“You can either be a sad sack in the corner and not join in, or you can get involved, because [trans people are] not going anywhere,” Ilã Kamalagharan, co-artist and co-founder of Trans Voices, defiantly tells Gay Times of Trans Mission. Taking place 11 March at OVO Arena Wembley, this five-hour extravaganza of music and trans solidarity responds to the increasingly hostile political climate for trans people, raising funds for the vital charities Good Law Project and Not a Phase.

Alongside Trans Voices, including Ilã’s co-founder Coda Nicolaeff, the event features Adam Lambert, Beth Ditto, Bimini, Christine and the Queens, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sugababes, Wolf Alice, Olly Alexander, and more. The night also packs serious star power, with appearances from Ian McKellen, Jack Rooke, Juno Birch, Juno Dawson, Layton Williams, Mawaan Rizwan, Munroe Bergdorf, Nicola Coughlan, Russell Tovey, Shon Faye, Tia Kofi, Tiara Skye, Zack Polanski and others.

Olly Alexander, who teamed up with Ilã, Coda, and Mighty Hoopla to create Trans Mission, says the event was born out of a need to mobilise the queer community and its allies. “It’s about showing that cis people care about what’s happening to trans people,” he says. Yet beneath its urgency lies joy. “Partying is such a core part of queer culture,” explains Coda. “Those spaces have historically been where we’ve been allowed to be ourselves and exist freely.”

We sat down with Olly, Ilã, and Coda to talk Trans Mission — its origins, what fans can expect from the pop-packed spectacle, and whether this one-night wonder is destined to become a mainstay of trans culture.