Hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors came together to be part of the Pride Community Parade, Pride on the Park, Pride Street Party and thousands of other smaller celebrations across the city. By Nick Staunton
Pride’s roots can be traced back to the city’s first Pride march in 1973, and since then it has grown to become one of the country’s most recognised celebrations of diversity, equality and inclusion attracts visitors from across the UK and beyond.
This year was no exception with around 100,000 people coming into the city through Brighton Station across the weekend.
The economic, cultural and community impact of Pride is felt long after the final celebrations end, helping support local businesses, strengthen community connections and reinforce Brighton & Hove’s position as one of the UK’s leading visitor destinations.
It’s also a showcase of Brighton & Hove’s reputation as an open, inclusive and welcoming city.
It’s estimated to bring in more than £20 million to Brighton & Hove in a single weekend. Hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafes, shops and venues all benefit from the many visitors who choose to spend their weekend in Brighton & Hove.
The Pride Community Parade on Saturday morning wound its way from Hove Lawns to Preston Circus, showcasing its theme of Power of Love: Our love, our history, our power, with supporters of all ages cheering it on.
More than 60,000 people visited Pride on the Park across the weekend, and 8,500 revellers attended the Pride Street Party.
Brighton & Hove Pride’s Pride on the Park event raises vital support for LGBTQI+ community groups and organisations.
As Brighton & Hove’s biggest annual event, it takes a mammoth collective effort, with people from a number of organisations working tirelessly behind the scenes before, during and after the event.
Hundreds of people played a part in helping the city run smoothly and safely throughout the weekend. Pride, the council, Sussex Police, health services, coastguard, transport operators and other emergency services, alongside stewards and community volunteers.
With so many revellers in one place the clean-up operation is also substantial.
Pride organise the clean-up in the footprint of their event sites, including the parade route, Preston Park and the Marine Parade.
They worked hard on Saturday to clean the parade route so the roads could re-open as quickly as possible. The pack up of the Pride on the Park is well underway and Preston Park is due to be clear by Wednesday.
Elsewhere the council’s Environmental Services team had extra staff working through the weekend to clean up and keep the city looking its best.
Alongside the additional large litter bins being provided by the Pride, 85 extra recycling and rubbish bins were put out in the city centre, and mechanical sweepers in place providing a 24-hour cleaning and rapid response operation over Saturday and Sunday.
An intensive street washing programme was carried out overnight on Saturday and Sunday, focusing on the areas around London Road and the Pride Street Party. Most of the city centre was looking tidy by Monday morning, with the clean-up operation continuing over the next few days.
The team collected more than 29 tonnes of rubbish over the weekend from the city centre, beach and London Road area. Thanks also go to the fantastic Tidy Up Team volunteers who rose early on Sunday to join Leave No Trace in the Pride beach clean-up. They collected 400kg of rubbish and had the central part beach looking spick and span by late morning.
Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “Pride is one of the moments when Brighton & Hove truly shines.
“The warmth, kindness, solidarity and community spirit shown throughout the weekend once again demonstrated why Brighton & Hove is such a special place to live, work and visit.
“We are proud to host one of the country’s most recognised Pride events and showcase Brighton & Hove’s reputation as an open, inclusive and welcoming city to a national and international audience.
“While it’s first and foremost a celebration of our LGBTQI+ communities and the values we share as a city, it’s also an important boost for our local economy, supporting jobs and businesses across the city, as well as raising vital funds for LGBTQI+ charities and community organisations.
“It is a massive planning operation, with Pride and partners across the council, police, fire, health, coastguard, transport operators and many more working together to make sure people can enjoy Pride safely, as well as keep the city moving around the festivities. Without them it would not be possible. Special shout out to our environmental services staff and volunteers for such an exceptional clean-up operation!
“Thank you to everyone for once again making Brighton & Hove Pride a weekend to remember.”
