According to a Cliff Joannou, editor of gay listings magazine QX, it was recently estimated that more than 25% of LGBT bars and pubs in Soho have closed since the start of the recession.
Soho’s gay nightlife scene soared in the nineties, with many places still filling up each weekend. However after the recession, the property market in the capital boomed causing the venues to become much more vulnerable to closure.
Matt Horwood, Communications Officer for LGBT charity Stonewall spoke about the issues arising in the area and the importance the venues have.
“The venues really do act as a safe haven for people in the gay community, and a lot of people don’t realise how important they are to some people, especially the older generation of gay couples.”
Stonewall celebrated their 25th anniversary last month, so have been around to see the booming era of gay venues in Soho along with the closure of many.
Horwood added: “People think that everything is fine that we have gay people on the TV, everyone likes Sam Smith, my mum likes Graham Norton and that two guys could walk down the street holding hands, but it really isn’t like that. We still see cases where people don’t get let into bars because they’ve been seen kissing whilst in the queue or couples being glassed and beaten up in nightclubs for being gay.”
Stonewall has been involved in many charity events in order to raise money for gay communities, the last of which being a pub quiz held during LGBT History Month at the Duke of Wellington.
Horwood added, “We are just hoping by raising awareness about the situation and making people realise that things aren’t as they seem that we will be able to get people on board so that we can all fight the fight together.”
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