PRIDE made more than £30 million for Brighton and Hove and the surrounding area this year.

An independent study by TSE Research, the commercial research arm of Tourism South East, commissioned by Brighton Pride CIC, shows that visitors to Brighton and Hove over Pride weekend boosted the local economy by more than £20.5 million with another £11.2 million helping businesses and services in the area.

Paul Kemp, managing director of Brighton and Hove Pride, said, “Tourism and events in our city are the lifeblood of our city’s economy and what makes Brighton and Hove stand out as a visitor a destination. Many small local businesses reply on the annual income from Pride and other events to stay in business all year round.

“With the additional £250,000 in fundraising for local good causes announced last week, I’m pleased that Pride can have such a huge impact on the city ‘s economy and help support a wide range of community projects across our city.”

TSE Research evaluated the economic impact of the Brighton Pride Festival 2018 on the local visitor economy based on the expenditure of non-local visitors attending the event.

It also considers the economic spill-over into the wider regional economy as a result of the multiplier impact.

A Pride spokesman said: “Multiplier impact is the effect of businesses receiving income from visitors through the purchase of their goods and services.

“It is estimated that the Brighton Pride Festival generated a gross economic impact of £26.8 million for businesses in the city and that a further £5 million was generated for businesses across the region through multiplier effects, providing a total gross impact of £31.7 million.

“The net impact is defined as the additional expenditure which arises in the local area and in the region as a direct result of the event. The likely level of additionality related to different types of events has been derived from studies of events carried out across the UK.”

These numbers are mirrored by Brighton and Hove Pride’s annual survey which this year showed 84 per cent of ticket purchasers had been to a previous Brighton and Hove Pride and 65 per cent came from outside the Brighton and Hove city area. Of those visiting the city, 57 per cent arrived by train and 32 per cent stayed overnight in either a hotel or B&B accommodation.

It is hoped that train services will be able to cope better next year. On the Saturday night after Britney Spears performed on August 4, Sussex Police made the decision to shut Brighton station in a bid to prevent dangerous overcrowding. Some missed their last train home as a result.

The new survey also showed that many other tourist attractions and shopping areas benefit from the influx of Pride visitors with 86 per cent saying they had visited the Brighton Pier, 55 per cent went to The Lanes, and more than 20 per cent went on the British Airways i360 and to the Royal Pavilion.