Campaigning for Camden’s LGBTQ+ history and future

A group of smiling supporters with banners and flags standing around the building of the Black Cap in Camden London

Welcome

Welcome to the campaign to re-open and protect the Black Cap, north London’s legendary LGBTQ+ pub, club, cabaret, and community space!

The Black Cap, a Camden landmark for over 250 years and one of London’s biggest and most famous LGBTQ+ spaces for more than 50 years, was closed abruptly in April 2015 by its previous owners. They planned to redevelop the building into luxury flats – but they didn’t count on the community’s resistance.

The #WeAreTheBlackCap campaign, led by the community benefit society, Black Cap Community, has been campaigning since then to save the Black Cap given its place as one of the few remaining landmarks of historical, cultural, and artistic importance for the LGBTQ+ community, and ensure it is re-opened as a safe, vibrant place of entertainment once again.

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Black Cap Community

THE BLACK CAP IS RE-OPENING!

We are excited, and proud, to announce that the Black Cap is finally re-opening on Saturday 21 March 2026!

After many years of campaigning to convince the owners to re-openthe Cap and a couple more years of working with them to develop their plans and refurbish the building, we will return to north London’s most famous LGBTQ+ venue.

To manage huge demand, the opening night will be by invitation only, but invitations will include a hundred people chosen at random from those who sign up using this form. So sign up for a chance to attend!

Note that we will not be running the Black Cap. The management have their own social media (@theblackcapcamden on Instagram) and are doing their own communications. Questions about the re-opening and how the Cap will be run are best directed to them.

Once the Black Cap is open again, we will be taking a little break to enjoy our success, and then we’ll start having conversations within the community about what, if anything, our campaign group should do next.