Pride in Lagos
About This Event
Pride in Lagos is a week of mostly private LGBTQ+ events held in late June in Lagos. Read the legal context first. Nigeria's 2014 Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act criminalises same-sex relationships, public displays of affection between people of the same sex, and LGBTQ+ organisations, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison. In the northern states that use Sharia law, the penalties are harsher. Pride in Lagos is not a march and not a public festival.
QueerCity Media started it in 2021, and Olaide Kayode Timileyin runs it. The first year was small: panels, film screenings and workshops. In 2022 it ran as a full week, from 20 to 26 June, with an art exhibition, panels, a runway show and a closing drag and ballroom ball. The ball is now the centrepiece. The 2024 ball, "Heavenly Bodies," honoured the late trans activist Fola Francis and was held at a secret location. The 2025 programme had a ball on 27 June and an Equality Summit with Bisi Alimi as keynote speaker. In 2026 the Owambe Ball was held in Lekki.
Venues are private or semi-private and are announced shortly before each event. Organisers vet guests and enforce no-photography rules. It is a community event for queer Nigerians, not something to plan a trip around. If you are visiting Lagos, don't post photos or locations, and contact the organisers privately rather than in public comments.
The 2027 dates hadn't been announced when we checked.
Where to stay during Pride in Lagos
via Stay22Videos
Inside The World Of Gays & Transgenders In Lagos, Nigeria 😳
