‘Comic Con is a safe space for LGBTQ+ people – everyone can come and be themselves’

If you live in a big city or town in the UK, chances are you’ll have seen someone on their way to a fan convention at some point, dressed up as their favourite characters, surrounded by everyone else going about their day-to-day lives.

I don’t know about you, but it always makes me smile. Good for them for enjoying things in such an unapologetic way, even if it makes them stick out a bit.

It’s also a testament to the community they’re a part of that they feel so safe and included to spend the time and energy on creating these often elaborate costumes.

As it turns out, that’s no accident, as MCM Comic Con aims to be a safe, inclusive space for anyone – including in recent years more and more LGBTQ+ people.

There’s a clear crossover between the queer community and Comic Con attendees, especially when you look at those who cosplay – dressing up as characters from television shows or animes, for example.

That crossover has been happening more and more with MCM Comic Con, with well-known drag queens being invited to events to perform, talk and meet fans.

Speaking to PinkNews, MCM Comic Con Event Manager Charlotte Napier said: “Our show is just a place where people can come and just be themselves, no matter who they are in the ‘real world’.

“We’d like to that that whatever they’re facing on the outside, they come come, they can dress up, they can meet like-minded people and just be themselves at our show.”

She went on: “Over the years, we’ve worked with a lot of different organisations to try and put LGBTQ+ representation front and centre.”

There have been panels led by authors from the community, as well as work with Queer Swap, which acts as a hub for cosplay fans or people wanting to chat with others they have common interests with. Then there’s their work with LGBTQ+ helpline Switchboard, too.

Napier said: “We’re all about community, and that’s been going from strength to strength over the last couple of years.”

She went on: “I think people just want to see themselves in our guests, with everything that’s happened with the government.”

While LGBTQ+ nightlife is taking a battering around the country, and drag performers are often the target of finger-pointing from politicians, the demand for drag at Comic Con is increasing.

Napier, who spearheaded the drag-inclusion after “basically binge-watching RuPaul’s Drag Race” during the COVID lockdown, had the idea of bringing in UK favourite Tia Kofi.

“So we did that,” she said, “and she came in full Cybermen… Cyberqueen?… Doctor Who-themed attire. We did a little lip-sync battle with cosplayers which was very wholesome, and Tia judged it.

“From then on, that’s been a staple on the Fridays at the show in London. We’ve lad Lawrence Chaney, Blu Hydrangea, Chorizo May – any of the nerdy kind of queens from Drag Race. They’ve done a panel on costume creation, inspiration, that sort of thing, and it’s all gone down really well, as well as the lip-sync battles.”

But Comic Con have been spotlighting other queer performers too with their Fringe stages and, from May 2026, the first dedicated drag zone.

Napier told us: “We had seven or eight queens who were there for the whole weekend, and that’s something we’re looking to do next year as well.

“For drag queens, it’s all kind of evening entertainment or brunches, but there’s not a space for them to connect with fans as much. So that was really nice for people to actually be able to come and meet them, buy merch, that sort of thing.”

In October (23-25), MCM Comic Con returns to the ExCel in London, with plenty planned for MCM Fringe.

Attendees can expect performances from Shrektacular (a dragged-up reimagining of Shrek from London’s HERR and Me), SlayStation, Gallifrey Cabaret, and more.

“The more of a diverse line-up we can bring to the show, the more people can see themselves and hopefully be comforted and know that there is a place where there’s a safe space,” Napier told us.

“They can come and enjoy the things that they love with other people who love those things as well.”

MCM Comic Con returns to Excel London from Friday 23 – Sunday 25 October 2026.

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