LGBTQ+ Sports Clubs and Social Groups in London: Fees, Sessions and How to Join

Why a club rather than a date

Meeting people through a regular activity is slower than a first date, but it has advantages. You see the same faces week after week, there is something to do other than make conversation, and nobody is assessing anybody. Many of the clubs below also describe a social side after sessions.

The clubs here were chosen because each has its own website stating who it is for and how to start. Fees, days and waiting lists are given as the clubs' own pages stated them on 14 October 2026. Where a page did not give a time or a price, we say so rather than guess. Clubs change venues and fees, often at the start of a season, so check before you turn up.

Running: London Frontrunners

London Frontrunners says it is open to anyone, regardless of ability, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. Its home page lists weekly runs on Monday at Elephant & Castle, Wednesday in Regent's Park and Greenwich Park, Thursday in Clapham, and Saturday in Hyde Park and Victoria Park, plus a Saturday long run. Start times and meeting points are on the individual run pages, which we did not rely on here, so check them before you go.

The club's page for first-timers explains how a first run works. Experienced volunteers, a leader and an assistant, look after new runners; you tell them the pace and distance you are comfortable with and they plan around it. The club says runs are not split into pace groups. Apart from Victoria Park, runs start at leisure centres with changing rooms, showers and lockers, and there is a social afterwards. It asks you to email beforehand and complete its new runners pre-registration form.

On cost, the club says your first month is free. After that its membership page lists an annual fee of £56, a £35 unwaged concession and a £37 second-claim rate for people whose first England Athletics club is elsewhere. The membership year runs from 1 April to 31 March, and the page says people joining partway through the year pay a reduced rate, without listing the amounts. The club also says its coaching sessions are led by England Athletics trained coaches.

• London Frontrunnersrunning club

  Weekly runs across London, first month free, annual membership £56 (£35 unwaged, £37 second claim) as listed on the club's membership page.

Swimming and water polo: Out To Swim

Out To Swim describes itself as a Masters club for adults aged 18 and over. It says most members are LGBTQ+ and that it welcomes allied adults with an interest in aquatic sport. It has branches outside London too, and offers swimming, lessons, open water, water polo and artistic swimming.

Joining starts with choosing a branch and attending what the club calls a casual evaluation session, after which a coach confirms which programme suits you and new members get a few free sessions, the number varying by branch. The club asks that swimmers can swim non-stop 400m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke and 25m butterfly; people who cannot are pointed to its lessons where offered.

The key caveat for London is capacity. On the date we read it, the club's join page said London swim training and lessons waitlists were closed, with a hoped-for reopening later in 2026. It said water polo beginners would not be accepted until at least September 2026, though experienced players could register interest. The artistic swimming waitlist was open, with newcomers joining through a six-week beginners course run once or twice a year.

The London page lists 2026 fees: £684 a year for swim training, lessons, water polo and artistic swimming, payable as £57 a month or with 5% off if paid in full in January. Pay as you go is £14.50 a session, not available for lessons. A separate Swim England yearly fee applies, listed as £25.32 for Club Train and £52.88 for Club Compete. Pool names and session times sit on separate timetable pages.

• Out To Swimswimming club

  Adults-only Masters aquatics club; London annual fee £684 or £57 a month, £14.50 pay as you go, with swim training waitlists closed when checked.

Football: Stonewall FC

Stonewall FC describes itself as LGBT+ and allies football and says it welcomes male, female and non-binary players. Wikipedia gives its founding year as 1991 and notes it was the first club of its kind to earn FA Chartered Standard status; it records the club's home ground as the London Marathon Community Track in Stratford.

The club's join page lists three weekly training sessions, all for over-18s. On Monday evenings there is mixed-level women and non-binary training on outdoor astroturf at West Ham Memorial Ground, E13. On Wednesday evenings there is intermediate and advanced training at Bobby Moore Academy in Stratford, E20. On Thursday evenings there is beginners' men's 5-a-side indoors at Powerleague Battersea, SW8. Start times are not given on that page.

Its teams range from competitive Saturday 11-a-side men's sides to a Sunday team in the LGBTQ+ London Unity League, a trans-inclusive women and non-binary 11-a-side that the club says is not FA affiliated, and non-competitive Thursday 5-a-side games with socials. To join, you fill in the form on the join page, giving your level and how much time you can commit, and a manager gets in touch. The first training session is free, then £8 a session; regular training or match play needs an annual membership whose amount the page does not state.

• Stonewall FCfootball club

  Training on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at venues in E13, E20 and SW8; first session free, then £8 a session, as stated on the club's join page.

Rugby: Kings Cross Steelers

International Gay Rugby's club listing describes the Kings Cross Steelers as the world's first gay and inclusive rugby club, founded in 1995, and says the club is focused on an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ people and their allies. Both that listing and the club's own site give its address as Memorial Park, 71 Holland Road, London E15 3BP.

