Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on the city for this year's Brighton and Hove Pride.
Following last year’s train cancellations and stormy weather organisers are hoping for a return to busier weekends of the past with extra trains planned and sunshine expected to shine on revellers.
Visitors can expect the Pride parade, village party in Kemp Town and headline performances from Girls Aloud, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Mika at the Fabuloso festival in Preston Park.
Pictures of the Brighton Pride Parade 2023 (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)
Here is everything you need to know about this year’s Pride.
How to get around Brighton this weekend
Bus
Special services will run frequently between the Waterhall campsite, the Old Steine and Preston Park for £3 per person.
The Pride bus timetable kicks in overnight tonight, Thursday, August 1, as the Fabuloso festival is set up in Preston Park.
A section of Preston Road will be shut between 10pm and 2am and routes 5, 5A and the 271 and 272s will be diverted.
On Friday, the Aquarium roundabout and St James's Street close from 10pm and will stay shut until 8am on Monday.
All eastbound services which normally use these roads will divert via Edward Street.
Full timetable information is available at buses.co.uk/brighton-pride and affects some of the city's busiest routes including the 1, 5 and 12.
Train
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) which operates Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express have confirmed there will be more trains and extra carriages added to services to help visitors get to and from the city over Pride weekend.
Because of the large crowds who will be leaving the city after Pride, the advice is to get to Brighton Station early. Everyone should plan to give themselves at least an hour to get to the station from any of the festival sites or the seafront.
If travelling to or from any of the Pride events in the city, people will need to use Brighton Station. Preston Park and London Road in Brighton will be closed all weekend to help manage crowding.
Travellers have been encouraged to get their train ticket in advance to speed things up. And remember that for safety reasons glass bottles or containers will not be allowed into the station or on to trains.
Brighton station’s rainbow queueing system will be in place to direct passengers leaving the city into the appropriate queue for their train and destination before they get to the station entrance. To help everyone on their way, remember:
- The green queue will be for trains on the East Coastway (services towards Lewes, Seaford and Eastbourne)
- The purple queue will be for trains on the West Coastway (towards Shoreham, Worthing and Chichester)
- The blue queue is for stations on the Brighton Main Line (for stations towards Haywards Heath, Gatwick Airport and to London)
Walking
Brighton Station to Kemp Town (Pride Village Party) = 15 to 20 minutes
Brighton Station to Preston Park (Fabuloso) = 15 to 20 minutess
Hove Station to Hove Lawns (Parade Start) = 20 to 25 minutes
Palace Pier to Hove Lawns (Parade start) = 25 to 35 minutes
By bike
Brighton and Hove’s Beryl BTN Bikes scheme is available over the weekend.
The city has more than 700 pedal and e-bikes at more than 100 hubs around the city.
You can pay as you ride or, for £15, users can get 100 minutes of ride time with no unlocking fees on either pedal or e-bikes.
Road closures
Roads will be closed and parking bays will be suspended along the length of the parade route.
Roads will be closed around the Pride Village Party, including St James’s Street and Madeira Place.
There will also be road closures for the festival in Preston Park, including Preston Road between New England Road to Stanford Avenue and Stanford Avenue between Preston Road and Beaconsfield Road.
Roads may also be closed during the weekend where the police advise it is required for public safety.
What is the weather forecast?
The Met Office's forecast for Saturday is that it will be overcast changing to sunny intervals by early evening with temperatures reaching around 20C.
On Sunday, it will be sunny changing to partly cloudy by the night time with temperatures reaching around 21C.
Parade
The much-loved Brighton and Hove Pride LGBTQ+ Community Parade will open the weekend's festivities on Saturday under this year’s theme of Joy: celebrating life, spirit and resilience.
The parade, which showcases over 100 charities, community groups, emergency services, representatives from the NHS and other Pride organisations and small businesses, will set off at 11am from Hove Lawns and finishes at Preston Park.
Parade route
Kemp Town Party
The Pride Village Party in Brighton’s Kemp Town will see businesses across St James’s Street and Marine Parade come together to celebrate Pride and raise extra funds for the Brighton Rainbow Fund and Pride Social Impact Fund on Saturday and Sunday.
People can expect entertainment zones, bars and venues, live performances and cabaret, DJs, drag artists, singers, performers, and musicians.
