Why the UK Needs Its Own Redhead Festival

No matter what you say, redheads stand out. Golden shine mashed up with deep, vibrant colour make ginger hair impossible to miss in a crowd. It's beautiful, multi-tonal and rare. So why on Earth should that be considered a bad thing?

No matter what you say, redheads stand out. Golden shine mashed up with deep, vibrant colour make ginger hair impossible to miss in a crowd. It's beautiful, multi-tonal and rare. So why on Earth should that be considered a bad thing?

For generations, particularly in the UK, people with red hair have often been ridiculed, bullied or worse. It all starts at school, continues to the workplace and public spaces, and stretches as far as the British media -- ginger hair is regularly the butt of the joke. Which, considering the UK has one of the highest densities of natural red hair at around 10% (compared with 2% globally), is pretty bizarre.

But something's changing. Those with red hair are getting louder and prouder of their genetic rarity. And quite rightly, too. Hell, almost 15,000 people have signed a petition to get their own ginger emoji on Apple products.

We've even got other people wanting to join Team Ginger. More and more dyed redheads are coming out of the woodwork and adopting red as 'their colour', including the likes of Hollywood stars Emma Stone and Amy Adams.

More than this though, is that society's attitude towards being different is changing. We now embrace individuality, whether that means you collect taxidermy, are covered in tattoos, or simply have red hair.

Being different is now cool, not weird.

Which is why now is a better time than any for a festival for redheads to take place in the UK. Embracing and celebrating what makes you different is what Redhead Day UK 2015 is about.

Planned to take place on Saturday 12th September in London, the all-day festival will raise money for the Anti-Bullying Alliance, spread positivity about red hair and work towards boosting this newfound ginger pride that the country and British society is beginning to embrace.

Everything from beauty tips to photography showcasing the natural beauty of redheads, and live music from ginger artists to learning about the history of red hair, is all on the cards, plus much more. But Redhead Day UK can't happen without the support of fellow gingers and redhead fans, to get this event off the ground.

Support Redhead Day UK on Indiegogo to make this magical, gingerful day happen on 12th September.

Emma Kelly is Editor of Ginger Parrot and co-organiser of Redhead Day UK, an all-day event celebrating everything about red hair, planned to take place on Saturday 12th September 2015.

Close