Rally held to save popular East London LGBTQ+ venue from closure: ‘An absolute tragedy’

More than 100 people rallied in a bid to save a popular East London LGBTQ+ venue Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, which provides paid arts opportunities for many, from closure.

At midday on Monday (29 July), the rally, organised by Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union, kicked off, with drag artists, cabaret performers and magicians among the crowd. 

Together they chanted, “Save our venues, save our spaces”, while holding banners that read: We’re queer to stay.

Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (BGWMC) is at risk of closure because the owners want to sell it at the earliest opportunity. Its programming team has already been threatened with eviction. 

Equity is in talks with the club to prevent the closure, with more than 11,500 people having signed a petition to keep the club open. The union is hoping to explore fundraising opportunities for the community to buy shared ownership in the venue. 

Paul W Fleming, Equity’s general secretary, told the rally that the closure of the club would put union “members under attack”, slashing their opportunity to work. 

“Our members are choosing not a narrative of resilience, but a narrative of resistance,” he added. 

Calling the planned closure “an absolute tragedy”, London Assembly member Elly Baker said: “For the LGBT+ community, as has been said, too many venues have been lost and we’re watching London becoming homogenised and sanitised, and made expensive and exclusive for performers, and just for Londoners, and that’s not what London should be.” 

In a statement, Equity said: “We hope that the programming team can resist this eviction and give everyone more time to negotiate a good outcome. 

“For Equity, it is crucial that any outcome will ensure that LGBTQ+ performance can resume at the club at the earliest opportunity. BGWMC is a vital source of work for Equity members and many people rely on this space to earn a living.”