The afternoon starts at 2pm with Pints N Straws, a daytime taproom tour through three handpicked venues before the main event. Run by hosts from the trans community Ann, Benni and Izzy — joined by a loyal crowd of LFF regulars — it runs until 6pm and moves at its own pace. Drop in for all three venues or just one; there's no obligation and no fixed itinerary.

The venues are chosen carefully: friendly atmosphere, a good drink selection, enough space to actually sit down, and close to the Freedom Quarter and the regular LFF hotels. Several serve food too, which helps if you're building up to a long night. Alcohol-free options and hot drinks are always available at every stop.

It's worth coming for reasons beyond the beer. Pints N Straws is specifically designed to create a safe, welcoming space for people who haven't yet spent time socialising in LGBTQ+ venues — and it does that job well. Arriving at the Big Meet Up having already spent an afternoon with this crowd makes the whole evening easier. If it's your first LFF, this is a brilliant place to start.

The evening proper kicks off at 7pm with The Big Meet Up at Bridge End Social. Here's the thing about it: hundreds of people, most of them strangers, instantly and completely at ease with each other in a way that almost never happens in normal life. Regulars and first-timers, people from Leeds and people who've travelled from across the country, all in the same room, all getting it. That feeling of instant belonging — you'll recognise it the moment you walk in. Stay as long as you need. By 9pm the crowd starts to spread out, and the real business of the night begins.

From 9pm the Freedom Quarter opens up and this is where LFF really lives. A tight cluster of LGBTQ+ bars barely five minutes from Bridge End Social — Viaduct Showbar, Fibre, Smokestack, Behind Closed Doors, The-End, Blayds Bar, New Penny — yours to move between in any order, at any pace, with whoever you've found yourself with. Bridge Bar is returning to the circuit soon. The adventurous make it out to Call Lane later in the night — Tiki Bar and Call Lane Social are the picks from that stretch. Most people surface around 2am. The committed end up at New Penny, which runs until 5:30am. You'll figure out which type you are.

Built into that evening is one genuinely unmissable stop: Cocktails at 9 at Farrands. This is the most civilised thing about an already very good night — pull up a chair, slow the pace, and drink something genuinely exceptional. These are premium, properly crafted cocktails served by staff who know exactly who we are and take real care of the room. Host Lucy has shaped the menu personally, and her Jammie Dodger — inspired by the biscuit, perfected for this crowd — has quietly become one of the most-ordered drinks in the LFF calendar. The atmosphere is warm, unhurried and deeply pleasurable. Book in advance; places go. Later on, The-End often has Roberta Borelli — The-End's own night rather than ours, but the crowd overlap is no coincidence, and it's a brilliant way to end up somewhere loud after somewhere lovely.

If navigating all of that solo sounds daunting — especially for the first time — that's exactly what Made It! is for. Running at Queens Court from 7pm, it's a dedicated space for newcomers to find their people before the evening properly begins. The Freedom Quarter is a completely different experience when you've got a group to move through it with.

LFF is completely free. No tickets, no guest list, no door charge. The venues are public bars — you buy your own drinks as you go. Wear whatever makes you feel like you. No dress code, no rules, no performance required. People come in jeans. People come fully glam. Both are exactly right. That's the point.

If you're driving, the south bank car parks put you closest to the action.

Leeds train station is a 5-10 minute walk to most LFF venues and hotels. Late services run to most destinations and there are always taxis outside the station if you need them.

Most visitors from the US fly into Manchester Airport (MAN) or London Heathrow (LHR). Manchester is the closest major international hub — direct trains run to Leeds station in around 50 minutes, with services every half hour. It's an easy journey.

From Heathrow, take the Heathrow Express to London Paddington, cross to King's Cross (a short Tube or Uber ride), then an LNER direct to Leeds in around 2 hours 20 minutes. Total journey from Heathrow is typically 3 to 3.5 hours. LNER advance fares from London to Leeds start from around £25 and the trains are good.

Eurostar runs from Paris Gare du Nord, Brussels-Midi and Amsterdam Centraal to London St Pancras. King's Cross — where you catch the LNER north to Leeds — is a five-minute walk away. Total journey time from Paris is around 5 hours. From Brussels, around 4.5 hours.

Alternatively, fly direct to Manchester Airport (MAN) — excellent connections from across Europe, and 50 minutes by train to Leeds. Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) is smaller but has direct European routes and is around 30 minutes by taxi or bus to the city centre.

Leeds city centre is compact and genuinely walkable. All the LFF venues are within 5 to 10 minutes of each other on foot, and all the hotels in this guide are a comfortable walk from The Freedom Quarter. You can move between venues all night without ever needing a taxi.

If you're staying further out, heading home late, or just want the option, here's what works:

If you're planning to walk anywhere later in the night, especially alone or off the usual LFF route, a few habits are worth building before you head out.

A lot of people travel to Leeds specifically for LFF — and staying over transforms the whole experience. No trains to catch. No curfew. No watching the clock at midnight while everyone around you is just getting started. On LFF nights the hotels become part of the event: the Marriott lobby in particular fills up with our crowd from early evening, and getting ready in a hotel with other LFF people heading out at the same time is its own kind of brilliant. Every hotel on this list is a comfortable walk from the venues, and every one has an established relationship with the LFF crowd. They know who we are. They're glad we come.

There's no single right way to do food on LFF night. Some people eat in their hotel while getting ready — efficient, one less thing to coordinate, and fine. Others go all in: a proper table somewhere genuinely good, the whole group dressed up, a long dinner that becomes its own event before anyone's set foot in the Freedom Quarter. Leeds has the restaurants to do it justice either way.

If you'd love a meal out but don't have anyone to go with yet, ask in our Discord or Facebook group ahead of time — people are always up for it. And whoever's making the booking: Friday evenings in Leeds fill up fast. Book ahead.

Photos and video are part of how LFF gets shared and how it feels real to people who haven't been yet. We love seeing the night documented. But consent matters here more than at most places.

For many of us, being photographed or filmed without our knowledge can have real consequences. Outing, safety, employment, family. That responsibility sits with everyone who uses a device with a lens.

Ask before you photograph or film. If someone says no, absolutely respect it. If someone looks uncertain, assume it's a no. The same applies to video — including short clips and Stories.

We only post photos and video that have been sent to us directly. Before anything goes on our accounts, we make sure everyone visible is happy to be included. If you'd like to be featured, send your content to us via Instagram, Facebook or Discord.

If someone photographs or films you without your consent, you can raise it directly with them or speak to a member of the LFF team. If you've been posted somewhere and want it taken down, let us know and we'll take action promptly.