Coming up: Halloween and beyond on the scene
Here's what is in the diary for the rest of October and into the festive season. - Saturday 17 October, 12pm to 6pm: GROWL at Acqua Sauna. An afternoon for bears, cubs,…
News from gay Blackpool
The latest from the Rainbow Quarter, newest first. Each item is dated by the day the news or event happened.
A week at The Flying Handbag
The Flying Handbag at 44 Queen Street is the biggest name on the strip: a purpose-built LGBTQ+ bar with a sun terrace, food all day and a late licence. Here is how a…
Drag every day: the weekly line-up at Garlands
Garlands on Talbot Road is free to get in and has drag on every single day of the week. This is the current resident line-up: | Day | Who's on | |---|---| | Monday |…
This week at Peek-a-Booze: bingo, karaoke and Sheela Vim
Peek-a-Booze on Dickson Road keeps it cheap and cheerful, with something on every night. Here is what's on from Thursday 8 to Wednesday 14 October: - Thursday 8: Karaoke…
Blackpool's Rainbow Quarter, explained
Blackpool has been a gay holiday favourite for decades, and since 2024 its village has had official backing as the Rainbow Quarter. Where it is The heart of the scene is…
Where to get a Sunday roast in the Rainbow Quarter
Sunday roasts are now a Rainbow Quarter tradition, with a run of venues serving them every week, listed from 22 September through to the end of 2027. Places on the list…
Coven Queens brings Halloween to Funny Girls
Funny Girls went spooky on Wednesday 16 September with Coven Queens, its Halloween show, running Wednesday to Sunday until Sunday 1 November. Expect classic movie…
Last call for Hot Girl Summer at Funny Girls
Sunday 6 September was the last night of Hot Girl Summer, the first season at Funny Girls under its new owners. Over the summer it brought a new runway stage, a VIP area…
Manspace peer support group returns in September
Lancashire LGBT's Manspace group is coming back after the summer. It is a peer support group for gay, bi and queer men and masculine-identifying non-binary people, and…
Air Show weekend: making a night of it in the Rainbow Quarter
The Blackpool Air Show filled the skies above the seafront on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 August, and with it came one of the busiest weekends of the summer. If you came for…
Drag Race UK's Zahirah Zapanta guests at the new Kaos
Two weeks after reopening, Kaos brought in its first big name. RuPaul's Drag Race UK star Zahirah Zapanta headlined a club night on Saturday 25 July. It was a cracking…
Kaos is back: Queen Street bar reopens after a 12-week refit
Kaos on Queen Street reopened to the public on Saturday 11 July after a 12-week transformation under a new owner. The bar closed in April for the work, which went right…
History Club looks back on 20 years of Blackpool Pride
On Wednesday 8 July, the We're Still Here! History Club gathered upstairs at Aunty Social on Topping Street for an evening on two decades of Blackpool Pride. Community…
Happy 32nd birthday, Funny Girls
Funny Girls marked 32 years in July, its first birthday under new ownership. The team marked the day by thanking the audiences who have brought birthdays, anniversaries,…
Walking from Preston to Blackpool for Lancashire LGBT
As Pride Month wrapped up, county charity Lancashire LGBT thanked everyone who raised money for it during June. One effort stood out for us: a sponsored walk all the way…
What's new at Funny Girls under its new owners
Two weeks into the new era at Funny Girls, and the changes are easy to spot. If you haven't been since the sale, here's what to expect. The building - the cabaret bar…
Lee & Chris's Belvedere goes up for sale
One of the Rainbow Quarter's best-loved guesthouses is on the market. The owners of Lee & Chris's Belvedere on Dickson Road announced the sale in June, after five years…
Pride Sunday: a free community day and a wedding on stage
The final day of Blackpool Pride's 20th anniversary weekend, Sunday 7 June, was free for everyone, from noon to 6pm. The big twist for the anniversary was a wedding.…
Grey skies, big hearts: Pride's 20th parade
The forecast was worrying and the sky stayed grey, but it didn't matter. Blackpool Pride's 20th anniversary parade set off from 11am on Saturday 6 June, heading from…
The Rainbow Quarter throws its own Pride street party
While the main stage was on the Headland, the Rainbow Quarter put on its own party. Lord Street became a free street party on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, running from…
Pride kicks off with a 90s vs 00s night on the Headland
Blackpool Pride's 20th anniversary weekend opened on Friday 5 June with a nostalgia-heavy dance night on the Tower Festival Headland, from 6pm to 10pm. Ultrabeat and…
Just Be Me: a new musical for Pride's 20th
Pride weekend started a day early this year with the premiere of Just Be Me – A New Musical in Concert at the Central Pier Showbar on Thursday 4 June. Written for…
Blackpool Pride 2026: line-up, tickets and times
Everything you need for Blackpool Pride's 20th birthday weekend, 5 to 7 June at the Tower Festival Headland. Friday 5 June, 6pm to 10pm A 90s vs 00s dance night…
End of an era: Basil Newby sells Funny Girls
The biggest scene news of the year: Funny Girls has a new owner. Founder Basil Newby has retired and sold the Dickson Road drag cabaret to Kane Oliver, who comes from a…
Hot Girl Summer opens at Funny Girls
The first show under Funny Girls' new owners opened on Thursday 28 May: Hot Girl Summer, running until 6 September. It kicks off with a Gloria Estefan medley, then the…
Both Blackpool MPs pledge support for the trans community
A week before Pride, Blackpool's two MPs put out a joint statement backing the town's trans community. Chris Webb (Blackpool South) and Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North…
Mr Blackpool comes home to the Grand Theatre
Harry Clayton-Wright's Mr Blackpool finished its spring tour where it belongs: a homecoming gala at the Blackpool Grand Theatre, with the run listed from 20 May. Think…
Blackpool Pride confirms its 20th anniversary line-up
Blackpool Pride is twenty this year, and the festival is going big to mark it. The full plans landed in mid-May: three days on the Tower Festival Headland from Friday 5…