Birmingham Birmingham’s Flatpack Film Festival to explore ‘Chinese Queers’ An event entitled Chinese Queers; Diasporic Dykes: Saving Face + Reality Fragment 160921 will be held as part of 2024’s Flatpack Film Festival – a mobile arts organisation which takes over Birmingham venues every May. Programmed by writer, curator and artist Yifan He, the event will feature a screen By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Birmingham Joe Lycett reveals Birmingham ‘Banksy’ to be ‘Fake News’ Joe Lycett’s live show Late Night Lycett returned Friday, April 12 on Channel 4 with the revelation that the comedian was behind the new artwork in Birmingham’s Gay Village that many thought was created by the artist Banksy. Filming live from Digbeth, Late Night Lycett returned for season two with a By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Transgender News Trans woman suffers “brutal attack” in Coventry West Midlands Police has launched an investigation after Jessica Olive, a trans woman, was assaulted on a bus in Pool Meadow, Coventry on Sunday, April 7, around 8pm. Jessica “was sitting on the top deck of the No6 bus when she was approached by two teenagers who repeatedly punched her in the face a By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Birmingham There’s no place like home! Banksy-esque artwork appears in Birmingham’s Gay Village A new artwork, that is Banksy-esque in style, has appeared in Birmingham’s gay village on the outside of Sidewalk Bar on Kent Street. The artwork, which depicts Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, can be seen reaching for a pair of ruby slippers which are slung over a nearby telephone wire overhead. The By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
Television Joe Lycett’s ‘Late Night Lycett’ receives BAFTA nomination Joe Lycett’s live comedy entertainment series, Late Night Lycett, has received a BAFTA nomination in the category of ‘comedy entertainment’. The programme will go up against The Graham Norton Show, Rob & Romesh Vs, and Would I Lie to You? at the awards show which celebrates television broadcasting i By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Pride Chase Pride postponed until 2025 due to “financial difficulties” Chase Pride has announced that their event for 2024 will be postponed until 2025. The event, which should have been held in Hednesford Park on Saturday, August 31, will be postponed until 2025 due to financial difficulties. In a post on social media, Chase Pride organisers explained: “The current st By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Birmingham Birmingham Pride 2024 hotting up with more acts announced! Birmingham Pride has announced another batch of performers for their 2024 festival. The line-up will include: Natasha Bedingfield (UnWritten, Pocketful of Sunshine), Beth McCarthy (IDK How To Talk To Girls), Dylan and the Moon (Lemons), Gok Wan, Raven Mandella, and Loreen (Tattoo, Euphoria). These p By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
Birmingham Birmingham Pride 2024 loses £15,000 council sponsorship Birmingham City Council, which declared bankruptcy in late 2023, has removed £15,000 sponsorship for this year’s Birmingham Pride festival. Lawrence Barton, the festival’s director, expressed disappointment in this decision, telling BBC Midlands Today that the authority was “not supporting our event By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
LGBT History Month Birmingham Metropolitan College to celebrate LGBT+ History Month with panel discussion Birmingham Metropolitan (BMet) College’s Inclusive Support Department have organised an LGBTQ+ panel discussion for students, staff and invited guests to mark this year’s LGBT+ History Month. The event, which will be held on February 27, will feature five speakers including: two of the department’s By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
Pride Two of the UK’s top Pride events – Birmingham Pride and Brighton & Hove Pride – have launched Low Income Ticket Schemes Two of the UK’s top Pride events – Birmingham Pride and Brighton & Hove Pride – have launched Low Income Ticket Schemes to ensure that events are as inclusive and accessible as possible. Birmingham Pride Supported by HSBC UK, Birmingham Pride festival 2024 will be held Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, M By Catherine Muxworthy • 3 min read
Birmingham Birmingham Pride 2024 line-up to include Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Tia Kofi, Louis III and Heather Small Birmingham Pride has announced the first handful of names in their 2024 festival line-up, which includes Heather Small, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Tia Kofi, and Louis III, all of whom will be performing over the Pride weekend held on the May bank holiday. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who recently shot back up the By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Birmingham MOBILISE to celebrate final Queer Power Party in Birmingham Fatt Projects‘ MOBILISE will celebrate their final Queer Power Party (for a while) in Birmingham on Saturday, March 2. This is the last MOBILISE that Fatt Projects currently have funding to host so they are inviting local LGBTQ+ people to join them for one final dance before they take a break to fig By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Birmingham New exhibition at Birmingham’s Back to Backs to honour drag performer, Twiggy Twiggy – The Drag Market, a new exhibition at Birmingham’s National Trust Back to Backs, will explore the career and creative process behind one of the best-known personas of Birmingham’s queer scene. The new exhibition, opening January 26, will feature costumes and photography from the past 40 year By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
