Block9 is the Glastonbury area dedicated to alternative and LGBTQ+ culture. It is a late-night, immersive zone in the festival’s south-east corner, combining club music, theatrical sets, performance and deliberately unconventional design.
Block9 was created by Gideon Berger and Stephen Gallagher, whose work turns temporary festival structures into fully realised alternative environments. Its best-known venue is NYC Downlow, an underground-style club inspired by queer nightlife and the visual language of 1980s New York. The area is known for drag performance, house music, disco, cabaret and an atmosphere that celebrates sexual and gender diversity.
A common mix-up is to identify Shangri-La as the answer. Shangri-La is another major late-night Glastonbury area, famous for its dystopian sets and themed venues, but Block9 is the more specific answer when the clue points to LGBTQ+ culture. The Glade and Arcadia are also separate areas with their own music, design and histories.
Block9 is not simply a single stage: it is a cluster of venues and installations. That distinction explains why descriptions may mention NYC Downlow, The Meat Rack, IICON or other individual spaces within Block9.