gel (grassroots events london) is a new listings and ticketing site,
providing a more equitable and transparent model for access to
gel supports London's grassroots culture in all its forms. the mvt's definition of grassroots music venues
is a useful resource for defining and understanding the value of grassroots
cultural infrastructure. gel seeks to build on this by providing a ticketing
and listings platform for grassroots culture more broadly, including nightlife,
live music, performance, art, talks and workshops. we aim to strengthen
connections and solidarities across the broad ecology of London's grassroots
spaces and events, nurturing and growing the communities that make grassroots
culture possible.
many existing ticketing and listings platforms divide culture into
distinct categories. our listings reflect the reality that in many
cases, a grassroots nightclub will have more in common with a
grassroots gig venue or art gallery than a corporate super-club. gel
seeks to connect audiences across different grassroots cultural
sectors, and responds to the specific needs of grassroots operators.
in london. we provide an alternative to the monopoly of corporate ticketing
platforms, serving the needs of grassroots venues, artists and audiences.
what is grassroots culture? gel supports spaces and events which are:
gel supports venues which are independently owned and operated. we are
not here to platform events related to entertainment conglomerates,
large multi-venue operators, or those entangled with private equity
and venture capital.
we recognise that the realities of independence can be complex within
what is a challenging economic climate for the grassroots music and
arts sector, but we remain committed to championing autonomy and DIY
values as guiding principles of the grassroots cultural ecosystem.
or follow a broadly DIY ethos; share a
gel supports spaces and events that are embedded within specific
communities, and offer programming and activities that give back to
these communities. we support spaces and events that demonstrate
commitment to the needs of local artists and audiences, as well as a
sensitivity to their relationships with their local area.
and
gel supports venues and events in which music, art and culture are the
main focus, with food and beverage economies subsidiary to this. we
prioritise operators who take risks with their programming, providing
a platform for up-and-coming artists and innovative, experimental
programming. by supporting a broad definition of grassroots culture,
gel also makes room for multidisciplinary cultural forms that blur
fixed definitions such as nightlife, performance or art.
; prioritise emerging artists and innovative, experimental
programming, including multidisciplinary art forms; and prioritise
gel supports venues that provide a safe, accessible and welcoming
space for their audiences, irrespective of race, gender, sexuality,
physical ability and class. we also support venues that platform
marginalised and underrepresented artists, and provide fair and
equitable treatment for other nightlife workers, including security
and bar staff.
for their staff and audiences.
gel is an independent,
gel is run on a not-for-profit basis, trading as grassroots nightlife futures cic. as a community interest company (cic), any surplus revenue is
reinvested into the ongoing development of the platform, or donated to
projects that benefit London's grassroots cultural communities.
(community interest company), and any surplus funds will be used to support
local community and cultural projects.
gel provides users with full
gel will provide users with full financial transparency, outlining
exactly how booking fees are used. we will also be fully transparent
about external funding sources and our broader organisational
structure. gel will always remain independently-owned and
not-for-profit.
, demonstrating exactly how booking fees are used and being open
about any sources of external funding. gel charges a small
gel's booking fees are structured to keep costs fair across all order
sizes:
orders over £5: a 6% fee is added to the order total
orders of £5 or under: a fixed 35p fee is applied
these fees cover the cost of payment processing and help keep the
platform running. we use Stripe to handle payments - for each
transaction they charge a fixed portion and a variable portion. this
means that for orders under £5, we must set a fixed fee so that we are
always covering the cost of processing the transaction.
promoters always receive 100% of the ticket price that they set. for
optional venue contributions, the venue receives 100% of the
contribution amount. for optional gel contributions, gel receives 100%
of the contribution amount.
thank you for your support!
on all purchases, to cover the cost of payment processing and help keep
the platform running.
gel represents a wider
gel emerged out of a wider collective of London's grassroots music and
arts scenes, including venue owners, promoters, curators, artists,
performers, activists, staff, architects and audiences. after a series
of monthly meetings, it became clear that venues and events'
organisers lacked a ticketing and listings platform that was
economical and sensitive to the needs of the grassroots sector – gel
is our response to this. we remain closely connected to this
collective as an advisory body, and are keen to receive feedback from
users of our site.
of London's grassroots music and arts scenes, including venue owners,
promoters, curators, artists, performers, activists, staff, and audiences. we
are all personally involved in one or more of these communities, and are committed
to supporting them.
gel aims to provide a trusted and sustainable infrastructure that nurtures
the social and cultural life of grassroots venues, promotes emerging
artistic talent, and strengthens the bonds between grassroots artists,
audiences and communities.
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are you an independent promoter, venue or artist looking to list your
events and sell tickets through a fairer ticketing platform? gel offers
low fees, full transparency, and a community of engaged audiences who
care about grassroots culture. get in touch if you're interested!
have you heard about an event that should be listed on gel? submit it
using the linked event submission form and we'll review it asap! please
first check if your event is already listed using the search on the
homepage - we add a number of events ourselves so might already have you
covered...
Ben Assiter is a musician and nightlife researcher from London.
Finn Khushi-Pritchard was a manager and licence holder at
Venue M.O.T. He is now working in Film Locations with an interest in continuing
to support grassroots venues.
Sara Sassanelli is an independent curator, producer and co-founder of Alice Agency. They work across experimental dance and music.
Joe Carver is a dj, producer, promoter and software engineer.
associated projects
here are some friends and similar projects that we think are worth
checking out:
gel is built from scratch, with a focus on simplicity, maintainability,
security and scalability. almost all services are self-hosted on a
dedicated server rented from Hetzner, with the exception of email
delivery, and CDN routing via Cloudflare.
the design of the system is guided by a desire to keep costs as low as
possible, avoid any platform dependencies, retain full data sovereignty,
and ensure privacy & security at every level. it's deeply important that
our choices over the tech stack align with our values of transparency,
accessibility and community. we soon wish to make the source code
publicly available.
the following technologies help to form the core of the gel platform: