of being self-employed entertainers. Linda Gold said this had come at a time when Rupaul's Drag Race was gaining popularity which had led to new interest in drag performance in the public eye. During the 2020 lockdowns, Linda Gold had entered into a partnership with a collective of five licensed venues across the UK to launch a new event called 'Funny Boyz'. Linda told the Liverpool Echo that due to severe losses to income, she had spent close to £100,000 worth of savings with no return. Towards the end of 2020, Linda had attempted to establish Funny Boyz club on Liverpool's Stanley Street with a large planned event but was forced to cancel at the last minute following the Government's announcement of the second national lockdown. As a direct response to the government restrictions, many Liverpool drag queens had started to showcase their performances online which often included live shows on social media. Linda Gold began an online show called EuroDrag TV, a spin off of her EuroDrag brand which had ran since 2015 and was described as 'Europe’s largest drag competition'. The new online show consisted of comedy sketches, interviews with celebrities, drag queens, games and bingo. In December 2020, Linda Gold reattempted to relaunch the Funny Boyz club in Liverpool during a brief window where the UK government allowed venues in Tier 2 regions to open for business. Linda told Gay London Life that the events were heavily supported, complied with government guidelines and were intended to spread “colour to the world at a time when everybody was desperate to escape months of lockdowns and restrictions”. The venture sparked a backlash amongst drag peers who accused her of 'spreading COVID' during sensitive moments of the pandemic and they were forced to close shortly after. The events were successfully relaunched on May 17th 2021 in Liverpool and in numerous cities across the UK including Brighton, London, Manchester and Blackpool. As of January 2022, Funny Boyz events have also been held in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands. Homotopia festival and global impact Liverpool is the host city of Homotopia: The only lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans combined arts organisation in the North of England. Homotopia is a month-long festival of gay culture including theatre, film, photography and art, as well as delivering a national and international programme of social justice and education initiatives all