The streets where Pride Village Party will be taking place are:
- Steine Street
- Manchester Street
- part of Marine Parade
- part of George Street
- Broad Street
- Camelford Street
- part of Madeira Place
- Charles Street is in the middle of that area but that will only be open to residents.
Pride Village Party banned items and bag policy
The list of banned items for Pride Village Party are:
- Controlled substances
- Psychoactive substances or legal highs.
- Dangerous or hazardous items
- Glass
- Liquids over 100ml (except sealed bottles of water up to 500ml)
- Aerosols over 100ml
- Alcohol of any kind
- Animals (except assistance dogs and dogs on leads)
- Disposable barbecues, green heat base camp cooker, solid fuel stoves, firelighters/firelighter stoves, methylated/“trangia” spirit stoves
- Large rucksacks or suitcases
- Flares or pyrotechnics
- Chinese Lanterns
- Flyers for distribution
- Inflatables
- Large umbrellas
- Air horns/megaphones/claxons
- Goods for unauthorised trading/with unauthorised Pride Festival logos
- Portable laser equipment and pens
- Unofficial tabards and reflective jackets
- Hampers or food for sale.
- Fold up chairs/stools/seat sticks
- Super soakers/water pistols
- Spray cans (paint) or gas canisters
- Bicycles/skateboards and scooters
- Drones
- Unauthorised professional commercial photography
- Posters, signs or banners that could be deemed offensive
Who is performing at Fabuloso and when?
Pride’s official fundraiser Fabuloso at Brighton’s Preston Park will take place over the weekend on August 3 and 4 featuring more than 150 artists and performers including a UK festival exclusive show from Girls Aloud on Saturday.
Billy Porter and Sophie Ellis-Bextor will also take to the main stage on Saturday.
Mika will headline on Sunday and will be joined by S-Club and Gabrielle.
Other performers announced include RuPaul's Drag Race UK series four winner Danny Beard, House Gospel Choir and Beth McCarthy.
In addition to the main-stage, Fabuloso will also host an array of stages and entertainment zones across the park, including the Gaydio Dance Tent, Beefmince Dance Tent, Queer ALT Stage, Cabaret Big Top, Diva Dance Tent, Queertown and more.
Set times
Beth Mccarthy kicks things off on the main stage on Saturday at 2.45pm, followed by Tia Kofi at 3.25pm, House Gospel Choir at 425pm, Sophie Ellis-Bextor at 5.40pm, Billy Porter at 7.10pm and Girls Aloud at 8.40pm.
Danny Beard will kick things off on the main stage on Sunday at 2.30pm followed by Bjorn Again at 3.30pm, Gabrielle at 5.10pm, S Club at 6.30pm and Mika at 8.30pm
Other events
Cricket
Sussex Cricket will put on a One Day Cup fixture against Leicestershire at Hove cricket ground on August 4.
It will be the club’s first Pride Match, fundraising for The Brighton Rainbow Fund.
Tickets are £5 for juniors and £20 for adults.
Party Bag at Ironworks Studios
Brighton's biggest alternative drag show will be hosting a pre-Pride special on Friday night, hosted by Ophelia Payne and Dick Day.
There will be performances by Billie Gold, Karma and Aurora Starr among others.
Doors are set to open at 7pm according to its Eventbrite page, with the show then starting at 8pm.
Camp Out! vs Tainted Love at Revenge
Revenge will be hosting a pre-Pride club night on Friday with two floors of very different tunes.
Pride Rock 2024
Taking place at The Old Market, Pride Rock is a rock/metal/alternative event on Saturday, August 3.
Punk- Alt Rockers SNAYX will be headlining, while other performers include The Virginmarys, Stone Angels, Hawxx, Izzy T, Monakis, Queen Cult and MuddiBrooke.
Doors will open at 1.15pm, with the first act on at 2pm with the event finishing at 11pm.
The Big One at Revenge
Revenge will be hosting a massive club night on Saturday which has been billed as being "wall-to-wall rainbow madness".
Read more about club nights over the weekend here.
Fundraising
Brighton Pride has raised over £1.3 million for the Brighton Rainbow Fund, the Pride Social Impact Fund, Pride Cultural Development Fund and Pride Solidarity Fund so far.
The Brighton Rainbow Fund has a remit to receive donations and to use them to give grants to LGBT and HIV groups and organisations in Brighton and Hove. The Pride Social Impact Fund benefits local good causes giving grants to a range of local groups.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel