Rochdale Council postpones Drag Queen Story Hour with 'no communication' despite positive previous events

Date published: 09 August 2022

Storytelling sessions promoting diversity, acceptance and reading through kid-friendly events due to take place next week have been cancelled by Rochdale Borough Council.

Rochdale Council confirmed on 8 August that the planned events in Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood on 16 August have been postponed, with no alternative date yet proposed. The council has not given a reason why the events have been postponed.

The storytelling sessions were due to be hosted by Drag Queen Story Hour UK which is touring Britain this summer, with almost 70 events in 20 areas of the UK. Previous events held this year have provoked controversy, with protestors arrested in Bristol and the police called in Belfast.

Two protestors interrupted the inaugural event in Reading as others protested outside, claiming the event ‘sexualises children’. One protestor in Leeds even smashed a fire alarm at the start of the event.

The postponement comes as protestors have stormed similar Drag Queen Story Hour UK events, which are run by Sab Samuel, who performs as Aida H Dee, who is intended to be a positive LGTBQ+ role model for children.

Aida previously held the exact same event in Rochdale in November 2021, which was positively received, and has called the lack of communication from the council "insulting."

Previous drag queen storytelling events – not by Drag Queen Story Hour UK – in Rochdale – hosted as part of the local Pride celebrations – have been well received by parents and children alike each time, as these social media posts from 2019 and 2021 show:

Aida – who has even received kidnapping threats – has been met with some opposition: she was cornered on the back streets of Brighton last week as men violently threatened her – yet her sold-out storytelling sessions in Cornwall were some of the best attended in the UK.

According to previous reports, Aida has been met at prior events by protestors holding signs with statements such as: “We are against grooming”; “Leave our kids alone”; “We are not transphobes”; whilst hecklers have called her a ‘paedophile’.

Aida H Dee had been set to revisit the Rochdale borough next Tuesday, but Drag Queen Story Hour UK claims Rochdale Council “shut down” the event “without any discussion or conversation” just half-an-hour before publicly announcing the postponement.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Drag Queen Story Hour UK said: “We are disappointed that we were not consulted in safety strategies for Rochdale Borough Council, and that their one-sided decision was given to us with less than 30 minutes notice prior to publication.

“This action is not only a breach of our contract, but a breach of the trust with the whole LGBTQ+ community in their area and across the UK.

“Rochdale Borough Council has let us down, let the UK libraries community down, and have let down every person who has ever stood outside our events to support our libraries, and Aida H Dee.

“All other councils and library groups have maintained this event throughout the UK with two-way communication and planning. If these libraries across the country can host Drag Queen Story Hour, so can Rochdale.

“Rochdale Council's equality objective states they aim to ‘Promote equality by knowing their diverse community and understanding its changing needs’ – we recommend Rochdale revisit their true intentions on this objective.

“Moving forward, we hope to have an open discussion with them on how they can improve their communication with us and future event organisers. We also aim to highlight the long-lasting damage this one-sided decision will cause to an already marginalised community, especially when said decision comes from people in authority.

“Finally, and most importantly, we want to ensure that Rochdale Council understand the damage they have incurred to Drag Queen Story Hour UK and the message that this gives off to the young people and their families who were excited to attend.

“We invite anyone who would like to let their thoughts be known about this decision to email feedback.council@rochdale.gov.uk.”

Responding, a spokesperson for the council said: “Rochdale Borough Council is a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. Rochdale in Rainbows [Rochdale's Pride celebration] took place for the fourth time from 24 June to 2 July with a line-up of events and activities across the borough.

“We recognise that it's important that we have a continuous programme of activity to celebrate equality and inclusion and respect for everyone. As a council and a borough there is a strong commitment to support inclusivity and celebrate diversity.

“We’ve held a number of drag queen story sessions in our libraries through the Rochdale in Rainbows programme and these have included stories which encourage the understanding of differences between people and diversity. The feedback from families has been really positive.

“It is unfortunate that we’ve had to postpone the drag queen story events scheduled for 16 August. We have been in contact with the performer and will be discussing alternative options with them.”