabaret Stage, Dance Arena, and more, has, over the past quarter-century, "become one of the most important LGBTQ+ festivals in the UK attracting in excess of 40,000 people over the course of the weekend to the festival site in the heart of the LGBTQ+ village and over 75,000 participating in or watching our annual pride parade through the streets of Birmingham," the event's website notes.
Tickets for 2022's festivities – slated to begin the evening of Friday, Sept. 23, and run through Sunday, Sept. 25 – are already on sale, with super-saver early bird prices in effect, including a ticket for the whole weekend price at £116.05 (about $157). (Those 56 and over – and 12 and under – receive free admission.)
Pride in London also promises to be a royally spectacular affair, as the festival celebrates its 50th anniversary. Dates have yet to be announced.
These events are just a smattering of what the UK will have to offer the LGBTQ+ traveler in 2022, so make sure your passport is in order and your rainbow gear is sorted!
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
