Organisers behind an Exeter LGBTQ+ festival have altered the set-up for one of the events that previously courted some controversy.
The Out There Fringe Fest outlined changes to its Young Person’s Day at Exeter Library, an event that caused complaints from some Devon politicians in 2025, including concerns about the placement of a range of sex education-related items such as a condom-fitting device and anatomical models of genitalia.
Councillors Ed Hill and Angi Game complained about the items and their location near the library foyer, as well as the volume of a live music performance, which they stated claimed the performer uttering an obscenity.
The festival organisers said the Young Person’s Day this year – planned for Sunday 11 October – would be held in a dedicated area downstairs, and that it was a craft event for teenagers, aimed at those aged 13-19 years old.
A spokesperson stated the event was not ticketed, but there is an optional registration page for the drop-in event, adding that all appropriate safeguarding assessments had been completed with Libraries Unlimited, which oversees Devon’s libraries.
A spokesperson for Libraries Unlimited added: “The sex education items present last year will not be there this year.”
The festival encompasses more than 50 events, and will have run for a month by the time it ends on 17 October. For this year’s festival, the website states Out There Fringe Fest is supported with £27,900 of funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
A review of the 2025 Young Person’s Day on the Out There website states an estimated 850 visitors to the library that day, exceeding its usual weekend footfall range of 500-800 people.
The report does reference “external communications framed as safeguarding concerns” in the weeks leading up to the event last year, that contained “misleading narratives commonly used to target LGBTQIA+ events”.
“These messages increased in frequency, scrutiny and tone,” the report adds.
It said safeguarding was taken “extremely seriously” by organisers, and that work was undertaken with Exeter Library to “strengthen safeguarding procedures, increase staff support, update risk assessments, and refine participant guidance and consent processes to ensure a safe environment”.
The report states “further misinformation” emerged after the event last year, “putting pressure on Out There Together CIC and our partners”.
“However, despite these challenges, coordinated safeguarding efforts – supported by the venue, partners, police, staff, and volunteers – ensured that Young Person’s Day remained safe, positive, and community-focused,” it added.
“This reflected the resilience of our teams and our community, as well as the wider climate affecting LGBTQIA+ spaces, highlighting the need for events such as Young Person’s Day.”
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