Download festival have commented following controversy over their guidance for trans people using on-site toilet facilities.
On Tuesday (May 27), UK singer/songwriter Noahfinnce took to X (formerly Twitter) to speak out against an email sent by the team behind the Donington weekender, which urged trans people not to use the toilets of the gender they’ve transitioned to.
The email, screenshotted in Noahfinnce’s post, read in part: “We will be following the interim guidance issued by the Equalities And Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on 25 April 2025 here.
“The guidance states 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’ and that ‘trans people should not be put in a position where there are no facilities for them to use.’”
Noahfinnce, who is transgender, asked in response in their post: “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?”
The post led other artists to call out the June festival online, including Pinkshift, who called the guidance “crazy and so unsafe”, and Witch Fever.
Amidst the backlash, Download have issued a comment to NME. While not walking back the festival’s apparent stance on trans women using the facilities of “biological men” and trans men using the facilities of “biological women”, the statement emphasises that there will be unisex toilets across the site for all to use.
The comment reads in full: “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. We want to reassure all of our customers that the majority of the toilets across the site are gender-neutral.
“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.”
In addition, Noahfinnce has put out a follow-up X post, claiming to be in “direct communication” with Download. According to them, the festival say there will be no “policing” of toilets on-site and that the “customer service person” responsible for the original email should not have used the wording they did.
On April 16, judges in the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, not gender. According to the EHRC website, this means that “a ‘woman’ is a biological woman or girl (a person born female)” and “a ‘man’ is a biological man or boy (a person born male)”, and that people should use toilets that align with their birth sex and not their gender.
Though the UK government welcomed the ruling “and the clarity it brings for women”, it has been decried as transphobic.
There has also been confusion as to how the ruling will be enforced, with a report in The Guardian on May 26 saying that an agreement on how companies should implement it “may not be fully signed off for months”.
This marks the second year in a row that the lead-up to Download, which will take place at Donington race track from June 13 to 15, has been mired in controversy.
Last year, several bands pulled out of the festival at the last minute to protest the sponsorship of Barclaycard, which had ties to defence companies supplying Israel. Barclaycard suspended its involvement with Download and other festivals on June 14, 2024.
Download 2025 will go ahead as planned with headliners Green Day, Sleep Token and Korn. No bands have pulled out of the upcoming lineup at time of publication.
