Brighton Pride


Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, organised by Brighton Pride, a community interest company who promote equality and diversity, and advance education to eliminate discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community.
The major event is an annual summer festival held in the first week of August, which usually consists of a parade through the city centre, a festival event in Preston Park, the Gay Village Party and other club parties. Since 2013, it has also included an Arts and Film Festival and a Pride Dog Show.
Pride attracts an estimated 450,000 to the city over the Pride weekend across the Pride parade, Pride in the Park festival, and related events and brings 2% of the city's annual visitors in one day and an estimated £20.5 million to the city's economy, credited as one of the main ways Brighton has boosted its economy from tourism.

History

Brighton and Hove Pride began with a gay demonstration in Brighton in October 1972 by The Sussex Gay Liberation Front and a full pride march in July 1973.
Pride returned to the city in 1991 with the Brighton Area Action Against Section 28 which brought hundreds to the streets. The first contemporary Pride took place in 1992 and began to increase significantly in size in future years with the support of sponsors, pubs, clubs and drag artists. Since 1996, the park festival has been based at Preston Park.
Pride events have traditionally been an environment for celebrating the diversity of the lesbian and gay community. In 2002 Pride in Brighton & Hove agreed to explicitly include and reference the trans community making that year's Pride for the first time an LGBT event.
In 2004, Brighton Pride became a charity, to develop the event, to advance public education – by raising awareness of issues affecting LGBT people, and to make grants and donations to other charitable and voluntary organisations in the area. In 2011, organisers controversially introduced an entry fee to the park festival, as the company was in financial ruin and ran up over £200,000 in debt. Since 2012, Pride has been under new management and has raised over £922,000 for local LGBT community groups over the past six years. The theme of the most recent event in 2019 was 'Generations of Love', which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in the US, seen as a watershed moment for gay rights and the starting point for the Pride movement.
In 2020, the event's 30th anniversary celebrations were postponed to the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pride festival

The weekend includes:
Below is a list of artists who have headlined, or are planned to headline, on the main stage at Brighton Pride.
YearDateHeadlinerOther Main Stage Artists
2012Saturday 1 SeptemberAlexandra BurkeFreemasons, Fatboy Slim
2013Saturday 3 AugustPaloma FaithAlison Moyet, MKS, Stooshe, Ms Dynamite
2014Saturday 2 AugustBlueCollabro, Heather Peace, Neon Jungle, Kimberly Wyatt, Katy B, Sam Bailey
2015Saturday 1 AugustThe Human LeagueBright Light Bright Light, Ella Henderson, Fatboy Slim, Foxes, Kelli-Leigh, Ms Dynamite, Tulisa
2016Saturday 6 AugustSister SledgeCarly Rae Jepsen, Anne-Marie, Alesha Dixon, DJ Fresh, Dua Lipa, Fleur East, Imani Williams, Seann Miley Moore
2017Saturday 5 AugustPet Shop BoysYears & Years, Becky Hill, Fickle Friends, KStewart, Louisa Johnson, M.O
2018Saturday 4 AugustBritney SpearsElla Eyre, Pixie Lott, Louise Redknapp, MNEK, Mabel
2018Sunday 5 AugustNile Rodgers & ChicJess Glynne, RAYE, Gabrielle, House Gospel Choir
2019Saturday 3 AugustKylie MinogueClean Bandit, Fleur East, Björn Again, Zak Abel, Rina Sawayama, Alice Chater, Emeli Sandé
2019Sunday 4 AugustJessie J, Grace JonesRak-Su, Nina Nesbitt, House Gospel Choir, Grace Carter
2020Saturday 1 AugustMariah CareyBananarama
2020Sunday 2 AugustThe Pussycat DollsTodrick Hall
2021Saturday 7 August
2021Sunday 8 August