Brighton Pride organisers have faced a wave of criticism over headline act Black Eyed Peas playing in Qatar on the first day of the World Cup.

The band will perform to an audience of thousands of people on the first night of the Pride festival in Preston Park, organisers of the event announced yesterday.

However, some took to social media to express disappointment and anger at the choice, with some pointing out the group performed in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to seven years in prison, during the World Cup.

The gig, presented by Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism, took place on November 20, the same day that the football tournament kicked off with a match between Qatar and Ecuador.

Tickets for the gig were available from £86, with some costing as much as £41,188.

Brighton Pride joined other Pride organisers across the UK in calling for a boycott of the World Cup last year, criticising Fifa for a “complete lack of consideration for LGBTQ+ people”.

In a joint statement with Manchester Pride, Birmingham Pride and Pride in London, organisers called on people to boycott the sporting event “in order to support the LGBTQ+ community globally”.

Pride has hidden dozens of replies to their post on Twitter that have criticised the decision to have the band headline this year’s event. The official Brighton Pride Instagram also turned off comments for their posts announcing the line-up for this year’s event.

One user on Twitter, Rebecca King, slammed the decision as “absolutely awful” and “disappointing”, while others said they were “not impressed” that the band had been chosen after “supporting a homophobic regime”.

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Brighton Pride organisers described Black Eyed Peas as “staunch allies” of the LGBTQ+ community.

In the announcement that the Black Eyed Peas were performing it was pointed out that the band wore rainbow armbands on stage at events in places like Poland, where some regions of the country have proclaimed “LGBT-free zones”.

The annual festival in Preston Park, taking place on August 5 and August 6, will also see multi-platinum artist Zara Larsson, BRIT-award winner and former Spice Girl Melanie C and band Steps take to the stage.

Brighton Pride refused to comment.