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RuPaul's DragCon UK

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RuPaul's Drag Con UK
StatusActive
GenreDrag entertainment
VenueExhibition Centre London
Location(s)London, England
CountryUnited Kingdom
Inaugurated18–19 January 2020
Most recent12–13 January 2024
Next event10–11 January 2025
Organized byWorld of Wonder
Websiteuk.rupaulsdragcon.com

RuPaul's DragCon UK is a multi-genre entertainment convention held annually at the Exhibition Centre London located in London, England. The two-day event primarily features prominent drag performers for executives, fanatics, and online brands. This marks the third edition of RuPaul's DragCon, co-produced by American drag queen RuPaul and World of Wonder founders Fenton Bailey, and Randy Barbato.

The first event took place on 18 January 2020 at the Olympia Exhibition Centre, which was met with negative criticism for opening day. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the convention was an indefinite hiatus until 2023 where it would resume normally at different venue.

History

2019–2020: Olympia Exhibition Centre

During the annual entertainment convention RuPaul's DragCon NYC in September 2019, a third edition of the exhibition taking place in the United Kingdom was announced.[1] The contestants from reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019), will appear alongside television personalities RuPaul and Michelle Visage.[2] This expansion led the American franchise to be often credited as mainstream media for its drag entertainment success,[3] including in the United Kingdom.[4] Tickets went on pre-sale on 10 September, followed by the general ticket sale three days later, via Ticketmaster.[5] Two months later, various alumni contestants, notable locals Joseph Harwood, Harnaam Kaur, and the late internet personality Sophie Anderson of the Cock Destroyers are included in the lineup.[6]

The convention took place on 18 January 2020 at the Olympia Exhibition Centre located in London, England. RuPaul and Michelle Visage had a ribbon-cutting ceremony and featured a pink carpet where drag performs gotten a chance to walk through the venue.[7] Meanwhile, reports were made that many people were queuing outside the venue for approximately two hours.[8] Without any explanation, security personnel told ticket holders to come back the next day. This resulted many people demanding for refunds and compared the event to Fyre Festival and TanaCon on X (formerly Twitter).[9] An official statement from the organizers explained the queue was stopped due to the venue's maximum capacity and raised "health and safety fears."[10]

The next day, the venue opereted normally and refunds were issued for ticket holders. Many panel conferences featured the announcement of two docuseries named God Shave the Queens (2020–2022) and an untitled Trinity the Tuck pagentry project.[11] FKA Twigs, and Matty Healy attended the convention in support for Denise Welch, who was an emcee for a panel.[12][13]

2023–present: Exhibition Centre London

In March 2022, RuPaul's DragCon UK announced that the convention is coming back after its indefinite hiatus, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] The convention is set to last for three days (6–8 January 2023) at the Exhibition Centre London with over 80 drag queens attending the events.[15] RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World contestants are also joining the convention, such as Baga Chipz, Pangina Heals, Lemon, and Mo Heart.[16]

References

  1. ^ Doonan, Simon (30 September 2019). "Meet the men behind RuPaul's Drag Race: 'We're bringing bawdiness back to the UK'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  2. ^ Yates, Jonathan (24 September 2019). "RuPaul's DragCon UK at London's Olympia - how to get tickets, lineup and more". MyLondon. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  3. ^ Klein, Jessica (24 September 2019). "As RuPaul's Drag Race expands to the U.K., DragCon shines light on its mainstream success". Fortune. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  4. ^ Abraham, Amelia (10 August 2019). "'Finally! A sport for us gay people!': How drag went mainstream". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. ^ Taylor, Star (9 September 2019). "8 things we learned at RuPaul's DragCon NYC 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  6. ^ Street, Mikelle (20 December 2019). "A Cock Destroyer is coming to DragCon". Out. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  7. ^ Damshenas, Sam (22 January 2020). "Check out all the sickening lewks from the first ever RuPaul's DragCon UK". Gay Times. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  8. ^ Dosani, Rishma (18 January 2020). "DragCon UK organisers speak out as upset fans complain about 'shambles' event". Metro. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  9. ^ Yalcinkaya, Günseli (21 January 2020). "Help! DragCon UK was a capitalist hellscape – and I love it". Dazed. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  10. ^ Baggs, Michael (19 January 2020). "DragCon UK: RuPaul fans left disappointed by 'huge' queues". Newsbeat. BBC News. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  11. ^ Barraclough, Leo (19 January 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race producers greenlight two docu-series for SVOD". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  12. ^ Heller, Corinne; Lubitz, Spencer (19 January 2020). "FKA twigs and the 1975's Matt Healy spotted together at RuPaul's DragCon UK". E! Online. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  13. ^ Yates, Jonathan (8 January 2020). "RuPaul's DragCon UK announce live panel timings and more". MyLondon. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  14. ^ "RuPaul's DragCon UK Sashays Back To Excel London To Host The Biggest Celebration Of Drag Culture Across Three Full Days". The Fan Carpet. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  15. ^ Hains, Rachel (10 March 2022). "RuPaul's Dragcon UK sashays back to London in 2023". WalesOnline. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  16. ^ Whyte, Woodrow (16 May 2022). "RuPaul's DragCon UK to return in 2023: Here's how to buy tickets". PopBuzz. Retrieved 24 August 2022.

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