Birmingham Midlands-based gay couple fighting for their relationship following Home Office rejection A married gay couple – Jack and George Scott-Lee who are both professional dancers, running a dance academy in Tipton – have been left ‘heartbroken’ after the Home Office rejected George’s partner visa, giving him just 14 days to leave the country. George, who is originally from Venezuela, arrived i By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
Birmingham Objections to new apartments in Birmingham’s gay village dropped following £1million offer from developers Opposition to new apartments in Birmingham’s LGBTQ+ village has been dropped by the Nightingale Club – which is opposite the proposed development – and councillors following a pledge from the developers to pay just over £1million in noise reduction measures. The controversial 12-storey block of apar By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Coventry and West Midlands Wolverhampton’s Pride House to fundraise after break-in On Friday, December 29, 2023, Wolverhampton’s Pride House was broken into and robbed. The door to the building was smashed open and a coffee machine was amongst the various item stolen. Police are currently appealing for those who saw or know anything to come forward and help with the investigation. By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
Coventry and West Midlands Gay West Midlands Councillor Bill Gavan awarded MBE in New Year’s Honours List Councillor Bill Gavan, current Mayor of Sandwell, has been awarded an MBE for Political and Public Service, and for service to the LGBTQ+ community, in the New Year’s Honours List. Councillor Gavan was a founder chairman of Birmingham Pride, forming part of a small committee in 1996 which fundraised By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Musical Theatre Musical Theatre Writers’ Group programme launched by Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre Department has announced the launch of a Musical Theatre Writers’ Group which will offer the opportunity for five writing teams to develop a new musical over the course of 12 months. Open to musical theatre artists across the UK, Musical Theatre Writer By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
Coventry and West Midlands Introducing Proud Baggies FC: a new LGBTQ+ football team in the West Midlands A new competitive LGBTQ+ football team, Proud Baggies FC – “dedicated to promoting inclusivity and diversity within the sport” – has been announced in collaboration with West Bromwich Albion, Sandwell Council, and the Albion Foundation. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in fostering a By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Birmingham Birmingham World AIDS Day tributes vandalised after candlelit vigil Following a vigil held at Birmingham’s AIDS & HIV Memorial (Ribbons) on World AIDS Day, lanterns, candles, wreathes and flowers left as tributes were vandalised. The World AIDS Day remembrance ceremony was held on December 1 at Hippodrome Square where the city’s memorial – which was unveiled exactly By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
HIV Birmingham charity Saving Lives welcomes government funding for opt-out HIV testing After it was announced by Health Secretary, Victoria Atkins, that a new £20m programme would roll out opt-out blood tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C across 46 hospitals in England, Birmingham charity Saving Lives celebrated this great step in early diagnosis and treatment. Saving Lives str By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
Film Behind the Lashes: Birmingham’s drag scene explored in new film Filmmaker and videographer Nicola Prestage has created and released a short film, Behind the Lashes which explores Birmingham’s vivid drag scene. The film – which features interviews with some of the city’s best-known drag performers including Twiggy, Dahliah Rivers, and Divine Miss M – was commissi By Catherine Muxworthy • 3 min read
News Joe Lycett launches new podcast, Turdcast Comedian Joe Lycett has announced a new upcoming podcast, and in true Lycett-fashion it has an unusual topic. Turdcast will be a new audio series that sees celebrities sharing their “their most satisfying, horrifying and frankly awful toilet stories,” explains an official outline of the podcast. “Jo By Catherine Muxworthy • 1 min read
Birmingham INTERVIEW: Birmingham’s Fatt Butcher dazzles on The Voice Appearing on reality singing show, ‘The Voice’, drag performer and creative producer Fatt Butcher wowed the panel of coaches in a fabulous blind audition. Closing out the show on Saturday November 18, Fatt Butcher gained the ultimate accolade when all four coaches – Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am, Anne-Ma By Catherine Muxworthy • 2 min read
