Gay bars clubs swansea

A popular gay venue is returning for one night only next month in a bid to revive the scene in Swansea. The bar had many different owners over the years and was eventually bought by chains Pulse and later OMG! On a Facebook post by Pynk, the organisers wrote: "Many of you will remember Champers, which for much of its history was open when Section 28 was still in force.

People remember Champers as a friendly and welcoming space, where people didn't have to pretend to be anything but who they authentically were. We are excited to be hosting this reunion party for everyone to enjoy. Section 28, passed in under Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, prohibited councils and schools from "promoting homosexuality".

Champers is remembered by many as an important "safe space" during this time where people could be themselves and many people who grew up in the 80s, 90s and 00s in Swansea and south Wales saw Champers as a place where they could find their community. Pynk organiser Lucy said: "At the time Champers was running, being out and proud was definitely harder than it is now.

Champers, Swansea, Wales, UK (with DJ Craig Law)

It is certainly easier now for club to be gay and bisexual in mainstream clubs but I think what is different now is gay there is still a lot of prejudice against trans people and non-binary people and I think that's still a place where safe spaces are particularly important now.

With trans rights being under attack, we're not quite there in terms of people being safe. Scott Mackay, bar manager of Elysium, was inspired to bring back Champers after he noticed how often he was asked by customers about the history of Elysium's building. It was up to them to do all the organising," explained Scott.

Swansea has been described as a "city mourning the loss of swansea gay culture" which you can read more about here. The last remaining gay bar in Swansea, 'The King's Arms', closed earlier this bar and other than pop-up nights like Pynk, the gay nightlife scene seems to have died out. Although a drag showbar called 'Dorothy's' opened on Wind Street this year, it has not marketed itself as a gay bar and focuses more on offering entertainment to all people on Swansea's popular nightlife strip.

Lucy explained: "There is a negative side of the story of queer spaces and gay spaces in Swansea and elsewhere. Champers was one of the last remaining specifically gay venues left at a time when quite a few of them closed down around it. It was a story that was repeated around the country where you had lots and lots of gay venues and the scene changed over the years and gay venues found it harder and harder to keep afloat.

Champers held out longer than most but ultimately closed down as well. On why Pynk has been able to survive as a queer club night, Lucy explained: "Pynk is a pop-up club night and it runs because we have a venue that is economically viable otherwise and we have very little outgoings in terms of cost.

Pynk recently held a busy Pride event which attracted many people who had not been to one of Jess and Lucy's nights at Elysium before. Jess explained: "When we did our Pride event we had a lot of different age groups and generations attend. A lot of people came to the door and said 'I used to come here when it was Champers' and for whatever club our marketing hasn't sung to those generations previously so we just thought it would be really good to extend that out for nostalgic purposes really.

We wanted to go back to the old Champers days. We made sure the poster and pictures that we used show the iconic bar cubes on the outside of the building. It was these iconic glass cubes on the outside of Champers that initially put off former Champers bartender Christopher Stuckey, now 36, from first swansea through the club's doors.

Christopher grew up in Sandfields, Swansea and came out at gay age of fourteen during a time when it could be very difficult to be gay in south Wales. When Christopher started going out to gay bars in Swansea, Champers was one that he avoided.