page_title: Whitby Goth Weekend
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Whitby Goth Weekend / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Uninvited Guest on stage at Whitby Goth Weekend, October 2006
context_page_description: Whitby Goth Weekend, abbreviated to WGW or nicknamed Whitby, is a twice-yearly music festival for the gothic subculture, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, organised by Jo Hampshire.
context_section_description: The origins of WGW are in a meeting of around forty of Hampshire's pen-pals in 1994. The first meeting was held in the Elsinore public house in Whitby, which, with the Little Angel, continues to be a meeting point during the weekend. Hampshire said Whitby was chosen for its Dracula connections, although probably more so because the connection had already fostered a sense of acceptance on the part of locals and businesses rather than any inherent romanticism regarding the location.
  The festival was held yearly until 1997, when it became twice-yearly in April and October. It has grown into one of the world's most popular goth music events with thousands of attendees from across the UK and beyond. The main event was held in the town's largest venue Whitby Spa Pavilion (known as the Spa) and the Bizarre Bazaar 'Goth Market' is also held there and at Whitby Leisure Centre and the Brunswick Centre. Access to the Spa in the evening required a ticket and live bands played on both Friday and Saturday from 08:00 until about midnight.
  The Metropole was often used as an overspill venue for the Spa, with bands due to play the next evening/or playing from the previous evening. In recent years it has been used as a venue for the markets as well as the clubs, Manic Monday and Sexy Sunday. RAW Nightclub and Abbey Wharf are used for official fringe events; other venues including The Resolution, The Rifle Club, and The Metropole are used for unofficial events.
  For many years there was an 80's night held at Laughtons, a genuine venue from the 1980s. The night would traditionally end with the song Vagabonds. In 2010 this venue became a Wetherspoons Hotel, but the lineal descendant of the 80's night continues to take place on the Sunday night.
  The "weekend" starts during the day on Friday and fringe events are held on Thursday, Sunday and Monday including club nights, markets, and a charity football match between visiting goth team Real Gothic, and local team Stokoemotiv Whitby. During the October/November event there is an independent custom car show, 'Whitby Kustom' in the grounds of West Cliff School. There are also several "meet ups" aimed at goths with a particular interest, e.g. Lolita Goth.
  Newbies who have not attended the event before are referred to as "Whitby Virgins". To help introduce them to the event, there was a WGW Virgins Meet Up on the Friday morning at the Spa until about 2014.
  In June 2018 there was a breakdown in the relationship between WGW and SIV Live, who operate the Spa. WGW was therefore unable to book the Spa for bands for October 2018. In July a new promoter was found to put bands on at the Spa in October. Subsequently, WGW announced a different set of 2019 dates to those announced by the Spa and the new promoter, with bands at Abbey Wharf, a large pub in Whitby.
caption: Uninvited Guest on stage at Whitby Goth Weekend, October 2006
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