Gay villages in the UK have been set up across the country, known as geographical areas inhabited or frequented by a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Some places in the UK are also known for having a large LGBT population. Bigger cities and metropolitan areas are most popular as they are deemed to be more tolerant and tend to have "a history of progressive local government policy towards supporting and financing LGBT-friendly initiatives."There is also a noted circular pattern of migration, whereby once areas have established a reputation as somewhere LGBT people live, more LGBT people are drawn there. LGBT-inclusive areas of UK towns and cities tend to be defined by "a distinct geographic focal point, a unique culture, a cluster of commercial spaces" and sometimes a concentration of residences. It is thought that LGBT-inclusive areas help towns and cities in the UK to prosper economically, but some believe the building of such areas creates an isolating effect on some LGBT people who want to blend in.
Video Gay villages in the UK
Brighton
Brighton is generally agreed to be the unofficial "gay capital" of the UK, and records LGBT history in the city since the 19th century. Brighton Pride is the largest Pride event in the UK, celebrated at the start of August and attracting around 160,000 people every year. Many LGBT pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, cafés and shops are located around Brighton and in particular around St James's Street in Kemptown. Several LGBT charities, social and support groups are also based in the city, including the Allsorts Youth Project, the Brighton Gay and Lesbian Switchboard and the Brighton Gay Men's Chorus. GScene magazine, the LGBT magazine for the city, is published every month. In a 2014 estimate, 11-15% of the city's population aged 16 or over is thought to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. The city also had the highest percentage of same-sex households in the UK in 2004 and the largest number of civil partnership registrations outside of London in 2013.
Maps Gay villages in the UK
London
London's LGBT community has historically been centred around Soho since the 18th century, and Old Compton Street in particular, where bars, clubs, restaurants, cafés, shops and theatres now line the streets. Vauxhall, known colloquially as Voho, is also popular, which homes bars, nightclubs and a sauna as well as the historic Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Above The Stag Theatre, the UK's only LGBT theatre. Recently, venues in Dalston, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green have become popular with the LGBT community. The Gay Liberation Front in the UK started in London in the 1970s, which spawned the first official UK Gay Pride Rally in the city in 1972. London's Pride festival is now celebrated across the centre of city at the end of June, with particular focus on the main stage at Trafalgar Square and venues in Soho and Vauxhall. Pride is the only annual event to close London's Oxford Street and draws thousands of spectators each year. In 2014, more than 750,000 people attended London Pride. According to an Office for National Statistics survey in 2010, London is home to the highest percentage of British people who identify as either gay, lesbian or bisexual than anywhere else in the UK at 2.5%. LGBT organisations in the city include the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard and OutRage!. Stonewall, founded in 1989, is now the UK's biggest LGBT charity and is based in London. HIV/AIDS charities Terrence Higgins Trust and National AIDS Trust are also based in London as well as PinkNews, a popular LGBT online newspaper. National LGBT magazines Gay Times, Attitude and DIVA are also based in the city, as are publications QX, Boyz, So So Gay, Out in the City which are distributed exclusively in the capital.
Manchester
Canal Street has been the centre of Manchester's Gay Village since the 1960s. Manchester Pride, held every year in the Village at the end of August, started from humble beginnings in the 1980s to achieving tens of thousands of spectators in the ensuing years. Manchester's Gay Village has been named one of the "most successful gay villages in Europe" and the "gay capital of the north," a reputation enhanced by LGBT TV shows Bob & Rose and Queer as Folk, both written by Russell T Davies, which were set there. Cucumber/Banana, also by Davies, was also set there. The LGBT Foundation and Broken Rainbow charity are based in Manchester as is the Albert Kennedy Trust, which started in the city and branched out to London and Newcastle. The city of Manchester is estimated to be home to between 24,950 - 34,930 lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Birmingham
Birmingham is home to 60,000 gay people. The Birmingham Gay Village, which became prominent in the 1990s, is located around Hurst Street in Southside and features clubs, bars and shops. Birmingham Pride is celebrated each year around the late May bank holiday weekend; its entertainment and festivities are centred around the Gay Village. Organisers estimated that Pride brings around £15 million to the city's economy. In 2014, it attracted over 50,000 people. The city also has its own LGBT centre, opened in 2013, for support with health and welbeing. Other cities in the Midlands like Nottingham, Leicester and Stoke-on-Trent have big LGBT communities and all host Pride events. Nottingham Pride, Leicester Pride and Stoke-on-Trent Pride are all attended by thousands. Midlands Zone, the LGBT magazine for the region, is published every month.
Liverpool
Liverpool is home to the largest LGBT population in the UK, with an estimated 94,000 LGBT people living in the city, equivalent to the LGBT population of San Francisco. Liverpool is also the first and only British city to officially recognise its gay quarter Stanley Street Quarter, installing street signs bearing the rainbow-coloured Pride flag to identify it in 2011. Liverpool Pride was established in 2010 and draws tens of thousands each year. The city's annual Homotopia festival is run by the only lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans combined arts organisation in northern England. Liverpool was also the scene of many significant moments in the history of the gay rights movement (see LGBT culture in Liverpool).
Leeds
Leeds' large gay district is centred around Leeds Bridge and Lower Briggate in The Calls. Leeds Pride is the most popular Pride event in Yorkshire, bringing approximately 25,000 people to the city each year, with other Prides in the region taking place in Hull, Sheffield and York. Sheffield is reportedly home to between 27,635 - 38,689 lesbian, gay and bisexual people and 3,300 trans people. Yorkshire market town Hebden Bridge has been branded "the lesbian capital of the UK" and is reported to have the highest number of lesbians per capita than anywhere else in the UK.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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