Download Festival Responds After Transgender Bathroom Policy Sparks Controversy
Download Festival’s bathroom policies for transgender fans and artists has sparked widespread debate for its upcoming event, leading organizers to clarify their initial statement.
Musician Noah Finnce, who is performing at the festival, was the first person to bring attention to the policy, posting a screenshot of the bathroom guidelines from an email inquiry.
In the screenshotted email response, Download Festival said that they will be “following the interim guidance issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on 25 April 2025 here,” which noted 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.”
Finnce shared the screenshot and called-out the festival, writing, “Hey @DownloadFest what the f**k are you doing inviting trans people to play your festival but not allowing them the simple right of using the correct bathroom.”
“I had a great time playing last year but will not be attending again if I have to queue up for the ladies bathroom and my trans sisters have to risk outing themselves in the men’s bathroom,” Finnce wrote. “All this does is put trans people in danger.”
They added that “if the only way we can piss is by outing ourselves then you’ve created an unsafe environment.”
Hey @DownloadFest what the fuck are you doing. How have you got the gall to invite trans people like me to play your festival and then ban them from using the toilet? If the only way we can piss is by outing ourselves then you’ve created an unsafe environment… pic.twitter.com/W0oLIa5P4U
— NOAHFINNCE👹 (@noahfinnadams) May 27, 2025
This sparked attention among other artists, with Pinkshift noting that the rules were “crazy and so unsafe” and Witchfever writing that this policy would be a “threat to trans people’s safety.” Fans were also upset with the guidelines, calling the festival “out of touch.”
Download Festival has since issued a statement, clarifying that “we stand with all members of our community and want everyone to feel safe, supported, and welcome at Download.”
Festival organizers posted the following statement in-full:
“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.
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.”
We stand with all members of our community and want everyone to feel safe, supported and welcome at Download pic.twitter.com/TSMIhZFLJZ
— Download Festival (@DownloadFest) May 28, 2025
Nonetheless, not everyone accepted the festival’s clarification, with many calling for organizers to refute their previous statement. Others added that organizers need to further clarify their policy, since their follow-up statement means trans people would need to use a gender neutral bathroom over one that matches their gender identity.
"the majority of toilets will be gender neutral" does not acknowledge your original statement. Forcing me, a bloke with a beard and deep voice, to either piss in a ladies toilet or hold it until I find a gender neutral one is ridiculous. You've lost a long standing customer here.
— Jamie 🧡 (@JamieEdward24) May 28, 2025
so ur hiring 2 genital inspectors instead of 20? “previous communication was unclear” you said i should use the men’s. sex segregation is unenforceable and grounds for a boycott
— presave RIP YOU TO SHREDS! (@htmljones) May 28, 2025
This does not clarify anything – will you be expecting trans people to use the gender neutral facilities over the ones that best match their gender identities, as previously stated?
— rachel ツ (@rachelcantsleep) May 28, 2025
You still haven't set aside your trans exclusionary policies.
— Rachel Saunders (@rejserin) May 28, 2025
This does not refute your previous statement. Are you still enforcing and following the EHRC guidance? If so then this statement is meaningless fluff,clearly designed to allow you to have your cake and eat it. Refute your previous statement, say it was wrong
— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️⚧️ (@LeftieStats) May 28, 2025
So you’re basically doing nothing about the actual issue
— Camille ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ (@xYoshimi) May 28, 2025
Lol fuck off. Are you doing birth certificate checks on people to see if they can use the cis only toilets? What happens if a woman looks "wrong" to the security, are they going to be harassed by your staff?
— Katy Montgomerie 🦗 (@KatyMontgomerie) May 29, 2025
The previous transphobic statement was very clear, which is why trans people and allies are furious. Stop with the disingenuous nonsense and give an unambiguous apology for causing anxiety to some of the most attacked people in the country.
— Boring David 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@BoringDavid3) May 28, 2025
Finnce followed-up on X, writing that they were in direct contact with Download Festival regarding the policy.
“They wanted to make clear that they will NOT be policing the bathrooms at all and that the customer service person who sent out this email should NEVER have used that wording in the email,” Finnce wrote.
Download Festival, dubbed the UK’s biggest rock and metal festival, is set to take place from June 13 to 15 at Donington Park in England. Green Day, Sleep Token, and Korn will headline the event, with performances throughout the weekend from rock heavyweights like Weezer, Shinedown, and Sex Pistols.
Find the full festival lineup and tickets here.
