Yet another London gay bar closes for good

Barcode in Vauxhall has become the latest London gay bar to close its doors for good, after holding its last-ever event on Saturday night (May 30).

The venue – which would have celebrated its tenth birthday in just a month’s time – hasn’t offered any explanation as to why it’s closed, but held an official ‘Closing Party’ at the weekend before shutting up shop for good.

“Barcode closes its doors for the last time on Sunday morning May 31st,” organisers wrote on the venue’s Facebook page.

“Join us this Saturday 30/05/2015 in celebrating almost 10 years of great parties at ‘The Closing Party’ of Vauxhall’s favourite destination”.

Barcode is the latest in a string of sudden gay bar closures in the capital – inn the few months alone, The Black Cap in Camden and The Green Carnation and Manbar in Soho have all shut down for good, with Manbar blaming Westminster Council’s decision to remove its entertainment license – click here to find out more.

Meanwhile, famous London drag club Madame Jojo’s was forced to close at the end of last year following a ‘serious violent incident’, while The Yard has narrowly avoided closure after a successful campaign against redevelopment plans. In the wake of closures, Stephen Fry has since backed the ‘Save Soho’ campaign to preserve the area’s heritage.

With more and more venues under threat, we recently took an in-depth look at the problems they’re currently facing, asking: is it the end of the capital’s gay scene as we know it?

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