Drag world UK is shantaying its way to London this summer. August 26-27th sees the UK hold its first drag convention with 10 RuPaul’s girl exclusives. The convention will take place at the Olympia Theatre Earls Court and will see a mass of drag fans of all ages come together and celebrate their love of being different, unique and, more importantly, accepted.

The weekend is set to have plenty of stalls with NYX cosmetics and GHD confirmed as the event's sponsors. The latest stalls to be announced are vanity wigs to offer the best of the best for those looking to branch out and try drag, or to those simply looking to add to their growing collection.

Panels are a mixture of important issues and the growing mainstream of drag, Saturday starts with a non-binary panel made up of Jinkx Monsoon, Violet Chachki, Ginger Minj, Ben Dalecreme and Carmen Carrera.

Panels and Performances

The music panel looks set to be the most popular with a great line up of drag's most successful artists. Sharon Needles, Alaska 5000, Ginger Minj and Adore Delano.

Adore released new album Whatever on 21st August a lot of speculation is growing for the album available to buy. The other hope amongst fans it that Adore performs new single Negative Nancy which will be a UK debut.

Of course, no drag event would be complete without a theme, and in true drag style, the theme is Toybox.

The Saturday night is rounded up with a spectacular Drag Ball being hosted by UK drag queen Meth. The ball has an explosive line up of the most sensational queens from the show. Season 4 winner Sharon Needles will be making a spooky appearance alongside season 5 sweetheart Jinkx Monsoon. Making her way to the stage is the visually stunning Violet Chachki, which is sure to be an aerial masterpiece of ropes and burlesque.

Homegrown queen and season 9 Charlie Hides will also be appearing. AAA girl and fan favorite Alaska 5000 will be there to spill the T too.

The second day follows with more meet and greets, panels and performances. The weekend is rounded up in the evening with an After Party held in nearby Camden. Tickets sold out quickly to the few limited 100 people.

The rise of drag conventions

Conventions are a great place for those who can meet like minded people and be in a safe environment for drag fans to enjoy their passion together. Being the first convention in Europe, the art of drag has finally been given a platform for people of all ages to come together and spread the love.

The popularity of RuPaul's Dragcon has seen a massive increase in success, with April's event seeing a whopping 40,000 people in attendance. The latest add on to the event was the kid zone, showing how more diverse and open we are all becoming. The event was so popular that Drag Con NYC has been announced for September 30th - October 1st.

Events like these provide a safe environment for parents to attend with their young children.

Most young fans are unable to attend Drag shows due to the age restrictions of clubs and bars. Giant conventions like Dragcon and Drag world allow them to be in a world of love, diversity, and acceptance. It’s a great place to meet people their age and meet new friends who understand them. Not only this but they get to meet their favorite queens who they look up to and have become their idols.