DragWorld UK 2017

So any drag fan knows that a drag convention came to London over the bank holiday weekend.

The convention, DragWorld UK, featured queens from RuPaul’s drag race. These were: Michelle Visage, Adore Delano, Alaska, Sharon Needles, Ginger Minj, Jinkx, Miss Fame, Violet Chachki, Ben DeLa Creme, Katya, Carmen Carerra, and Charlie Hides. Non Drag Race queens were: Haus of Piss (BibleGirl, Rubber Child, Lisa Limbaugh), Klub Kids, METH, Crystal Lubrikunt, Charity Kase, and Hey Queen.

The convention ran across both days (Saturday 26th – Sunday 27th August), however, I only attended on the Sunday so my review will be based on that alone.

Throughout the two day convention there were many panels/Q&A’s, live performances and even a proposal! Though the convention was small compared to the likes of DragCon, there was still plenty to do throughout the day between Meet and Greet times or if you just needed to sit down. My favourite part was the giant rubber duck, giant phone and giant stiletto. I mean come on, who doesn’t want to stand in a 8 foot pink glittery shoe?

I purchased general tickets, with no meet and greets and honestly did not know what to expect but my friend Alex and I made a plan of which queens we wanted to meet and prioritise. So our list was to make sure we met Adore, Michelle, Miss Fame and Violet at the very least. Sadly, once we arrived it became clear that this was going to be a challenge and we missed opportunities to meet Violet and Fame.

I have no issue with the organisation of DragWorld as there was chances for you to meet who you wanted. They offered paid meet and greets in advance of the weekend, there was an autograph alley and the queens spend time at their merchandise stalls signing autographs and meeting fans. The only thing I’d have liked to know is what time they would be signing at stalls but I understand these are real people who are entertainers, artists and performers and that everyone needs a break from meeting fans all day so it wasn’t too much of an issue for me.

In the end, Alex and I managed to meet Carmen Carrera, Michelle Visage, Adore Delano and BibleGirl. So I’m happy! I would’ve liked to had the chance to meet a few more but with the demand of the crowd, and queens such as Jinkx have 2 hour long queues all day, I wasn’t going to throw a strop about it and I certainly wasn’t going to rush after anyone when they were walking to their changing room or outside for fresh air. (Gotta have respect people, come on)

Carmen Carrera was beautiful, honestly as perfect as she looks on her social media and back on Season 3 of Drag Race. Such a calm and soothing voice. Michelle Visage was such a star, calming my friend Alex down as he was having a total panic attack from meeting the Queen of queens. Michelle was even happy to sign an autograph for my boyfriend’s nan! BibleGirl was the sweetest, stood around talking to every who met her for ages and made sure she truly interacted with them, loved meeting her. Adore Delano… I died. Honestly, Adore was completely Adore in every way. Hugging everyone she met and telling them she loved them and thanking them for waiting for so long to meet her.

All in all, Alex and I love the day and honestly waiting 2.5 hours to meet Adore Delano was so worth it. If anyone who was there is reading this: Hi, yes I am the girl who started breaking down when Adore walked away from me.

Will I be attending next year? Most definitely! But I will definitely be buying tickets early and purchasing as many meet and greet tickets as I can. Thank you to Alex for accompanying me to the convention and being my super photographer throughout the day! And of course thank you to DragWorld for organising the event and to all of the queens, artists and companies who attended.