Protesters rally against a non-existent drag event

Protesters stood extracurricular an bare pub connected Friday greeting to rally against a non-existent resistance event.

Turning Point UK had organised a objection astatine The Great Exhibition pub successful East Dulwich for 11:00 GMT.

A antagonistic protestation was organised by Stand up to Racism South London, with section radical and pro LGBT+ activists gathering astatine 10:00 GMT.

The Turning Point UK protestation was organised successful effect to an retired of day lawsuit listing connected the pub's website.

A spokesperson for CLIP, which hosted a Drag Storytime lawsuit astatine the venue successful July 2022, told BBC London that the venue's website was inactive showing the lawsuit arsenic moving monthly due to the fact that the listings had not been updated.

Around 200 radical were seen extracurricular the pub and Met Police officers were successful attendance.

They added that CLIP had stopped moving each Drag Storytime events owed to "safeguarding" concerns.

Turning Point UK organised 4 speakers for its protest, including Lawrence Fox and Calvin Robertson, who attended different protestation past period astir a resistance storytelling lawsuit astatine The Honor Oak pub successful Forest Hill.

A spokesperson for The Great Exhibition pub confirmed that determination had ne'er been a Drag Storytime lawsuit booked for today.

They said that the pub is "committed to offering events that are magical, fun, inclusive and appropriate".

They added: "[Turning Point UK] look to beryllium opposing our Drag Storytime lawsuit for the nether 5s, an lawsuit that took spot successful July 2022.

"Whilst the lawsuit was a immense occurrence past twelvemonth and brought large joyousness to parents and children alike, determination is nary lawsuit booked astatine the Great Exhibition adjacent Friday, nor has determination ever been."

The pub has an outdated advert connected its website for Drag Storytime for Under 5s connected 14 April describing it arsenic a monthly event. The booking nexus redirects to the website for CLIP, which states that determination are nary events.

A spokesperson for CLIP said: "Drag arsenic an artform is simply a clip honoured taste improvement successful the British theatre lexicon, from aboriginal passionateness plays and Shakespeare, to Dame Edna Everage, resistance show has been portion of our practice since the 1500s, and conscionable similar each performance, determination are, wrong the genre, antithetic types of contented that's created for antithetic property groups, this is existent of each artform."

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