RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bones to headline Windsor & Eton Pride 2026

Windsor & Eton Pride has today announced ‘a monumental headliner’ for its Pride event next year.

The proud and colourful celebration is set for July 25 next year – having had a successful run this summer.

For 2026, current RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 7 champion, Bones, will be bringing her ‘Heavenly Bodies’ show to Alexandra Gardens, alongside fellow drag performers Flesh and La Belle.

Bones, the ‘witchy boho queen’ from Soho and victor on the BBC’s hit show this month, is renowned for her distinctive gothic glamour, a style fitting for historic Windsor.

Steve Harris, chairman of Windsor & Eton Pride, said:

“From the second Bones walked out on episode one, I said they were going to win it.

“Securing the current Drag Race UK Winner for only our second-ever Pride event is simply unheard of.

“It shows we are serious and not messing about. Having Bones as our 2026 headliner demonstrates our commitment to making this event even bigger.”

Windsor & Eton Pride’s inaugural event attracted just under 6,000 attendees to Alexandra Gardens and many more into the town this year.

It received ‘overwhelmingly positive’ feedback – it was rated very highly by attendees, with most people out of survey of 400 saying they would return and many likely to recommend it to others.

A total of 44 per cent of attendees identified as LGBTQIA+, with 38 per cent identifying as allies – ‘a clear demonstration that the event is for all ages, sexualities, ethnicities, and religions.’

 The 2026 event on 25th July is ‘expanding significantly’:

• Two stages: The addition of a Main Stage alongside the bandstand (which now becomes the community stage).
• New zones and site design: A ‘Speakers’ Corner’ hosted by Q-Hub Slough and the newly formed Q-Hub Windsor, plus a dedicated Kids & Sensory Area hosted by Autism Berkshire, Well Windsor, and Craft Coop.
• Party Zone: An extra DJ Dance Stage atop a double-decker bus, alongside the return of the popular Karaoke Lounge.
• The march: Planning is underway for the march to begin again on the Long Walk in front of Windsor Castle, processing through the town centre ahead of the festival running from midday until 10pm.

 Windsor & Eton Pride remains ‘absolutely committed’ to being a free event.

But with a cost of more than £50,000 for the first year, next year’s expanded event will require even more support.

Local businesses are invited to partner with the organisation, joining a list of sponsors from the first year featuring GWR, Heathrow, British Airways, Legoland Windsor Resort, ICTS, Mitie, Sunbelt, and Wickes.

The committee is also actively seeking volunteers for both committee roles and on-the-day support to manage this mammoth task.

 Applications for high-quality traders, including Arts, Crafts, Food, Charities, and LGBT support groups, are already open on the Windsor Pride website.

A whopping 97 per cent of last year's traders have expressed a wish to return, say the organisers.

A bespoke Pride beer is being brewed by local breweries Indie Rabble and Two Flints, with drinks on the day supplied by local businesses like Windsor & Eton Brewery and Fizz Wheels as well as Queer Brewing.

Windsor & Eton Pride’s team is also hoping to top the surprise appearance of Sir Ian McKellen last year, and the premiere of the film Dragged Through Time directed by local 14-year-old Jacob Franklin.

Applications for local performers to take part will be opening in the new year on the Windsor Pride website.

The team also have fundraising craft stalls at Windsor Baptist church on Saturday, December 6 and at Indie Rabble on December 7. Visitors can pick up handmade Christmas gifts at both.

It is also hosting a fundraising comedy night on Valentine’s Day in Windsor, with details to be announced soon. 

www.windsorpride.co.uk