Welsh drag queens competed against Cardiff Lions RFC to raise funds for Dreams & Wishes. (Cardiff Lions RFC/Facebook)
Welsh drag queens competed against Cardiff Lions RFC to raise funds for Dreams & Wishes. (Cardiff Lions RFC/Facebook)
A group of Welsh drag queens have competed in a rugby match to raise money for a children’s charity.
Drag rugby has been an annual event in Cardiff with the Cardiff Lions RFC, an inclusive rugby team, and Diff Drag, a team made up of Cardiff’s best-known drag queens, coming together to support a good cause.
Each year the event raises money for a selected charity, with the full amount of ticket sales going to the chosen cause.
This year, the group raised more than £3,500 for Dreams & Wishes, a charity helping grant magical wishes for seriously ill children.
@pinknews A group of Welsh drag queens competed against @cardiff.lions.rfc in a charity rugby match this week 🌈 Drag rugby has been an annual event in Cardiff with the Cardiff Lions, an inclusive rugby team, and the local Cardiff drag queens.Each year the event raises money for charity by donating 100% of its ticket sales. This year, the group raised over £3,500 for Dreams & Wishes, a charity helping grant magical wishes for seriously ill children. #dragqueens #rugby #cardiff #charity #lgbtqia ♬ Pink Pony Club – Chappell Roan
The event took place on 26 October and tickets were priced at just £4.
On Facebook, Dreams & Wishes posted to promote the event, writing: “As a small, volunteer-led charity, events like this mean the world to us. Every penny raised goes directly to putting smiles on faces and creating memories families will treasure forever.”
Videos from the fundraiser show the drag queens tackling and sprinting at top speed against the Cardiff Lions, although they did swap out their heels for trainers.
Last year, Cardiff was chosen to host the EuroGames in 2027, marking the first time the LGBTQ+-inclusive event has been held in the UK.
Up to 10,000 athletes, including transgender sportsmen and women, are expected to descend on Cardiff in 2027.
In 2019, Diff Drag competed against gay rugby union team Cardiff Lions RFC to help raise funds for mental health charity Mind.
The team of drag queens got ready at a local bar before making their way to the stadium in their outfits. They headed out onto the pitch to ‘Eye of the Tiger’.
One of the drag queens, Mary Golds, told Wales Online that the event helps to bring their community together.
“It’s an amazing way of raising money,” Golds said. “Our community is massive so we should all support each other. It’s important to show that we can come together and talk to each other, social media is great but this is different.
“It’s not often drag queens come together and play rugby, in fact never, so why not come together and have a laugh?”
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