UK Black Pride announces Blacktober Fest 2026 after pausing August celebrations
UK Black Pride is set to return in 2027 after taking a year off to rebuild its community-led event
By Aaron Sugg
UK Black Pride has announced the launch of Blacktober Fest 2026, taking place on Friday 16 October 2026 at The Colour Factory in London.
The festival follows UK Black Pride’s decision to pause its scheduled Pride programming earlier this year as part of a period of “rest, reflect, reset and rebuild”.
The event marks the return of UK Black Pride’s Black-Oktoberfest celebration, which has been renamed Blacktober Fest for 2026 and will take place during Black History Month.
The importance of Black History Month
But community goes beyond just 31 days. UK Black Pride has stressed that the event is intended to emphasise that Black LGBTQ+ culture should not be confined to October.
Lady Phyll, CEO and Co-Founder of UK Black Pride, said in a news release: “Black History Month gives us an important moment to honour and reflect on our histories, but our Blackness does not begin in October and it does not disappear when October ends.
“Our communities, our culture, our resistance and our joy exist every single day of the year,” she continued.
Blacktober Fest is about “bringing our people together in that spirit”
The Attitude Pride Award winner said Blacktober Fest is about “bringing our people together in that spirit”, adding that despite pausing their annual Pride celebration in August, they are still putting in the hard work to make sure their voices are heard.
“This gathering will be unmistakably UK Black Pride: joyful, political, unapologetically Black and queer, and deeply rooted in community. It is more than a celebration. It is about investing in our artists, our creatives, our organisations and one another.
“We are not only looking back at the histories that shaped us. We are celebrating who we are now and building the Black queer futures we deserve,” she concluded.
What to expect from Blacktober Fest 2026
This October, UK Black Pride will put on a spectacular celebration of LGBTQIA+ culture, creativity, joy and community, with music, DJs, live performances and dancing.
Ticket are available to buy now with all proceeds supporting UK Black Pride’s work, including community artists and contributors as well as accessible events.
The decision to pause UK Black Pride 2026 came after a record-breaking year in 2025, when more than 25,000 people attended the festival to mark its 20th anniversary.
UK Black Pride is set to return in 2027.