Which UK furry convention should I attend?

The UK doesn’t have nearly as big a furry scene as the US, but we are getting more and more conventions pop up. In this post I’m going to briefly summarise the main UK conventions, and what they cater to, so you can best decide which one is for you.

Confuzzled

Confuzzled is the UK’s biggest convention, it hits maximum capacity every year these days which is around 3000 people. It takes place at the Birmingham International Hilton Metropole hotel.

Confuzzled is kind of the social event of the year for most furries. It’s where you’re bound to find your friends, the best dealers and be able to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of your fandom. The location is a little tucked away too and has a gorgeous lakeside view.

I love Confuzzled because it feels like a UK staycation holiday park with all your friends. There’s cheesy music discos, gameshows, pub quizzes and it’s all contained in to one large hotel, so you’re never too far away from the action if you get a residency.

The downside of Confuzzled only really comes from its ever growing popularity. The cost and chances of getting residency these days are pretty tough. That said, if you can afford to travel in or cut hotel costs out of it then CFZ is still fairly realisable to attend. It’s best suited to furs who want that big social event and to fully just live the furry life for a long weekend.

ScotiaCon

The second biggest UK convention is ScotiaCon. It’s a lot like Confuzzled in many ways, it’s a general audience, large convention that takes place in Glasgow.

At ScotiaCon you’ll find a lot of the same events and activities as Confuzzled, but there’s a few reasons I slightly prefer ScotiaCon to Confuzzled. It’s a little less crowded, though the attendance is quickly catching up each year. It’s a little cheaper and I prefer the location honestly. It’s pretty central to Glasgow but it’s also along the riverside and has a great outdoor space coupled with a lot of neighbouring hotels to help with affordability.

The real downside of ScotiaCon is public transport, getting up to Glasgow from England these days is really hard with all the train cancellations and I’ve had to miss days of the convention in the past because of this. But I love ScotiaCon and try to attend most years.

It’s worth mentioning that ScotiaCon does fall incredibly close to NordicFuzzCon every year, and NFC is the bigger convention that most Europeans will go to, so depending on your friend groups, it’s worth looking in to both!

Furcation

Furcation is a small furry convention which takes place in a holiday park in November every year. The real nice thing about this is that you get your own chalets to sleep in, and it feels like you have a more personal space than an over-crowded hotel.

Tickets for Furcation are super limited, so it’s hard to attend, but I only ever hear good things about the experience from those who go.

Pawsome

The newest of the bigger furry conventions! Pawsome takes place in Gloucester around early October and is the first entirely kink-friendly UK furry convention.

Don’t get me wrong, most furry conventions are accepting and happy for you to be who you be, but Pawsome flaunts a dress code which supports that. Ponies and puppies and babs, oh my! They work closely with the folks at Club Animals to provide a truly unique party experience for the community.

Pawsome is super new, its first year was this year in 2024, but it did sell out of residency tickets and I’ve only heard positive things from the attendees I know. This is one for my list in 2025.

Smaller Conventions to look out for

I’ve covered the ‘will reliably run every year’ conventions now, so it’s worth mentioning the two others that might end up on your radar.

Just Fur The Weekend: This is a small furry convention that runs in Bristol. It’s a very similar target audience and circle of people that regularly attend Confuzzled and ScotiaCon. JFTW was doing really well but hasn’t really run since before covid. I’m hopeful we’ll see it again one day!

Further South: Further South is a proposed new furry convention taking place in March in Portsmouth. The convention was postponed due to clashing too close to Pawsome last year, but hopefully they’ll have a good first year now that they’ve rescheduled.

The limited choice of conventions is becoming more difficult for the UK because we could really do with some more chances to get together. But if you find yourself unable to attend or afford a furry convention in the UK, you should definitely try out your local meet up group. LondonFurs in particular has a big enough attendance to almost feel like a convention day in itself these days.