After smash-hit festivals in England, Scotland and Ibiza, Drag Fest is coming to the island of Ireland this August to give us the all-day drag party we deserve.

Held on August 27 at The Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Drag Fest Ireland will feature loads of iconic talent, from both at home and abroad. Alyssa Edwards will headline, with other international stars like Miz Cracker, Mo Heart, Awhora, and others including more Drag Race alums, also performing live.

The festival hasn’t forgotten the emerald isle’s incredible local talent, though. Names from closer to home include Chanel, Viola Gayvis, Becca Boots, Cherrie Ontop and beyond, giving our hometown favourites the opportunity to shine on the big stage. 

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The day will consist of a variety of performances during the biggest drag event Ireland has ever seen, including song, dance, comedy, and beyond. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet some of the festival’s performers over the course of the day, and those with VIP tickets can meet their idols through a meet-and-greet experience with all of the acts. 

Festival-goers can refuel with food and drink for sale, and vendors will be selling merchandise, drag clothes, makeup, and so on for those who can’t bear to let the fun end when the day does.

After a year-long delay due to Covid from its originally planned date, Drag Fest began as Drag Fest UK in the summer of 2021. Now, fresh off partying in Ibiza, England and Scotland, Drag Fest is expanding its European reach.

Before gracing Northern Ireland with its iconic queens, Drag Fest will journey to the Netherlands and Berlin, and once fans in Belfast have danced the day away with their favorite performers, it will carry on to Italy. 

“​​We wanted to expand into Ireland as most of the big Drag Race Tours usually skip or rarely come to Ireland/Northern Ireland at all,” organiser Kyle Devine-Clarke said in an email. “So we wanted to give the fans that are regularly crying out for these types of events everything they asked for and more!” 

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Devine-Clarke, owner of Don’t Fu*k It Up Events which is partnering with Klub Kids UK to produce Drag Fest, also noted how important it is to provide the LGBTQ+ community with safe spaces in which people can be their authentic selves and escape the world for a while. 

He also sees events like Drag Fest as being vital for performers as well as the audience. “Queer artists don’t always have the platform to show off their talents,” he said, “so the fact that we can provide a stage across the UK and Europe for people to perform makes us very happy.”

The idea for Drag Fest came to Devine-Clarke and his fellow organisers when they saw the popularity of music festivals, and wanted to create something similar in a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.

“We wanted to fill the stage with Queer artists and give people a platform to show off their art to the UK,” he said. He hopes the event proves to be a big success and becomes an annual event hosted on the emerald isle.

Tickets for the event are on sale now, and the amazing full line-up can be seen on Drag Fest Ireland’s Instagram.