Liverpool's Homotopia festival will return next month for its 21st annual edition. The event, the United Kingdom's longest-running LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival, will run from November 1 to November 30, 2025. This year's theme is 'Uprising', which acts as a call to action, a celebration, and a statement of defiance.
Key Takeaways
- Homotopia, the UK's longest-running LGBTQIA+ arts festival, runs November 1-30, 2025.
- The 21st annual festival's theme is 'Uprising', focusing on resistance and solidarity.
- Over 70% of the festival's more than 70 events are free to attend.
- Events will take place at various Liverpool venues, including the Unity Theatre, FACT, and St George’s Hall.
- Highlights include a queer photography exhibition, a migrant drag show, and a film programme.
Festival Theme and Accessibility
The 2025 Homotopia festival adopts the theme of 'Uprising'. This theme reflects a commitment to resistance and solidarity. It aims to empower individuals and communities to act and make their voices heard. Festival organisers describe it as a refusal to shrink or wait for permission.
A significant aspect of this year's festival is its accessibility. More than 70 percent of the scheduled events are free to attend. This commitment ensures that a wide audience can participate in the cultural offerings. The festival aims to reach as many people as possible across the city region.
Festival Fact
Homotopia is the UK's longest-running LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival. It has been celebrating queer art and culture for over two decades in Liverpool.
Opening Event and Venue Details
The festival begins with a special launch party at the Unity Theatre on Saturday, November 1. The Hope Place venue will transform into a cabaret-style setting. This immersive evening will feature playful performances, community engagement, and a spirit of solidarity. It provides an energetic start to the month-long programme.
Events are scheduled across a range of Liverpool venues. These include the Unity Theatre, Everyman and Playhouse, FACT, St George’s Hall, the Royal Standard, and the Bluecoat. Additionally, two events will take place at St Helens libraries. This broad geographical reach ensures the festival engages with diverse communities.
Key Programme Highlights
Queer Photography Exhibition
A significant exhibition will be visible in the city centre, at Merseyrail stations, and at the Open Eye Gallery throughout November. Queer photographer Ming De Nasty has spent four months documenting members of the city region's LGBTQIA+ community. This project is a co-commission with the Open Eye Gallery and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, in partnership with Merseyrail and Sahir House.
Remember Nature at FACT
On Tuesday, November 4, FACT will host 'Remember Nature'. Homotopia is a partner in this nationwide day of artist-led action. The initiative honours Gustav Metzger’s 2015 vision of art as a catalyst for change. As part of this, artist Paul Harfleet will explore his 20-year connection with Liverpool through 'The Pansy Project'.
"Our theme Uprising is about resistance and solidarity in the face of the creeping tide of fascism. It’s about finding power in the small and every day and turning it into something unstoppable..." – Natalie Lloyd, Homotopia Festival Producer.
Drag Down the Borders
District in the Baltic Quarter will host 'Drag Down the Borders' on Sunday, November 9. This evening will feature migrant drag and cabaret talent. It aims to be a night of joy and solidarity. Funds raised will support migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in Liverpool, Palestine, Sudan, and Congo. This event highlights the festival's focus on global solidarity.
Background on Homotopia
Homotopia was established to provide a platform for LGBTQIA+ artists and to celebrate queer culture. Over two decades, it has grown into a significant cultural event, drawing audiences from across the UK and beyond. The festival consistently addresses contemporary social and political issues through artistic expression.
Film Screenings and Theatrical Performances
No Pride in Genocide
District will also host 'No Pride in Genocide' on Monday, November 10. This film programme is presented in partnership with Queer Cinema for Palestine. It continues the festival's commitment to addressing urgent global issues through art.
Scrambled at Liverpool Playhouse Studio
Grace Tompkins, an alumnus of Homotopia’s QueerCore development programme, will present 'Scrambled'. This show explores themes of getting lost online and finding one's way back. It promises to be a tender and deeply human performance. It comes to the Liverpool Playhouse Studio on Thursday, November 13.
Mr Blackpool’s Seaside Spectacular
'Mr Blackpool’s Seaside Spectacular' will be at the Unity Theatre on Friday, November 14. Harry Clayton-Wright presents this 'end-of-the-pier show at the end of the world'. Marlborough Productions commissioned this piece, with initial support from Homotopia.
An Evening with Dross
On November 15, the Unity Theatre will host 'An Evening with Dross'. This event combines lip-sync séance and high-camp ritual. Liverpool drag queen and art-activist Dross will deliver a mix of film, physical theatre, spectacle, and queer resistance. It showcases genre-defying performance.
Heritage Trail and Artist Development
If These Walls Could Talk: Queer Places Heritage Trail
Throughout November, 'If These Walls Could Talk' will transform Liverpool’s walls, windows, and streets. This Queer Places Heritage Trail will reveal hidden stories of queer life in the city. For full trail details, visit queerplaces.co.uk or follow @queerplaces. A special walking tour is scheduled for Saturday, November 8, starting at FACT.
QueerCore Artist Development Programme
The 2025 festival’s QueerCore artist development programme supports emerging LGBTQIA+ artists from the city region. This year's selected artists are Willzy, Claire Beerjeraz, HRH Aphrodite, and Laura Bee. This initiative provides a vital platform for new talent.
- Claire Beerjeraz will present her interactive art exhibition, 'Rest as Resistance', from November 3 to 28 at LUSH in Church Street.
- HRH Aphrodite is scheduled to present 'The Fire King – a History of Stephenson’s Rocket in Three Volumes'. This hour-long participatory show will run during the festival.
All four QueerCore artists will also participate in a Young Homotopia and QueerCore showcase. This event will take place at the Unity Theatre on Wednesday, November 12. It offers a chance to see the future of queer art.
Community Engagement
On Sunday, November 23, the Museum of Liverpool will host a 'Sunday Dinner: Scouse Activist Edition'. This metaphorical three-course feast of ideas is inspired by Split Britches’ 'Long Table'. It provides a platform for discussion and community building.
Natalie Lloyd, Homotopia festival producer, shared her enthusiasm for the upcoming event. She stated, "After pausing the festival for a year, we’re back with a bang for 2025, with a fantastic and varied programme of the boldest voices and best and most brilliant queer art and culture. This year the festival is also hyperlocal and proudly Scouse."
Lloyd also elaborated on the 'Uprising' theme: "It’s about finding power in the small and every day and turning it into something unstoppable, about doing it yourself when no one else will and refusing to shrink, refusing to wait for permission and refusing to apologise." She described the festival as "a love letter to our community, our peers, the incredible talent embedded into the city’s very being, and the power of coming together and fighting for marginalised communities, right here and right now."
For complete festival details and booking information, visit www.homotopia.net.