Safer To Be Me: Newcastle and Gateshead to host world-first LGBTQ+ summit

Next October, Newcastle and Gateshead will become the stage for a global first – a week-long LGBTQ+ human rights summit designed to bring activists, allies and communities together from around the world.

The Safer To Be Me summit, running from 20–25 October 2025, will welcome more than 500 delegates from over 40 countries. Organisers describe it as a “local to global” gathering – one that will spotlight the North East’s own queer history while also tackling some of the most urgent human rights challenges facing LGBTQ+ people internationally.

At the heart of the summit is a two-day conference in Gateshead, featuring over 40 panel discussions, workshops and keynote sessions. Veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell will be among the headline speakers, while the UK AIDS Quilt will also be displayed. Proceedings will end with a candlelit vigil in memory of those lost to AIDS and anti-LGBTQ+ violence.

But beyond the conference, the week-long programme promises a celebration of solidarity and community. Free public events include guided walking tours of Newcastle’s queer history, a trans and non-binary awareness training course, and networking opportunities for LGBTQ+ professionals and allies.

The summit will culminate with the unveiling of the Newcastle Gateshead Declaration – billed as the world’s first global solidarity statement on LGBTQ+ rights. The declaration will be signed at Newcastle’s historic Assembly Rooms on Friday 24 October, in what organizers hope will be a landmark moment for equality.

“There has never been a more urgent time to come together,” said organizers ReportOUT. “As LGBTQ+ rights are rolled back in many parts of the world, this summit will provide a vital space for solidarity, learning and action.”

The event has been hailed as a first not only for the UK, but for the international LGBTQ+ movement. With much of the programme free and open to the public, organisers say they want local communities to feel as much a part of the summit as the international delegates.

Full details of the programme can be found here.