When I arrived at Body Movements around 3 PM on Saturday, partygoers decked out in glitter, sequins, PVC and latex were pouring down the streets of Hackney Wick. There is definitely something empowering about seeing club fashion in broad daylight; the harnesses, heels and hosiery usually confined to darkness proudly glistened in the sun as the crowd moved with comfort and confidence.

It was seconds before I ran into someone I knew, which set the tone for the day. "I've already bumped into a few people," laughed Maxi, having just arrived and picked up their wristband. Throughout, I kept overhearing people excitedly say to one another, "Everyone's here." Clearly, there was a thirst for this kind of extravagance in the UK. Organised by DJ Saoirse (who managed RA's ticketing business for a number of years) and Little Gay Brother founder Clayton Wright, the day-long festival brought together some of the longest-running, most respected and heavily mythologised nights from the UK and Europe for its first edition. Across 16 stages and 18 hours, each club night took over a different space in Hackney Wick, bringing their resident DJs and international guests with them.

The resulting lineup was incredible, including UK parties LezzerQuest and Love Muscle, the London-based residents of Adonis, Femme Fraiche, Big Dyke Energy, HTBX and He.She.They. Lucia Blayke, founder of the UK's first LGBTQ+ strip club Harpies, brought icons Eris Drew and Lady Starlight to Studio 94; Inferno flew in New York techno DJ Jasmine Infiniti; and Sippin' T provided appearances from Cakes Da Killa and Skin from Skunk Anansie.

The range of venues for these artists was beautiful: you could find yourself packed into a sweaty, shirtless warehouse one minute, dancing on a covered astroturf terrace by the canal the next or loosely vibing in the fresh air of a courtyard, all in the space of an hour. "This is the point of the festival," says Charlie Parker, artist and raver, "to spread [out] and be queer and make sure we take over as much space as possible." The outdoor programming was loved and mentioned by many: "I'm also excited to have a little boogie in the sunshine!" said fashion designer Izzy Harrison when we spoke at the beginning of the day.

Adonis resident Grace Sands had everyone on the terrace behind Studio 92 dancing on top of each other all day long, the Harpies dancers shook their bodies to Lady Starlight's filthy live set and the Inferno stage was suitably peppered with new releases from the platform's residents, including Wax Wings' stellar remix of Louisahhh's "Chaos." At The Yard Theatre Courtyard, the FAFF boys—Elliot and Orny—brought a characteristically high energy set to BDE, much to the delight of revellers in the sun.

After a very difficult 18 months, Body Movements was a reminder of just how much we have to be grateful for, and how the queer nightlife scene is more than just a scene: it's a multitude of communities that love each other, love to dance and love being free to express themselves.

Sonora

Sonora's trademark firetruck-red hair was also buried in the HTBX crowd. "So far I'm really liking this set at HTBX [courtesy of Becky Stroke], but I'm really looking forward to Herrensauna" [the Berlin techno night that was set to throw the afterparty in the same space]. "Everyone came, so you can always find someone just kind of wandering around and finding people I know from the scene," they said, revelling in the scale and freedom of the event.

Wesley

Adorned in their own delectably dishevelled knitwear pieces and an Inaurem mouthpiece, as they are almost every weekend, Wesley had been giving energy all day. "Honestly it's been so nice to dance on stage today, get the crowd going a little bit, it's been so long!" they said. "I feel like revitalising some energy myself, giving some energy to the crowd—it's been so fun."

Astrid

White Post Lane, the route between the two main venues areas, was mobbed all day, especially while the sun was out. That's where we found Astrid. "It's basically all my favourite queer collectives and venues and amazing DJs that I love in London all in one space," Astrid said.

Bonzai Bonner

Bonzai runs the Glasgow-based nights Shoot Your Shot and LezzerQuest. Saturday was LezzerQuest's first time in London as a collective, and they were delighted to be flying the Scottish flag at the Lord Napier: "We are the only representatives from Scotland. That, to us, is really important: just to shine a little bit of light on what's amazing and going on in Glasgow," Bonzai said.

Sosá

"Everyone looking fire, and to just mainly shake!" That's why Sosá came to Body Movements. In a crew "with my three darling vixens" (Jordan, Lola and Sebi), Sosá was headed "wherever the night takes me." When we spoke outside the Lord Napier, they were fully relaxed and leaning into the day's beautiful chaos.

Jordan Crawford

Early in the day, I caught Jordan Crawford on a mission to see Adonis at Studio 92. Like everyone else I talked to, Jordan was excited about the crowd and "seeing people I haven't seen in years." Come nightfall, they were headed to fabric for Helena Hauff's Return to Disorder.

Sebi

"[I'm going] to shake my body out of proportion with the gals!" And if you're going to shake that hard, you're going to need sensible footwear: "I'm wearing fake DMs," they laughed, "and this little skirt—and of course the thong is showing." Their outfit was topped off with a lacey, cropped, leopard print, "raunchy-ass top that this girl gave me the other day."

Chenai

"The sun is out and it's fucking October!" Like the rest of us, Chenai was delighted that we were so lucky to have good weather and happy to spend the day dancing and enjoying themselves. It's hard to go wrong with sunshine and good music by the water. "Everyone's vibing. It's really good energy everywhere we've been," they said. When we met, Chenai was on their way into Inferno at Colour Factory as the sun went down.

Irene

Irene was taking five minutes from working the bar in the Colour Garden when I caught them. "I'm having a really good time, I love this vibe. I fucking love how everyone is dressing, how everyone feels, I love the outfits," they said.

Gartruche

"On the way here, we saw all the venues open and we really felt like East London is back, bitch!" As a model, Gartruche spends half their time in front of a camera and the other half in front of a sound system, so they were excited to stomp on dance floors all over Hackney Wick. "All of the fucking parties, all of the fucking venues, every section of the community [...] everything is open and you can go wherever the fuck you want."

Words by Emily Crooked