


The official 2025 UK LGBT+ History Month badge was designed by Emily, a 12-year-old pupil from St Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy in Sunderland who was the winner of our Schools badge competition. Buy your badge here.
“I was inspired to draw the megaphone because everyone deserves to be heard and sometimes to be heard you need help to be loud. The colours coming out of the megaphone were the LGBT+ flag, to represent everyone and how we need to be loud about the LGBT+ community and its history. It was important to support the community even if you aren’t a part of it, it is important to be an ally and to be kind. I made the badge a different shape to make it stand out and raise more awareness. I feel my badge means a kit because I can raise awareness and I feel like I have made a difference so I am very happy!”
If you are planning on celebrating UK LGBT+ History Month in February 2025 please register on the form below, and add your events to the official UK LGBT+ History Month calendar here. We still have limited availability to speak at events in February, please book here.
LGBT+ History Month 2025
From BC to AD LGBT+ people have existed. Over the past 20 years, since the first UK LGBT+ History Month in 2005, we have highlighted the incredible things LGBT+ people in all our diversity have achieved throughout history in all areas of life.
Over the past 50 years Schools OUT have worked to #educateOUTprejudice and usualise LGBT+ lives, creating learning environments where all LGBT+ people feel safe, seen, and supported; which is why we founded UK LGBT+ History Month following the repeal of Section 28 to be a dedicated space to celebrate our rich and diverse history, herstory, theirstory. This year it is even more important that we:
- Claim our past
- Celebrate our present
- Create our future
In November we were delighted to launch the UK LGBT+ History Month 2025 theme from Conway Hall; a venue which is steeped in history from the conference of doctors that led to the founding of the NHS, to speakers such as George Orwell; and so fitting for the 2025 UK LGBT+ History Month theme:
Activism and Social Change
Throughout history LGBT+ people have been activists and helped shape and create social change, advancing society for everyone using many different approaches to activism:
- Protests and rallies
- Campaigns – letter writing and social media
- Boycotts and direct action
- Collaboration and education
- Art and music
- Literature and poetry
- Theatre, film, comedy and dance
- Crafts from banners to zines
- Living openly
Each year we choose five LGBT+ historical figures in line with the theme to highlight. This year we have chosen five LGBT+ people who have created social change from across the centuries in progressing change for women, the environment, housing, nuclear disarmament, preserving heritage, abolition of the slave trade, and immigration, among many other causes.
The 2025 LGBT+ Historical Figures are: Octavia Hill, Ivor Cummings, Annie Kenney, Charlie Kiss, and Olaudah Equiano.
If you’d like to donate to support our work, click here to donate via PayPal.
Register for UK LGBT+ History Month 2025
What is UK LGBT+ History Month?
Who is LGBT+ History Month for?
LGBT+ History Month is for everyone; whether you work in education, a museum, a library or an art gallery, a business, a service, or are a member of a network/social group or an individual.
When is it celebrated?
It is celebrated every February across the UK and was founded in 2004 by Schools OUT UK co-chairs, Paul Patrick & Professor Emeritus Sue Sanders. It was first celebrated in February 2005 and 2025 will be its 20th year.
Why was it founded?
For so long LGBT+ people’s history was hidden, following the repeal of Section 28 Schools OUT created UK LGBT+ History Month to:
- claim our past
- celebrate our present
- create our future
We wanted to create a dedicated space to celebrate our rich and diverse history, herstory and theirstory.
How do we help you celebrate LGBT+ History Month?
Every year Schools OUT sets the theme for LGBT+ History Month and provides free resources for education settings, businesses, services, organisations and individuals to help them celebrate and ‘Usualise’ LGBT+ lives in their full diversity.
Why is it called LGBT+ History Month and not LGBTQ+ History Month?
We wanted to ensure that LGBT+ History Month celebrates LGBTQIA+ communities in all our diversity. Adding ‘Q’ for ‘Queer’ was considered but we decided to use ‘plus’ instead to include all our communities, and because for some of our communities the term ‘Queer’ is associated with a time it was used in a negative context. We understand that your organisation may choose to refer to LGBT+ History Month as LGBTQ+ History Month for your own communications.
LGBT+ Historical Figures
Books
LGBT+ History Month 2025’s historical figures

Memories of a Militant – the autobiography of Annie Kenney

Social Change and Activism

Shoulder to Shoulder by Jake Hall
Podcasts
Our CEO Professor Emeritus Sue Sanders sat down with Neil Hudson-Basing to share a little of her work for the first episode of ‘Pause. And Rewind..’ for 2025.
We are celebrating 20 years since we first launched UK LGBT+ History Month 2005. The idea to create a UK LGBT+ History month came from Sue and Paul Patrick and this podcast was a great opportunity to reflect on its impact & progress as well as diving into Sue’s origin story!
LGBT+ History Month Quiz
We are delighted to bring to you an LGBT+ History Month quiz, developed in collaboration with Play.Works and Diversity Media Sales. Test your knowledge here:
Posters, Slide Deck & Factsheets
Coming soon…