In an era where so much of queer connection unfolds online, physical spaces still carry a kind of weight that can’t be replicated. For the LGBTQIA+ community, they’ve never just been backdrops – they’ve always been vital.
As our latest report highlights, independent LGBTQIA+ venues are facing mounting challenges. From rising operational costs to safety concerns and funding inequity, these spaces – many of them community-led – now navigate a landscape that often renders them both crucial and vulnerable. Yet, amidst the closures and cautions, there remain a number of venues across the UK not only weathering the storm, but reimagining what queer space can be.
Each of the seven featured below were born from an understanding of what it means to build somewhere to belong.
The Bookish Type, Leeds
A considered and quiet space nestled above a coffee shop in central Leeds, The Bookish Type was created with the belief that LGBTQIA+ people deserve to see their stories told and celebrated. The shop’s curation is both intentional and expansive, centring trans voices, Black queer authors, and independent publishers alongside contemporary fiction and political writing. For many, it offers the first moment of being truly reflected.
Use the code THEBOOKISHTYPEPRIDE2025 to get a £10 Uber discount on your journey to the venue.
Kafe Kweer, Edinburgh
Kafe Kweer is a sober, queer-led venue that reclaims community space with an emphasis on care and accessibility. Events range from craft nights to activist meet-ups, and while the décor may be modest, the atmosphere is unmistakably intentional. There is something profound about a space that allows people to simply exist without performance or pressure.
Use the code KAFEKWEERPRIDE2025 to get a £10 Uber discount on your journey to the venue.
Queer Britain, London
Queer Britain stands as the UK’s first national LGBTQIA+ museum—a milestone as overdue as it is necessary. Inside, the exhibitions speak not just to historical milestones but to the everyday textures of queer life: protest badges, handwritten letters, photographs and lived experience woven together with curatorial care. In its refusal to sanitise or simplify, Queer Britain creates a cultural offering that is both educational and deeply moving.
Use the code LONDONQUEERPRIDE2025 to get a £10 Uber discount on your journey to the venue.
Revenge, Brighton
A long-standing cornerstone of Brighton’s queer nightlife, Revenge has spent decades serving not just as a dancefloor but as a community institution. While many clubs have faltered, become homogenised, or quietly disappeared, Revenge has remained rooted. Its longevity is not simply down to heritage, but to its continued relevance: adapting programming, investing in inclusivity and retaining a connection to the people who have always needed it most.
Use the code REVENGEBRIGHTONPRIDE2025 to get a £10 Uber discount on your journey to the venue.
Queer Lit, Manchester
Manchester has always held a certain cultural weight in the UK’s queer history, and Queer Lit contributes to that legacy with a grounded sense of purpose. Located close to the city’s Gay Village, the shop offers more than shelves of literature; it is a meeting place, a resource hub and a platform for emerging writers. Alongside its bookselling function, the space regularly hosts community events and mental health initiatives.
Use the code QUEERLITPRIDE to get a £10 Uber discount on your journey to the venue.
Camp, Margate
There is something quietly powerful about what Camp has created on the Kent coast. In a town increasingly marked by gentrification and seasonal flux, this queer-led venue has carved out permanence through community connection. The space serves as a bar, performance venue and community space, offering programming that feels simultaneously rooted in joy and steeped in political awareness. Camp doesn’t exist to mimic urban queer culture – it’s shaping a coastal community on its own terms.
Use the code CAMPMARGATEPRIDE to get a £10 Uber discount on your journey to the venue.
The Queer Emporium, Cardiff
What began as a temporary Pride pop-up has since become one of Cardiff’s most vital cultural fixtures. The Queer Emporium houses a constellation of LGBTQIA+ small businesses – from clothing and floristry to beauty and books – brought together under one roof with the aim of creating sustainable, visible and interdependent queer economies.
Use the code CARDIFFEMPORIUMPRIDE2025 to get a £10 Uber discount on your journey to the venue.
Our call to support independent spaces
At a time when 82% of LGBTQIA+ people report feeling isolated due to a lack of access to affirming spaces, and nearly half avoid venues due to safety concerns, these places are lifelines.
To help remove one of the most significant barriers – getting there – we’ve worked with Uber to offer thousands of free rides to independent LGBTQIA+ venues across the UK. It’s a small but tangible step towards making these spaces more accessible, particularly for those who might otherwise be excluded due to distance, finances or safety fears. Access should never be a privilege; it should be a given.