How Pride Hub Egham offers an example to airports everywhere

by Martin Moodie |
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Martin Moodie

Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

Welcome to The Moodie Davitt Report Interim Ystradgynlais Bureau in South Wales, where I’ve decamped for a couple of weeks for family reasons.

This is a beautiful place whatever the season but in this balmiest of summers there’s a particular loveliness to the swathes of green everywhere and the symphony of bird song that greets each new dawn and continues unabated through the day.

In Ystradgynlais, the unlikely global HQ of The Moodie Davitt Report. Pictured sitting are Chief Operating Officer Sinead Moodie with her children Iwan and Carys (and husband Adrian, right) alongside Senior Administration Officer Kristyn Branisel (and husband Matt (left)

I arrived from Hong Kong via London Heathrow, stopping for a day in Egham to visit my son (and The Moodie Davitt Report Head of Digital Delivery) Declan Moodie, his partner Lizzie and their poppet of a daughter, one year-old Flora.

Egham is a diverse town in demographic terms, ranging from a conservative underbelly to the liberalism that comes with any university location (it houses the architecturally splendid Royal Holloway, University of London).

And it’s undoubtedly the latter influence that led to the November 2024 opening of Pride Hub Egham, an LGBTQ+ venue that provides spaces and opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community to socialise, thrive, be embraced and feel safe.

It’s a marvellously eclectic mix of café, shop, workshop, live music venue, art centre and more.

If a conservative-leaning town in the south of England can house such a showcase for the LGBTQ+ community, then why not an airport?

“At the heart of everything we do is the belief that by supporting queer people to thrive, whether through the arts, or just by building social connections, we break down systemic barriers of intolerance,” runs part of Pride Hub Egham’s mission statement.

During my fleeting Egham stay, I stopped to shop there, drawn by its bright colours, alluring retail mix and welcoming atmosphere. As I did, I wondered whether a similar concept – in a hybrid café/store format – might work in the airport world.

{Photo: Pride Hub Egham}

Then I pondered – has some far-sighted airport or commercial operator already come up with such a notion? After all, 7-9% of the world’s population identifies as LGBTQ+ according to various surveys to be found online.

Perhaps ‘identifies’ should read ‘declares’ because in so many cases and  countries, being an open member of the LGBTQ+ community risks prejudice, discrimination or – shockingly often – much worse. The real number, therefore, is likely to be considerably higher.

As a 2023/24 Statista Consumer Insights survey showed, there is also considerable variation across age groups, reflecting evolving societal attitudes and (in some countries) tolerance. In the USA, for example, 20% of Gen Zers self-identified as a part of the LGBT+ community versus 11% of Millennials, 6% of Gen Xers and just 5% among Baby Boomers.

A sizable audience then when translated into air passenger numbers. So back to my question. I know many airports, travel retailers and F&B operators that have been supportive of Pride Month but is there an airport equivalent of Pride Hub Egham? After all, doesn’t our industry talk constantly about its need to better meeet the needs and desires of Gen Z?

Who (or what) better to turn to for an answer than ChatGPT?

Within seconds came the reply.

ChatGPT: “You’re asking whether there’s an LGBTQ+ café or store in an airport – a really thoughtful and specific question.

“From what I could find, there don’t appear to be any cafés or retail stores inside airports that are explicitly themed as LGBTQ+ community spaces. While some airports celebrate Pride or inclusivity through exhibitions or signage, I didn’t find any that house dedicated LGBTQ+ cafés or shops.”

Thanks, ChatGPT. But wait, Google (via its own AI overview) came back with a link to this 23 June 2025 headline from the Chicago edition of Time Out.com – ‘O’Hare could become the first American airport with a gay bar onsite.’

“Chicago’s largest and arguably most iconic gay bar, Sidetrack, has put the wheels in motion and applied to open a specialty location at O’Hare International Airport,” the story read. “This would make the City of Big Shoulders home to the very first gay bar inside of an airport in the United States.”

Click on the story to read the Time Out coverage of a potentially breakthrough moment in airport food & beverage

The application has been led by Somos Hospitality Group Managing Partner Germán González, a renowned restaurateur, working in collaboration with Sidetrack Co-owners and LGBTQ+ activists Art Johnston and José ‘Pepe’ Peña serving as investors and licensees of the name.

Bravo to them. Will any other airport around the world – or any other operator – be brave enough to follow suit? Let’s hope so. Many a city and country benefits from Pride festivals, notably in tourism terms. Perhaps the aviation and travel retail sectors can go one critical step further in embracing such inclusivity. ✈

Click on the images to see how our industry celebrated Pride Month in June