2025 Wrapped

A Year of Connection, Visibility and Building What Comes Next

2025 was a year where LonGBoaT Wakefield focused on strengthening the roots of LGBT+ community in Wakefield not just through events, but by setting out a clear, shared direction for the future with our 5 year strategy. Throughout the year, our actions reflected a growing confidence in who we are, why we exist, and how we show up for LGBT+ people locally.

Community First, Always

Bringing people together remained at the heart of everything we did in 2025. From conversations at our Kirkgate Hub to wider district-level work, we centred lived experience and made space for LGBT+ voices to influence decisions that affect everyday life. We recognised that inclusion works best when it is shaped by communities, not for them.

Pride, Built by the Community

Our approach to Pride in 2025 reflected this ethos. Pride became less about a single moment and more about collective participation by creating opportunities for people to be involved in ways that felt accessible, creative and affirming. Focusing on collaboration, we widened who Pride could reach and what it could look like, reinforcing why visible LGBT+ celebration still matters.

Strategy as a Tool for Change

In April 2025, we launched our LonGBoaT Wakefield Strategy, setting out how we will grow sustainably, respond to need and strengthen support for LGBT+ people across the district.

Throughout the year, our work increasingly aligned with this strategy, including wellbeing and creativity, to safer spaces, partnership working and long-term resilience. Our blog became a way of tracking how strategy translates into real-world action.

Alongside this, we deepened our connection to the evolving Wakefield Kirkgate vision. As caretakers of space at the station, we continued to explore how Kirkgate can be more than a building to becoming a welcoming, visible and creative community hub where LGBT+ people feel safe, valued and part of the city’s future. This strategic link between place and purpose has been a defining feature of the year.

Safe, Visible and Welcoming Spaces

2025 saw continued emphasis on visibility and safety; from working with local venues and partners, to standing alongside campaigns focused on safer streets and public spaces for women, trans and non-binary people.

Creativity, Wellbeing and Storytelling

Creative practice remained a powerful thread through the year. Art, storytelling and shared expression provided routes into connection and healing, particularly for LGBT+ people who may feel marginalised or isolated.

Shaping LonGBoaT Wakefield in 2026

As we head into the new year, we’re building directly on the foundations laid in 2025.

We’re excited to be:

• Embedding our charity strategy into everything we do, ensuring our work remains sustainable, responsive and rooted in community need.

• Continuing to shape the future of Wakefield Kirkgate, strengthening its role as a visible, inclusive and creative space within the city.

• Deepening partnerships across Wakefield, working alongside organisations and individuals who understand that LGBT+ inclusion benefits everyone.

• Teasing new collaborations in the Community Gallery, bringing together artists, community groups and storytellers to showcase work that reflects the diversity, resilience and joy of our LGBT+ community.

If 2025 was about setting direction and building confidence, the year ahead is about momentum. We’re back with a bang – louder, more connected and ready to keep growing together.