The first dedicated wellness week for gay men in Ibiza brings together a world-class contributor lineup including former Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Chip Conley, based at S’ermita, a former monastery in the north of the island
Ibiza, Spain – Gay Wellness Week announces its inaugural event taking place in Ibiza from Saturday 10 to Saturday 17 October 2026.
The week-long programme is designed for gay men seeking a genuine alternative to the circuit party experience, built around movement, learning, connection, and rest at S’ermita, a former monastery set in the hills above Sant Miquel in the north of the island.
The event is founded by Sadiq Gillani, former Chief Strategy Officer at Lufthansa and Transformation Director at Emirates, Harvard MBA, Cambridge MA graduate, and Stonewall trustee. Luke Connelly, an Australian marketing consultant based in Barcelona with deep roots in LGBT sport and community-led events, co-founded the event. Gay Wellness Week’s mission is centred on improving the mental wellbeing of gay men through human connection and personal growth.
A different kind of week in Ibiza
The dominant gay travel experience is built around nightlife, spectacle, and excess. Gay Wellness Week is built around the opposite. The programme is alcohol-free, contributor-led, and intentionally small. Access is through the GWW Pass, a single inclusive ticket covering the full week of programming: the Opening Circle on Saturday 10 October, all contributor sessions, movement classes, workshops, social events, and the Closing Party at House of Dreams, Can Furnet, on Friday 16 October.
The week is based entirely at S’ermita, a former monastery in the hills above Sant Miquel, in the quieter, more considered north of the island. The setting is deliberate. S’ermita offers the space, the calm, and the remove that the work of the week requires.
A contributor lineup of genuine weight
The programme brings together contributors whose credentials extend well beyond the wellness industry. Former Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the first openly gay head of government in Ireland, joins the week as a guest speaker. Tommaso Barba, a researcher at Imperial College London’s Centre for Psychedelic Research under Professor David Nutt, contributes his academic work on psychedelics, intimacy, and emotional wellbeing. Chris Connors, an embodiment coach and 5Rhythms practitioner based in Ibiza with clients including LVMH and Nike, leads movement and somatic work throughout the week. Additional contributors include Tori Nigerian Buddha, Matt James, Kerry Spark, and musician Jurgis Didžiulis.
Why Ibiza, why now
Ibiza has a long and layered history with both wellness and the gay community. The north of the island, connected to the alternative and spiritual movements of the 1960s, provides a setting that is deliberately removed from the tourist infrastructure of the south. October brings warm days, empty roads, and a pace of life that makes the work of the week possible. Gay Wellness Week is not taking place in spite of Ibiza’s reputation. It is using the island’s other identity, the one that existed before the clubs.
About Gay Wellness Week
Gay Wellness Week is a UK registered community interest company founded to improve the mental wellbeing of gay men through human connection and personal growth. The inaugural event takes place 10 to 17 October 2026 in Ibiza, Spain, based at S’ermita in the north of the island.
The programme is fully alcohol-free. Places are strictly limited. Further information is available at gaywellnessweek.com
Gay Wellness Week has received coverage in männer*, Germany’s leading gay media publication, Diario de Ibiza, and Ibiza Daily News.
