GFest – gayWise LGBT Arts Festival 2009 came to a celebratory close on 22 November. And GFest '10 preparations carried on full steam from yesterday.  

There was a lot to celebrate and enjoy in GFest 09 and the general feedback was very encouraging. For the audiences of  GFest 09, London’s LGBT  (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) and queer arts fest for all,  artists flying into London from USA to Netherlands, sold-out nights and standing ovation were some of the special moments. Majority of LGBT and queer artists sent a feedback saying how much they enjoyed and they are looking forward to the next year’s activities.

The Festival is supported by Mayor of London and the GFest 09 launch was hosted by David Lammy MP at House of Commons at the end of October. The Festival enjoys cross-party support and events were attended by Ministers, MPs and members from all three main parties in UK.

Key learning points from GFest 09 will be fed back into festival activities and its organisation and we are happy to get such a positive response. Particularly, broader coverage of the festival by travel and tourism sector is one such remarkable development this year. British Airways, Eurostar, Best Western Hotels, Red Carnation Hotels, Visit London, Visit Britain coverage for GFest 09 was a great help and encouraged tourists to attend the festival. Several Blogs and online networks and social media news covered the festival news throughout its duration.

Apart from London based LGBT and mainstream media sources, GFest 09 news was covered in Norway, Spain, Italy, Japan and several international online event review websites. A true showcase of widest possible diverse talent, GFest 09 also broke barriers since it was attended by gay and straight audiences from all age groups (younger and older, including families walking in with toddlers), various social and cultural backgrounds.

Niranjan Kamatkar, artistic director of GFest commented, “For me, standing ovation after the much awaited Mavin Khoo performance on Friday was the star moment of this year’s festival. I think all of the over 100 GFest 09 artists and practitioners worked very hard to make it a success and contributed to the festival with their best artistic abilities to send a common message – Stamp Out Homophobia. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL – GFest 09 artists, funders, media, community partners, supporters, audiences and several thousands LGBT community members who helped us and made GFest 09 possible in these particularly challenging economic times.”

Watch out for further news and developments of GFest 10 in November 2010.

WISE THOUGHTS is an arts charity that organises GFest – gayWise LGBT Arts Festival ( known as GFest in short)  in London.

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