Jake Mace
Off the back of Big Gay Afterparty’s massive success as a queer meeting space and variety extravaganza at last year’s edition of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Aidan Sadler is upping the ante for 2025 and announcing that they want the first Big Gay Afterparty of this year’s Fringe to be considered the first ever LGBTQIA+ EdFringe Launch Party.
We handed Aidan our Grassroots Hero Award back at last year’s Queer Performers Award ceremony for their work curating and creating an inclusive, dynamic, regular event that drew together the community while uplifting marginalised and relatively unknown voices alongside Fringe legends and stalwarts in the variety offerings.
Aidan is promising a queer, chic and outrageous start to the first Fringe weekend this year, with a late-night variety offering that ‘boasts the biggest, brightest, and best stars on the scene’ alongside a selection of ‘a rotating selection of the most electrifying and scandalous performers at the festival’.
They told Binge Fringe:
“In these polarised times we as a community find so few cool, fun and friendly spaces to hang out in and I don’t take this opportunity lightly. Running the club last year I had so many important conversations with people about creating safe spaces for queer audiences, performers and allies across the spectrum. As always I’m infinitely grateful to be able to hold this space at Big Gay Afterparty for the festival.”
“I want to create as inclusive a platform as possible for good vibes and the fact we have yet another jam packed lineup of rising stars and established Edinburgh, UK-wide and international names feels like a happy bonus. It’s big. It’s gay. It’s the afterparty!”
As for Sadler’s declaration that this is the first LGBTQIA+ dedicated EdFringe launch, that’s a claim that seems to hold true upon investigation by Binge Fringe. While other festivities have prominently featured queer artists and work, none have committed to providing a queer-dedicated space. Sadler does, however, mention that ‘fun straights’ are ‘allowed’ to join in the fun.
Long-running acclaimed invite-only Fringe launch festivities by magazine The List will have their 30th birthday this year, while Big Gay Afterparty will happen a little later in the week on Saturday 2nd August with a paid ticket to support the talent and organisation involved. Moving down the Cowgate from their previous home at The Caves, they’ll instead take place at iconic Edinburgh nightclub La Belle Angele, rebuilt on a site that previously played host to mega stars like Oasis and Radiohead.
Join Big Gay Afterparty at Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele on Saturday 2nd August from 11pm until late. Tickets (£15/10 concession) are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Lamesha Ruddock