The club's own site, now hosted on Pitchero, links to a Join The Steelers page and a signup form, and gives a contact phone number in its footer. The pages we read did not state training days, times or fees, so we have left those out; ask the club directly before travelling to Holland Road.

• Kings Cross Steelers RFCrugby club

  Memorial Park, 71 Holland Road, E15

  Described by International Gay Rugby as the world's first gay and inclusive rugby club, founded in 1995; join via the signup form on the club site.

Choirs: the Pink Singers and the London Gay Men's Chorus

The Pink Singers describe themselves as an LGBT+ choir and say they were formed in 1983 for the Lesbian and Gay Pride march. Their membership page says they rehearse every Sunday from 2pm to 6pm in central London and ask members to attend at least 70% of rehearsals. They take in new members twice a year, and joiners must be 18 or over.

There is an audition, but the page says no preparation is needed and you do not need to read music: you sing scales so the music team can place your voice, then take an ear test and a memory test. Open rehearsals run once or twice a season if you want to try first. On cost, the page gives a recommended minimum donation of around £30 a month, a figure it dates to 2021, with a subsidised rate of about £10 a month for those who need it. Enquiries go to the joining address on the site.

The London Gay Men's Chorus says all are welcome to join it in song. Wikipedia says it was founded in 1991 by nine gay men and has about 200 singing members at any one time. The chorus's own site says new members are invited to an assessment, which it stresses is not an audition, and that there is quite a long waiting list you can sign up to. Its site did not list rehearsal times or membership fees on the pages we read.

• Pink Singerschoir

  Rehearses Sundays 2pm–6pm in central London, intake twice a year, suggested donation around £30 a month (2021 figure) with a subsidised rate.

• London Gay Men's Choruschoir

  New members are assessed rather than auditioned, according to the chorus, which notes a long waiting list.

Walking: the Gay Sunday Walking Group

The Gay Sunday Walking Group describes itself as a London-based walking group for LGBTQ+ people and their friends and relations, open to all ages with no hiking experience needed. It says it usually runs at least two walks a month: a half-day walk of roughly 3 to 6 miles and a full-day walk of about 7 to 12 miles. Most are on Sundays, with some Saturdays and occasional bank holiday Mondays.

Membership is £12 a year, or £17 if you want information by post rather than email, and members then get full details of all walks at no extra charge. The group says newcomers can try one or two walks before deciding, and asks people to email it about upcoming walks for a trial visit. It also lists itself on Meetup.

• Gay Sunday Walking Groupwalking group

  At least two walks a month, mostly Sundays; £12 a year (£17 by post), with one or two trial walks allowed, according to the group.

What we could not verify

We looked for LGBTQ+ netball, climbing and book club groups in London and found references to several, but could not reach an official site for any of them that stated current sessions or fees. Rather than repeat details from directories or old listings, we have left them out.

We also could not confirm session start times for the running and football clubs, rugby training days, or the chorus's rehearsal schedule from the pages we read.

Before you go

• Contact the club first. London Frontrunners asks new runners to email and pre-register, Stonewall FC uses a join form and a manager replies, and Out To Swim requires an evaluation session.
• Check waiting lists before you plan around a club. Out To Swim's London swim training waitlist and the London Gay Men's Chorus both stated limits on new members when we read them.
• Ask about the total cost. Out To Swim adds a Swim England fee, Stonewall FC charges an annual membership on top of £8 sessions, and the Pink Singers' donation figure dates from 2021.
• Confirm venue and start time on the day, since several clubs keep these on separate pages or share them only after you join.
• Use the free tries. London Frontrunners offers a free first month, Stonewall FC a free first session and the walking group one or two trial walks.

Questions people ask

Do I have to be LGBTQ+ to join these clubs?

Most say no. London Frontrunners says it is open to anyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, Stonewall FC welcomes LGBT+ people and allies, Out To Swim welcomes allied adults, and the walking group includes friends and relations. Check each club's own wording, as choirs and some teams describe more specific memberships.

Which is the cheapest way to try a club?

On the clubs' own pages, London Frontrunners offers a free first month, Stonewall FC a free first training session, and the Gay Sunday Walking Group lets newcomers try one or two walks before paying £12 a year. Out To Swim offers a few free sessions after its evaluation, though London swim training was not taking new swimmers when checked.

Do I need to be good at the sport?

Not for most. London Frontrunners says it is open regardless of ability and does not split runs into pace groups; Stonewall FC runs a beginners' 5-a-side. Out To Swim is the exception: it asks for a non-stop 400m freestyle and short distances of the other strokes, pointing others to lessons.

Do LGBTQ+ choirs in London audition?

The Pink Singers hold a short audition of scales, an ear test and a memory test, and say you need no preparation or music reading. The London Gay Men's Chorus says it uses an assessment that is not an audition, and warns of a long waiting list.