Trained. Tested. Earned.
The badge that means everyone is welcome here, and we checked.
The Glitter Standard is the inclusion accreditation for pubs, bars, clubs, students' unions, clubhouses and events. Staff are trained by people who live it. Every accredited space is tested without warning. A venue that stops deserving the badge loses it.
Not a sticker. A test.
Plenty of doors carry a sign that says everyone is welcome. Nobody checks. The Glitter Standard publishes what a venue has to do, trains its people, turns up unannounced to see whether it is true and takes the badge away if it is not.
Published criteria
Eighteen things a venue must do, show and pass. Twelve are mandatory. All of them are on this site, with what we test and how.
Unannounced testing
Trained testers from the communities we serve visit as guests on random nights. Every accredited space is in the pool every year and nobody knows when.
A badge that comes off
A published delisting policy, a public map with the date of the last pass, and a complaints route on every poster. A standard should hold itself to one.
One standard of welcome for everyone
The Standard covers everyone the Equality Act protects, and sits inside the law in every part of the UK. Four strands carry specialist training and specialist criteria, because the evidence says these are the guests most often failed and least often trained for.
LGBTQIA+ inclusion
Sexual orientation and gender reassignment, with bisexual, trans and non-binary guests named rather than assumed. Almost a third of LGBTQIA+ people avoid certain venues for fear of discrimination. We exist to end that.
Neurodiversity
Autism, ADHD and related differences. Sensory information published before you arrive, a quieter option on the night and a needs-led rule: nobody is ever asked for proof of a diagnosis.
Disability
Delivered with Attitude is Everything and Euan's Guide rather than duplicated, so the information a disabled guest finds is honest and current.
Race and faith
An anti-discrimination door rule in every strand, hate incidents logged and reported, and a proper welcome for guests who do not drink, for whatever reason.
Sources: Stonewall/YouGov LGBT in Britain: Hate Crime and Discrimination (2017); ONS sexual orientation bulletins 2023 and 2024; HESA and Advance HE student data; full evidence spine in our Foundations pack.
Five commitments
Every criterion sits under one of these. The full list, with what we test, is on The Standard page.
Welcome
The space: policy, door, facilities, information and signposting.
Understanding
The people: everyone trained, lived experience in the room, harassment response that works.
Action
When it goes wrong: hate incident response and a route to report.
Voice
Listening: the belonging question, feedback acted on, a community link.
Renewal
Keeping it true: tests acted on, an annual declaration and a data return.
How it works
- Talk to us
Twenty minutes, no cost. We tell you what applies to your kind of venue.
- Get the base in place
Best Bar None accreditation, or its free policy templates if there is no scheme where you are. We never re-assess it.
- Train your team
A 45-minute core module for everyone and a live session with lived-experience facilitators.
- Get verified
An area onboarding session, or your estate's area manager completes the evidence check. Pass at 75% with every mandatory criterion met.
- Keep it
The badge goes up, with confetti. Then we test without warning. Pass, improve or hand it back.
This is what welcome looks like
Safe, joyful and open to everyone. The Standard exists so that every night out can feel like this, wherever you are and whoever you are.
Photographs from Glitterbomb nights, our sister brand. Real Glittered venues join this page as they earn the badge.
Alongside what you already run
The Standard is an inclusion layer, not another scheme. Best Bar None is the base. Ask for Angela is the intervention we train and test. Purple Flag is the city outcome we evidence. Nothing you already run has to change.
Partner names describe working relationships and design alignment. Formal partnership marks appear as each agreement is confirmed.
Campus goes first
Students' unions already lead the country on looking after their members. The Standard gives that leadership a badge: your venue accredited, your teams trained, your students helping to test it, and auditable evidence for your university's duties under Office for Students condition E6.
The party proves the badge
Our sister brand, Glitterbomb, is the LGBTQIA+ club night that tours the country. Glitterbomb only performs in venues that have committed to the Standard's training. The party proves the badge and the badge protects the party. Booking a night never earns a badge; only passing does.
If something happens to you tonight
Support, whoever and wherever you are. These appear on every Glittered poster.
- Galop LGBT+ anti-abuse charity. galop.org.uk
- Switchboard LGBTQIA+ listening service, 10am to 10pm every day. switchboard.lgbt
- Report It Report a hate crime online. 999 in an emergency. report-it.org.uk
- Stop Hate UK Third-party reporting and support. stophateuk.org
- National Autistic Society autism.org.uk
- Samaritans Call 116 123 free, any time.
Talk to us
Twenty minutes, no cost, no commitment. Tell us who you are and where you are and we will tell you what the route looks like.
hello@theglitterstandard.co.uk
Accreditation, partnerships and press: Matthew Jones-Roberts. Events and the Glitterbomb tour: Stephen Sullivan.