Michelle Visage hosts the ribbon cutting ceremony with the RuPaul’s Drag Race queens at the official opening of RuPaul’s DragCon UK, presented by World of Wonder at ExCeL London
Geektown was lucky enough to be invited back to RuPaul’s Dragcon UK at ExCeL London this weekend, and our resident film reviewer-turned-Drag-aficionado Gray got to go along!
The fantastic event had its 3rd outing this year and over 200 Drag Queens from the multiple franchises that operate internationally. The event started on Friday evening when the starts of UK Season 5 hosted an after-hours party before Michelle Visage cut the ribbon Saturday morning.
Gray was lucky enough to experience the epic walk along the runway of the incredible number of queens from franchises including the UK, Germany, Belgium, Thailand, Canada and of course the original USA versions. Performances filled the mainstage throughout the event and multiple charities and organisations filled out the spaces. It was the perfect place to pick up a new wig, some incredible jewellery or a sparkly dress! Amateur drag artistes and superfans were filling the queues to meet and greet some of their favourites from the show.
Gray and his partner Dan meet current AllStars Miss Congeniality LaLaRi at the event.
Gray and his partner Dan took the opportunity to say hello to current All-Stars Miss Congeniality LaLaRi and also grabbed an exclusive filming of TS Madison hosted ‘Bring Back My Girls’ at the event. Cast members from former UK seasons took to the stage to reflect upon their time filming their seasons before the entire roster of queens from Season 5 filmed their episode.
The event really did outdo itself compared to 2023, it compressed the event into 2 days of exhibitions, which meant more performers were around for all 3 days. The runway arrival on the Saturday gave every queen a chance to shine and get their moment on the runway. The event is undeniably expensive, but the hardcore drag audiences arrive with their empty tote bags ready to fill up on memorabilia throughout the two days.
World of Wonder Productions / Getty Images – Michelle Visage takes to stage to announce the cast for UK vs The World: Season 2
The bonus event took place on Saturday morning, where the attendees got the advanced news about the new cast of UK vs the World, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC Three in February. All cast members were revealed by Michelle Visage on the main stage just moments before the news hit the social media outlets. Gray’s bet is on Tia Kofi for the finale, but she will have some top competition from representatives of France, Spain and Down Under this time around.
Geektown wants to thank World of Wonder and Premier for allowing Gray to attend for the day.
RUPAUL’S DRAGCON UK was open at ExCeL London until 5pm on Sunday 14 January 2024. Tickets for 2025 are available and can be purchased via https://uk.rupaulsdragcon.com/ and RUPAUL’S DRAGCON LA is also now on sale.
Series 16 of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE exclusively drops weekly in the UK on the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus. Subscribe now at https://uk.wowpresentsplus.com/
