Nearly 400 people came to Leeds for the 35th UK Bi Convention*, BiCon. The second time it has come to Leeds in under five years, this time the venue was Leeds Beckett University, who flew the bi flag proudly where it would be visible right across the campus for the weekend.
About three in ten of the attendees were at their first big bi event, many never having been in bi space before.
Congratulations from BCN to the BiCon 2017 team who pulled off the four-day peak of the UK bi calendar. With at least 370 attendees (there might be the odd stall holder who wasn’t counted in that total – we say call it 375!) one of the interesting innovations was the presence of local sexual health project Mesmac who provided on-site sexual health checkups for attendees.
There was a varied workshop programme by day, cabiret, discos and gaming by night. In one of the unplanned traditions of the event, there was also a Saturday afternoon evacuation following a fire alarm.
The conference rolls forward with nearly-confirmed plans for the summers of 2018 and 2019 already in place. Watch this space for news of those!
* Or conference. We still haven’t agreed on that, but it’s only been three and a bit decades and you don’t want to rush a big decision.