Download festival issue statement after trans toilet controversy: “We stand with all members of our community and want everyone to feel safe” 

Download has issued a statement regarding trans people’s accessibility to the bathrooms at the 2025 festival.

• READ MORE: Download boss Andy Copping on the 2025 line-up: “The festival will die if we don’t move with the times”

Controversy first arose yesterday (May 27), when NOAHFINNCE highlighted how the Donnington festival was seemingly sticking to government guidance that would prevent trans women from using women’s facilities and trans men from using men’s facilities on-site.

In a screenshot shared from an email enquiry, the festival stated that while it was “look[ing] to promote the safety and comfort of all festival attendees including transgender and non-binary customers”, it would be “following the interim guidance issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission”. Those rules state 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.”

Now, following backlash from multiple artists, Download organisers have shared a statement with NME, clarifying the rules for the 2025 edition and reaffirming that it will provide gender-neutral facilities to help “everyone feel safe”.

“Download Festival has always been and remains for everyone. 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,” the statement read. “We want to reassure all of our customers that the majority of the toilets across the site are gender-neutral.”

It continued: “The majority of toilets across the site will be gender-neutral and will cater to everyone. Download values every single member of its wonderful community and wants everyone to feel safe, supported and welcome at the festival.”

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

The rock and metal festival is set to return to Donington Park between June 13-15. Green Day, Sleep Token and KoRn are first-time headliners, and other names on the bill include Weezer, Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Jimmy Eat World, Poppy, Loathe, Jerry Cantrell and more.

The first to speak out against the seemingly anti-trans rules at Download 2025 was NOAHFINNCE, who said: “Hey @downloadfest what the fuck are you doing inviting trans people to play your festival but not allowing them the simple right of using the correct bathroom?”

He continued:  “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. All this does is put trans people in danger.”

Pinkshift also chimed in, adding that the rules were “crazy and so unsafe”, while Manchester band Witch Fever outlined how it would be a “threat to trans people’s safety” and a “fucking tragedy”.

The reference to the EHRC in the original Download document related to the UK Supreme Court ruling on April 16, in which judges unanimously ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex under the Equality Act. The Equality Human Rights Commission explains that the ruling from the Supreme Court means that, in places open to the public, trans women shouldn’t use women’s facilities such as toilets.

Many have been reluctant to uphold the anti-trans regulations, and BBC has reported that many leaders across the UK’s cultural sector were “unwilling” to police which toilets people choose to use.

Numerous figures in the music world have shared their support for the trans community too, including Scissor Sisters, Perfume Genius, Garbage, Rachel Chinouriri, JADE, Lambrini Girls and Billy Bragg. As well as that, huge names like Charli XCX, Self Esteem and Wolf Alice are among the many artists to have also signed an open letter of solidarity to the trans community from the UK music industry.

Last November, festival organiser Andy Copping spoke to NME about the mindset of Download organisers going into 2025, and outlined the ways that the event wants to keep evolving.

“We’ve always made a conscious decision to make Download accessible to the general populace,” he said. “That involves pushing the boundaries musically and giving the newer acts a chance. Because of that, we’ve seen the fans coming through getting younger too, year on year. There’ll always be a certain expectation of what people want to see at Download, so it’s about navigating that and delivering the best we can.”

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