international drag extravaganza .

Why does the exhibition work as a concept ? FB : The amazing thing about DragCon is it ’ s an opportunity for the tribe who watch RuPaul ’ s Drag Race to come together and meet each other in person .

We ’ ve always been surprised by just how diverse the crowd is – young , old , yellow , brown , queer , straight , non-binary – everyone is there , and everyone is welcome . RB : Drag Race is an incredibly diverse show with an incredibly diverse audience . DragCon is the physical manifestation of that .

The show has always celebrated being different and we all are different .

With the growth and surprising success of Drag Race around the world , we just knew we needed to come up with a way to bring everyone together . For them to physically meet one another , connect and celebrate their diversity and uniqueness .

Had there been a gap in the market for this kind of event ? Were drag communities underrepresented by consumer shows ? FB : Yeah , I think there was a gap in the market . There are drag concerts and tours already out there , but the idea of a convention , no one had done that before .

It ’ s that sense of communality that you get from going to a convention . You really get to immerse yourself in that world and

DragCon UK 2020 , Olympia London

interact with other people within the community , rather than just going to see a performance .

The first ever DragCon took place in Los Angeles in 2015 and with the huge success of RuPaul ’ s Drag Race UK on BBC Three in 2019 , we just had to bring DragCon to the United Queendom . RB : People go to conventions to look at something or discover something new about a specific trade .

People certainly come to DragCon to discover more about the Drag community , but they also come to DragCon to celebrate themselves . It ’ s unique in the market .

We would describe it as a three-day celebration , party , and festival of love . To me that ’ s not like your local car or boat show – DragCon is very different . FB : Until DragCon there wasn ’ t a convention that specifically catered to the amazing artistry that is drag .

At DragCon you are the star of your own convention .

Do you think there ’ s a lack of diversity within the exhibitions industry ? How does DragCon go about tackling diversity ? RB : Diversity is the corner stone of the Drag Race show . So , the convention just amplifies that .

I do think it ’ s unlike most conventions that are out there . You can feel that when you ’ re on the convention floor – it ’ s a melting pot of all different types of people .

You publish a detailed harassment policy to all you visitors , exhibitors and staff – why is this so important to you ? FB : It ’ s an issue that has long been a problem culturally .

It is of tantamount importance to us that DragCon is a safe space for everyone to come to , where they can feel welcomed , included and above all safe . And that ’ s why we have such a detailed anti-harassment

policy . RB : Another thing that is different about DragCon is that there are so many stars . When we say there are 150 drag queens in attendance , they ’ re not just drag queens , they are stars and they ’ re right next to you .

So , it ’ s super important for people to be respectful – and people are by the way – but this is just us reminding that 0.00001 % who might forget or get caught up in their fan frenzy , that there are boundaries , there are rules , and we want our super stars to feel super safe whilst still being super accessible .

Any plans yet for RuPaul ’ s DragCon UK to return in 2024 ? FB : With the success of the 2020 event and looking at how 2023 is shaping up , I don ’ t see why there wouldn ’ t be a world in which DragCon becomes a UK staple every year as we do in LA . RB : We ’ d love to make it happen , so watch this space .

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