Rainbow Weekend and Pride: Who Plays
The drag artists, cabaret singers and DJs who fill the Rainbow Quarter during Blackpool's two big LGBTQ+ weekends, with a look at past line-ups.
Two weekends that matter
Blackpool has two LGBTQ+ weekends that bring almost every act in town onto a stage at once:
- The Rainbow Weekend, in early February, is a fundraiser for Pride. The quarter's bars put on a packed programme of drag, cabaret, live music and karaoke, rattle collection buckets, and give a big chunk of the takings to the festival. It is the best-value way to see a lot of Blackpool drag in one go, and a good excuse for a winter break.
- Blackpool Pride, usually the first weekend of June, has a main stage on the Tower Festival Headland, a parade along the Promenade and, since 2026, a Rainbow Quarter street party on Lord Street.
Dates for 2027 had not been announced at the time of writing. Times and prices can change, so check before you go.
The 2025 Rainbow Weekend line-up
The February 2025 edition ran from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 February. It gives a good snapshot of who works the quarter.
- Drag artists: KY Kelly (Friday late), Tonya Knees and Bailey J Mills (Saturday), Tina Tuna, Bonnie La Blue and Aunty Ginger, who did two spots (Sunday).
- Live music: Billy Walker, Emma Louise, Natalie Dee, the Kylie tribute Kylie McNogue, Vicki White, Johnny Wright and Kearra Bethany. Big-voiced cabaret singers Alison Jiear and Sami Brookes took the midnight slots on Saturday and Sunday.
- Drag hosts: Bonnie La Blue, Campy Galore and Andi Martine.
- Drag cabaret: Wolfy, billed as the King of Canal Street (Friday), Pam Sandwich (Saturday) and Miss Bella End (Sunday).
- Afternoon cabaret singers: Johnny Wright, Fran Collins and Chloe Byrnes.
McGraths
- Drag artists Lola Lasagna (Friday) and Chris D'Bray (Saturday), and Bernie B, billed as a talent-show star (Sunday), with live music from The Uphighs and Marie Fox.
- Drag Race UK's Sum Ting Wong on the Saturday, with a vigil in memory of The Vivienne. Singer Chloe Byrnes played on the Friday.
The Duke, Dickson Road
- Cabaret from Ant Oliver, Helen O'Neill, Andrew Geater, Liam Matthews and Kat B.
- Karaoke with DJ Keiron, live music from Natalie Dee and Victoria Spencer, and a Super Sunday Drag Show.
Buckinghams
- DJ Flick, plus live music from Billy Walker and Fran Collins followed by karaoke.
- The spring show played as usual, with donation buckets for Pride.
Other bars, hotels and clubs in and around the quarter held collections across the weekend.
Pride main stage
The Pride main stage mixes pop headliners with Blackpool's own performers.
2026 (20th anniversary). Friday's 90s-vs-00s dance night featured Ultrabeat, K-Klass, Romina Johnson and Blu James. Saturday's Pride Party was headlined by Heather Small, with 911, The Cheeky Girls and Blackpool's own Betty Legs Diamond, plus local performers and tribute acts.
2024. The festival bill included Natasha Hamilton and The Cheeky Girls at the top, with a long list of drag, cabaret and music acts underneath. Among them were Drag Race UK's Sum Ting Wong, Nicky Rush, Alexis Saint Pete, Kendal Cursed, D3VA, Mama G and Sassitude, along with quarter regulars such as the singers Johnny Wright, Andrew Geater, Kearra Bethany, Vicki White and Fran Collins, and the Herhouse DJ collective.
Tips for the big weekends
- Plan a route. Most venues are within five minutes' walk of each other, and the Rainbow Weekend timetable is staggered so you can move between bars.
- Bring cash for buckets and for tipping the queens. Money raised at the Rainbow Weekend helps keep Pride on the seafront.
- Book Funny Girls early for both weekends, as they are among its busiest of the year.
- Book accommodation early for Pride weekend. The quarter's guest houses fill fast.