‘Naughty’ new LGBTQ+ venue set to open in east London in February 2024
Co-owners of The Glory are aiming to open their new venue on 2 February, 2024. (The Glory/ Facebook)
One of the co-owners of east London queer venue, The Glory, which is set to close in January, has told PinkNews that a new LGBTQ set to open nearby will serve as the beloved bar’s “naughty, younger, irreverent sister”.
The Glory’s co-owners, Jonny Woo, John Sizzle and Colin Rothbart, announced on social media last week that the current venue in on Kingsland Road, Haggerston, would be closing for good on 31 January.
However, it wasn’t all bad news, as the announcement added that the trio would be opening a new venture in 2024.
Speaking to PinkNews, Sizzle said lovers of the The Glory can expect to be welcomed to the new venue, which is just down the road, on 2 February – if all goes to plan.
“It’s a celebration of what we are, what we’ve achieved and we’ve been saving hard to invest in a new permanent space”, he shares.
The Glory’s move and rebrand after nine years at 281 Kingsland Road comes after the owner of the building deciding to do construction works that would impact the bar’s running.
Sizzle doesn’t ignore the fact queer bars throughout the UK are closing, with famed Soho spot G-A-Y Late shutting for good just last weekend, but he says it’s simply because “people are not going out as much, because they’re skint”.
In a bid to stay relevant and in business, The Glory’s three co-owners are now focused on creating a “queer triangle” in east London consisting of their new LGBTQ venue, Dalston Superstore and VFDalston.
He jokes that the three combined will form “an impenetrable triangle of queerness that gentrification will not penetrate”.
“We’re letting The Glory have a well-earned rest while we decide what to do with her.”
Sizzle, secretive of some plans, says the new location will continue to be a “performance-focused venue” that will offer food and a club space.
“It’s basically The Glory’s naughty, younger, irreverent sister,” he says.
The Glory’s owners have also decided to let go of the well-known name in place of something fresher for the bigger venue they’ve secured.
Changes to their new space have already begun, with collaborations with creative members of the queer community already confirmed.
