December 2025 - Campaign update

The team at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club is currently sweating glitter and working their socks off to keep the curtain rising on new events. You're continued attendance will be keeping their spirits high. Massive cheers to you for keeping the seats warm and the dancefloor sticky!

Meanwhile, over at Friends of BGWMC HQ, we’ve been keeping busy too. Here is our latest update:

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Friends of BGWMC is a Community Benefit Society incorporated in 2024, and we hold the Asset of Community Value status on the building of Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. The Society is currently run by a committee of 7 people; workers, promoters, local residents, trade unionists, cultural workers, who are all dedicated to preserving the future of BGWMC.

Equity, the trade union, has been a key partner and member of the society since its inception. We also receive invaluable advice and support from GLA’s Culture at Risk Office and countless other individuals who have selflessly given their time and expertise.

Since 2024, the programmers have been threatened with eviction, as the owners try to clear the way to sell the building to the highest bidder. We have thrown every possible barrier in the way to protect this vital and prospering LGBTQ+ community owned space.

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In January 2025, Tower Hamlets Council granted our application to recognise BGWMC as a Cabaret Theatre in planning terms.

They said: “any proposed development which would not retain the existing cultural venue (along with its important LGBTQ+ focus) would not be supported.”

This is significant, and we think we have succeeded in preventing BGWMC from being converted into flats for the foreseeable future!

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In February 2025 we launched a fighting-fund campaign to help develop our bid for the building.

We smashed this target in just 3 weeks! We raised a total of £44,598 from a combination of crowdfunder donations, grants, and other private donations. This has allowed us to develop our pitch and do critical valuations of the building and of BGWMC’s social impact. We are taking careful and prudent steps to lay solid foundations for the future of the club. We now also have healthy reserves to carry the campaign into the next stage of acquiring the building.

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In 2026 we are determined to secure the future of the building, to keep it in the hands of the community, and to open the books and allow every member of this vibrant community to become a member of your club. Working towards the relaunch of a social club fit for the 21st Century, run by the community and for the community.

Despite all of this, BGWMC is still very much alive and open for business!

This is something that seemed completely impossible back in 2024!

So, for now, let’s celebrate that and be proud of what we’ve achieved in 2025.

Watch this space for updates in the new year.