Pride Month events in Hong Kong to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community

This creativity-led hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui has always held an ethos of inclusion and freedom of expression, so it’s no surprise that they’ve got something up their sleeves for Pride Month. June will see a special collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Balatro. The Honduran-born, Hong Kong-based performer is known for using mime, clowning, drag, contemporary dance, and music in his own performance style to examine the human condition in our modern society. We can’t wait to see what he has cooked up for the Mondrian.

Meanwhile, The Corner Shop is also hosting an exhibition by Kasper Forest, who trawled the alleyways of Hong Kong for the last nine years. His moody street captures, often lit with a single orange spotlight, also document his evolving relationship with Hong Kong’s LGBTQ+ community from wariness to connection. ‘From Alley to Alley’ runs from June 13 to July 12.

Everyone’s favourite queer-friendly dive bar is returning with Rainbow Road, their annual anthem that marks the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. June 19 sees the rock-and-roll bar partnering with five other venues around Central for a fun shot run. Complete six custom-made Moonshine mini cocktails at Dead Poets, Aer, Friday After Class, Honky Tonks Tavern, Not 2 Sweet, and The Pontiac, before rocking up to the finish line featuring a Midnight Special afterparty from 10pm onwards, where a bartender from each of the participating locations will take their turn behind the stick amidst the Pontiac chaos. Tickets to the Rainbow Run are priced at $288 per person, which includes six mini cocktails, an exclusive Rainbow Run race kit, and guaranteed access to the afterparty.

On June 25, head back to The Pontiac for a karaoke night of high-energy Pride anthems, where guests will be invited to take the mic and belt out both nostalgic throwbacks and rock classics. If you’re a diva who can hold a tune (or even just a partygoer unafraid to have some fun), we’ll see you there from 7pm!

The annual Pride at Sea junk boat party is back for its fifth edition on June 13, featuring revelery onboard a 120-ft yacht with an upper-deck dance floor, air-conditioned private rooms, and DJs Dino and Gina spinning pop, house, and circuit beats live. They’ll also keep everyone fed and watered with a Thai feast and a free-flow bar. Tickets for the junk are priced at $1,100 and includes free entry to the after party at Casa Dao after you’re back on land.

The members’ club will be opening its top two floors for the Rainbow Rave on June 27. The Pontiac will bring in a lineup of top bartenders from the region, including Call Me Al, Friday After Class, Crushed, and Sundry Bangkok, while there will also be live DJ sets and drag performances from Poise’n Grace. Partygoers can also have fun with flash tattoos and tooth gems by Stage.tattoo, tarot card readings, as well as access to the club’s pool and nibbles. Early-bird tickets are available until June 10 at $288, while full-price tickets will cost $350 – all include one drink.

Avoca’s head bartender Rolf Flaminiano has created a new cocktail creation specifically dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community named Unicorn, exclusively available for the month of June. Cacao, homemade orange spiced elixir, cream, berries, and Planteray coconut rum combine to make a colourful, fruity drink with a fluffy mouthfeel. Aside from the special cocktail, Avoca has also arranged several Hong Kong-based queer artists to perform their DJ sets live every weekend this month. The lineup include names like Pedro Pimentel, Benjamin Law, Petoto, Misty Penguin, Thorin Duffin aka Gay Chav DJ, El Baraka, and more.

Cruise at the Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong brings back their Draglicious Pride Brunch, an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink affair on the rooftop of the hotel. While you’re indulging in the feast over with 20 dish options and bottomless prosecco and wines, there will also be entertainment in the form of some of Hong Kong’s best drag queens such as Emma Ohrey, Lilo May, and Pansze Diva, as well as live DJ sets by Disco Stoner to keep the vibes going. Cruise’s drag brunch is available exclusively on Saturday, June 27, and costs $688 per person.

Hotel and creative hub Eaton HK is hosting a range of Pride month events, including an exhibition that draws from the Hong Kong LGBTQ+ Archive of Printed Matter. The city’s queer community is revisited through relics from the pre-internet era, such as newsletter, indie zines, handwritten letters, promotion brochures, AIDS leaflets, and more rare materials from the 80s to the early 2000s. More than a record of the past, this show aims to open dialogue for new visions of future queer memory. The Offline Memories exhibition runs from June 18 to July 19.

On June 15, experienced drag artists Holok, Bauhinia Black, Boy Bawang, and Gin Pan will lead a workshop in beginner drag. Through makeup, costumes, choreography, and performance, participants will be introduced to drag culture with hands-on activities, and get to learn the moves to the closing performance of Queertopia.

Speaking of, Eaton HK’s Pride activities culminate in Queertopia: Evolution, bringing together a diverse lineup of drag performers both experienced and emerging, for a fabulous night of transformation and queer celebration. Those who have joined the drag workshop previously and learned choreography will also get the opportunity to join the drag queens onstage for the final performance number.