PRIDE PARTY BEGINS OVER CELEBRATORY WEEKEND
Celebrations for this weekend's Brighton Pride are expected to contribute £22.5m to the local economy.
Girls Aloud and Mika are the headline acts for this year's event, and are due to perform on the main stage at Preston Park on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Over 300,000 people are expected to take to the city's streets to participate in and watch the parade on Saturday.
The theme of this year's festival is "Joy: Celebrating life, spirit, and resilience".
The parade will run from Hove Lawns at 11:00 BST to Preston Park for We Are Fabuloso, the official Brighton & Hove Pride charity fundraiser.
All of the ticket revenue raised from Brighton Pride goes towards the running costs of producing the Pride Festival, LGBT Community Parade, Pride Village Party and community fundraising for the Rainbow Fund and Pride social impact fund.
Emma Winder, who is supporting MacMillan horizon centre in Brighton & Hove, said: “We are just showing our solidarity with the community and showing that everyone is welcome at the Horizon centre for support.”
Paul Kemp, managing director of Brighton & Hove Pride, said: “I’m proud of our city and the way people join in solidarity and joy with the LGBTQ+ community on the first weekend of August.
“This summer, as we celebrate our diverse communities, we shall continue to press for a world where everyone can live freely and safely, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Pride has always been a mix of protest and celebration - Brighton & Hove Pride has a proud mix of both driven by all that is good about our LGBTQ+ communities.”
Extra trains will run to and from the city over the weekend to help people attend Pride events.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which operates Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services to and from Brighton, said it expects stations and trains to be "extremely busy".
Over the weekend, there will be more trains and extra carriages added to services to help people get to and from the city safely.
There will also be a queuing system in place at Brighton station, colour coded depending on the route people need to take.
Other acts appearing at the event over the two days will be Billy Porter, Sophie Ellis-Baxter, S Club, Gabrielle and Bjorn Again.
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