The LGBT community in Liverpool, England is one of the largest in the United Kingdom and has a recorded history since the 18th Century. Many historic LGBT firsts and pioneering moments in the LGBT rights movement either took place in Liverpool or were achieved by citizens of the city. The community comprises those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender/transsexual. In broader terms, the community also incorporates those falling into the larger LGBT umbrella group which includes queer or questioning. In the 2021 UK Census, 123,367 people in the Liverpool City Region as a whole described their sexual orientation as gay or lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, queer, other or did not specify an answer. The North West Regional Development Agency approximated that 94,000 LGBT persons lived in Liverpool's metropolitan area by mid-2009 - equivalent to the GLB population of San Francisco, making it the single largest minority group on Merseyside. Out of 100 cities around the world, Liverpool was voted number 51 most LGBT friendly in 2017. The poll was taken by the gay community in major hubs around the world. As the location of Britain's first and only official gay quarter, the only LGBT combined arts organisation in Northern England, the UK's most gay friendly university and one of Europe's largest free LGBT Pride festivals, life in modern Liverpool allows many more liberties for gays and lesbians than it ever did. However, up until the 2000s the city was often thought of as lagging behind and compared negatively in comparison to other metropolitan areas of similar size and stature. Liverpool's idiosyncratic culture, economy, and religious traditions (particularly Roman Catholicism) have long been discussed in the context of homosexuality and often cited as possible explanations for perceived lack of progress. Nevertheless, the recent resurgence since its time as European Capital of Culture has inspired a national and international debate and has led to a major new perspective of local gay and lesbian life. 18th century The history of gay and LGBT Liverpool is one full of contrasts and contradictions from larger than life characters, legendary gay clubs and relative tolerance, to the anonymous and underground subculture of cottaging, repression and outright persecution. As a commercial city and major port, the history is long and manifold. The earliest experiences of homosexuality can be traced back to the Georgian era when Liverpool was growing rapidly in population and stature, right through to