6. Building a Queer Utopia

Available for over a year

London markets itself as a world-class queer city. But the capital has lost 58% of its LGBTQ+ venues since 2006. Why are queer spaces disappearing so rapidly and what has been lost? When legendary queer pub The Joiners Arms was shut down by developers in 2015, it didn’t go without a fight. In this episode, we meet people who are resisting the closure of queer spaces and imagining new ones of their own. Olimpia Burchiellaro and Jon Ward discuss well-intentioned efforts to 'save' LGBTQ+ venues and the contradictions of 'inclusion' as cities are gentrified. We visit a new drag night, Lèse Majesté, and talk to an architectural collective to glimpse what community-owned queer spaces might actually look and feel like. Writer, producer and presenter: May Robson Supervising Producer: Emily Esson Sound Design: Steve Urquhart Theme Music: Contours Executive Producer: Elizabeth Clark BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds Audio Lab Commissioning Editor: Khaliq Meer