Gay things to do in central London

10 clubs and groups in central london, with training nights, fees and the beginner route into each.

A registered charity whose name is a Cantonese acronym, try our best, no regrets; many of its members moved from Hong Kong to London in the last few years and had never played before joining. Three sessions split by level: social doubles on Fridays at CitySport, drills and games on Wednesdays at Canada Water, and competitive doubles matched by software on Sundays at Bacon's College. Membership £10 a year.

Central · Fri, Wed, Sun · Beginners

LYC Badminton London

Long Yang Club Badminton London, affiliated to the Long Yang Club network that began in London in 1983. Three graded sessions a week in Southwark, Hackney and Kensington, all booked through Badminton England, with the £8 Sunday concession the cheapest gay badminton in London. You need a Badminton England membership before you can join the club itself.

Central · Mon, Wed, Sun · Beginners

Swimming

Out To Swim Angels

Out To Swim's artistic swimming squad, added in April 2009 as the first club in the UK to coach the sport to both men and women. About 20 swimmers of mixed ages and ability, competing in the UK and internationally. The waitlist is open.

Central · Mon, Wed · Beginners

Running and cycling

London Frontrunners

Formed in 1995, part of International Front Runners, over 600 members and seven weekly social runs. All but one start from a leisure centre with changing rooms and lockers, a leader runs with you on your first night, and there is dinner or brunch after. Your first month is free; then £56 a year.

Central · Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat, Tue · Beginners

Other sport

OutPlay Squash London

An LGBTQIA+ squash group thirty years old, five social sessions a week at central London leisure centres for every level from complete beginner up, with a pub or brunch after each. First session free, rackets to borrow, bookings opened weekly on WhatsApp. £30 a year to be a member, £2.50 more a session if you are not.

Central · Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun · Beginners

Choirs and bands

Diversity Choir

Mixed-voice LGBT+ chamber choir of around 50, Bach and Rachmaninov to ABBA and Sondheim, rehearsing on Wednesday nights in the City of London. A simple audition arranged by email, and the choir says it is recruiting. A new musical director takes over in September 2026 after Jan Rautio's ten years.

Central · Wed · Beginners

London Gay Symphonic Winds

The LGSO's sister band: around 50 woodwind, brass and percussion players, professionals to lapsed school players, based in central London. Wind band classics through show tunes and video game music to disco, three big concerts a year plus bandstands and the Pride march. No formal audition, a suggested minimum of around Grade 5, and vacancies listed in every section.

Central · Beginners

London Gay Symphony Orchestra

Founded in 1996 by a group of friends led by Robin Gordon-Powell, over 100 active members and five concerts a year. No auditions, but the bar is Grade 8 for wind and brass and Grade 7 with orchestral experience for strings. Wind and brass are generally full, so strings and the deps list are the realistic way in. £40 per concert.

Central · Sun · Beginners

Pink Singers

Formed in 1983 for the Lesbian and Gay Pride march, Europe's longest-running LGBT+ choir by its own account, now 90 singers aged 18 to 75 plus. Mixed voices, madrigals to gospel to show tunes, all memorised. Every Sunday afternoon in central London, an audition with nothing to prepare, and two full concerts a year.

Central · Sun · Beginners

Everything else

Queers Without Beers

Club Soda's alcohol-free queer night, every third Thursday at its Tasting Room on Drury Lane: a bar of alcohol-free beers, wines and cocktails, small plates from next door, a quieter speakeasy downstairs, and a sharing circle from seven for anyone changing their drinking. Free; most people come alone and are introduced to others.

Central · Thu · Free · Beginners

Hear when something new is added.

New clubs, changed training nights, and the occasional weekend. No more than that.

Or come and meet people all at once.

A weekend away with a group of gay men, and nothing to prove.

See upcoming weekends