Download Festival, the popular rock and metal music festival set to be held at Donnington Park in Leicestershire between the 13th and 15th of June has been on the receiving end of public backlash when it revealed its toilet use policy.
A post on social media containing an email from the event organisers seemed to reveal that following the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) interim guidance on single sex spaces following the UK Supreme Court verdict on the definition of woman under the Equality Act 2010, the event would begin policing the use of single occupancy toilets. The interim guidance from the EHRC was released shortly following the Supreme Court ruling, and amongst other things pushed to have trans people segregated in most spaces.
The email from Download read 'We do understand the concerns resulting from the recent Supreme Court ruling I would like to reassure you that we will continue to aim to provide the same inclusive environment for all our customers at Download as has always been the case.
'We are proud of the reputation the Download community has in terms of diversity, and will always look to promote the safety and comfort of all festival attendees including transgender and non-binary customers.
'We will be following the interim guidance issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on 25 April 2025 here. Their guidance states that 'trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women's facilities and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men's facilities' and that 'trans people should not be put in a position where there are no facilities for them to use'.
'In line with this, we will therefore ensure that there are sufficient gender-neutral toilet facilities available, so that transgender and non-binary customer have access to facilities they feel comfortable using.'
It should be noted that the EHRC interim guidance is not legal, nor compulsory, and that Download made an active choice to follow this. The guidance has been condemned as exclusionary by the trans community, the public, and human rights bodies from across the world who have compared it to racial segregation. It is also worth noting that despite Download claiming that trans and non-binary people attending 'facilities they feel comfortable using' they are, according to the email, excluding them from spaces they feel comfortable using, and could be forcing trans people into spaces they're not. Download did not, however, outline how they will be enforcing these regulations at the event, whether they would have security stationed at the toilets checking ID's, whether judgements on who is allowed in particular spaces would be made on how people are perceived to present, or if physical checks would be involved.
Following the email Download attracted swift criticism online, including from a number of performers at the festival. Noahfinnce, a trans artist, posted on Twitter saying 'Hey @DownloadFest what the fuck are you doing. How have you go the gall to invite trans people like me to play your festival and then ban them from using the toilets? If the only way we can piss is by outing ourselves then you've created an unsafe environment. I had a great time playing last year but will not be attending again if I have to queue up for the ladies’ and my trans sisters have to risk outing themselves in the men’s. All this does is put trans people in danger'
Following Noahfinnce's Tweet a number of other acts from the festival added their voices, sharing his initial post with their own support. Pinkshift said 'what fucking music festival polices gendered bathrooms? crazy, unsafe, disrespectful, dangerous, and a slap in the face to all the queer and trans artists and fans who bring their creativity and innovation to the alternative music space every day @DownloadFest'.
Witch Fever were quoted as saying the toilet policy was 'a complete fuckin' tragedy' by NME, which resulted in Witch Fever resharing this with 'I said what I said' accompanied by a trans flag emoji, and 'And to be clear - apparently the festival will also be providing gender neutral toilets which is good, but to enforce rules on what person can use what toilet based on their biological sex over their gender identity is not championing inclusivity and diversity'.
In the days following the news breaking Download has been harshly condemned by members of the public, with there having been dozens of posts across social media condemning their decision, and with people expressing their desire to either no longer attend until the policy is changed, ot that the change has left them feeling unsafe and uncomfortable.
Download have now clarified their statement following the backlash. Download's new statement reads as 'At the heart of Download is acceptance – we stand with all members of our community and want everyone to feel safe, supported and welcome at the festival,” the statement reads.
'We want to reassure all of our customers that at Download, the majority of toilets will be gender neutral and available to all. There will also be single sex toilets provided. Download Festival has always been and remains for everyone.
'We sincerely apologise that a previous communication on this was not clear. We are looking forward to seeing you at Download this year.'
According to a follow-up tweet from Noahfinnce, Download told him that the person who initially sent out the email that sparked the entire incident 'should NEVER have used that wording'.
What is perhaps interesting in their responses, both to Noahfinnce and in their public statement, is that they have said that the 'wording' shouldn't have been used, and that the majority of their toilets would be gender neutral. They have not, however, said that they wouldn't be preventing trans people from using the correct facilities. Nowhere in their statement do they say they are not following the EHRC interim guidance, or that they would not be policing toilet use.
It would appear that Download have tried to walk back the backlash to their stance, yet have not changed it. They have apologised that their wording wasn't the best, but not that they're enacting trans exclusionary policies and segregation. Don't be fooled by what they've said today, Download are still enacting transphobic and dangerous practices, and none of us should be okay with that,
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