One of London’s most beloved LGBTQ+ venues, the Black Cap in Camden, to reopen 22 March

One of London’s most beloved LGBTQ+ venues, the Black Cap in Camden Town, will finally reopen its doors to the public on 22 March 2026, marking the long‑awaited return of a cultural landmark that has been closed since 2015.

The pub, renowned for its drag and cabaret heritage dating back to the 1960s, has been at the centre of an 11‑year community campaign involving weekly vigils, planning battles and determined activism to save the building from redevelopment. Supporters successfully fought off repeated attempts to convert the upper floors into flats, secured its listing as an asset of community value and maintained pressure on successive owners to restore it to its original purpose.

Following a £2 million renovation, the revived Black Cap will feature a ground‑floor and first‑floor bar, a dedicated performance space, a terrace and B&B rooms upstairs. The venue’s new operators say the refurbishment was more extensive than anticipated, with delays caused by the need to restore older parts of the building and meet modern compliance requirements. 

The reopening marks a major victory for campaigners including the Black Cap Community Benefit Society and activist Alex Green, who described the return as a triumph of community solidarity and a celebration of the pub’s unique role in London’s queer history. Green emphasised that the restoration honours the venue’s legacy as a safe, vital space for LGBTQ+ people and as a home for generations of performers, including legends such as Lily Savage. 

Ahead of the launch, a final symbolic vigil will take place on 14 March, marking the end of more than a decade of protest outside the boarded‑up pub.

The return of the Black Cap arrives at a time when LGBTQ+ nightlife continues to face pressure from closures across the capital.