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Brighton & Hove Pride 2021
With Brighton & Hove Pride confirmed for August 6-8, 2021 the organisers respond to some questions about the event put by Scene magazine
How is Brighton & Hove Pride different to other Prides? Here in Brighton & Hove we have a long history of Pride and are recognised as one of the most welcoming cities in the UK with everyone from local businesses to education hubs and residents really getting behind the celebrations to show off our fine city in the best light.
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What makes us different from other Prides, and special, is that we have a high-profile city centre parade route that leads directly to the festival in Preston Park with its multiple sites and entertainment stages, dance tents, cabaret venues, food stalls and so much more. Most other cities in the UK do not have the size and location of facilities to match what we can offer.
What is the future of Pride?
When we were handed the baton as the organisers of Pride, the event was in dire financial difficulty, many of the themes were somewhat frivolous and there was virtually no campaigning and very little fundraising.
The current pandemic has impacted hugely on charities, community groups and businesses, and importantly on their ability to deliver their services, and Pride is no different. In a normal year we would advocate for community gatherings and events so we can meet, support and celebrate our hard fought for rights, but also campaign for the rights of those marginalised communities at home and abroad who still suffer persecution on a daily basis. We are committed to fighting for the rights of all members of the LGBTQ+ family and standing with those who suffer homophobia, transphobia, biphobia and racism.
Under the seven-year tenure of Brighton Pride CIC, we are proud that the organisation has become more financially stable, with a small reserve that enables us to work on the year-round planning process.
Pride by nature has campaigning and protest at its roots, and in the changing political environment must continue to listen and evolve. We must continue, now more than ever, to stand together as one LGBTQ+ community.
How can Pride respond to the voiced needs of the community who want a more politicised activist presence to raise legitimate concerns about the current political situation and real equality?
Pride means different things to different people. For some, Pride is a celebration of how far we have come, for some it is a protest of issues and rights that still need fighting for and for others it is a combination of the two. Protest and campaigning will always be at the heart of Pride and we should never forget our roots and continue to fight for marginalised members of our community.
We endeavour to offer a safe space at our events for the whole community to demonstrate how Pride manifests in their life, underpinned by a fundraising mechanism that ensures we can raise money for our local charities and community groups that do such essential work all year round.
After Pride’s previous management going bankrupt in 2010, this model was agreed to ensure ongoing funding for our local LGBTQ+ charities, community groups and projects.
We are immensely proud to have raised almost £1million in the past seven years that, through the Brighton Rainbow Fund and Pride Social Impact Fund, has directly supported marginalised people through the pandemic as well as throughout the year, and ensured the viability of many of our essential community groups that otherwise would not have survived during this period of austerity and funding cuts from central government.
Criticism of some Prides is that they are very corporate. How can Brighton & Hove Pride work in and with the corporate and commercial word to ensure fair treatment of LGBTQ+ people across the world is part of its ethical engagements policy?
Historically, Pride organisations have always sought to engage with local groups and businesses to help fund the delivery of events. Indeed, looking back at a Pride programme from 1995 the organisers were looking for support from businesses and ‘big companies’.
Like many charities and local LGBTQ+ organisations, sponsorship has become an essential part of their annual income to help with the ongoing provision of services and certainly we’d not be able to deliver the Pride weekend and see the huge benefits to the city and our fundraising without sponsorship support.
We are very mindful that all businesses we engage with must have a serious LGBTQ+ policy and messaging and actively support diversity and inclusion and their LGBTQ+ employees. This also applies to the Pride Community Parade where all entrants must adhere to a comprehensive set of standards.
We are not interested in companies that just want to push their newest product on our community but we are interested in supporting companies with their LGBTQ+ campaigns and giving visibility to their employees’ networks, and over the last three years several sponsors have agreed to make direct contributions to the Brighton Rainbow Fund.
Pride has become a beautiful monster, isn’t it about time the city had a more strategic approach to this magnificent beast?
As event organisers we totally agree and at our Pride Summit in 2018 specifically put forward the suggestion that there was a citywide strategy for all large events in Brighton & Hove. While we take full responsibility for the safe running and clean-up of all our official event sites, we are not responsible for the whole city and all the visitors that come for the beach and other attractions.
Through our CityAngels initiative we already sponsor beach cleans and put in place additional resources for the cleaning of the city’s streets but there clearly needs to be a city-wide strategy for events that attract large crowds such as Pride, the Brighton Marathon and the Brighton Festival, as well as bank holiday weekends and rallies.
What advice would you have, as leader of one of the most successful Pride events in Europe, for smaller Prides just starting up?
Pride cannot be organised in isolation and the most important thing we have found is the benefit of positive working relationships with local partners, local authorities, the council, transport providers and blue light services. It is vital that we listen to and engage with the community, local business and their LGBTQ+ employees while being mindful that as your Pride grows there are greater challenges and requirements put in place with cost implications for health and safety, traffic management, transport etc.
Having a fundraising plan is also essential. We have found that relying of people to put money in buckets on the day raises very little for charity, in fact the Brighton Rainbow Fund calculated on the day giving at 11p per person, so having some specific ticketed fundraising events allows you to support many more local charities and community groups.
Brighton & Hove Pride to return in 2021!
Following the roadmap to end lockdown in the UK, Brighton & Hove Pride has announced its 30th anniversary celebrations will be going ahead on the weekend of August 6-8, 2021.
More info/tix: www.brighton-pride.org
Since 2013, Brighton & Hove Pride has raised just under £1million for LGBTQ+ causes in the city, funds which are distributed by the Brighton Rainbow Fund.
Have your say on the future of Brighton & Hove Pride and WIN VIP tickets to the Pride Festival!
Pride is conducting a public survey to get feedback on what you like and don’t like about Brighton & Hove Pride to help them, and their partner agencies, plan for the future. All answers will be anonymous and strictly confidential.
Brighton & Hove Pride says: “We value your views and feedbackit helps us change and improve.
“We want to ensure we’re doing everything we can to achieve our vision and support LGBTQ+ people during the Festival and throughout the year.”
All participants who respond to the survey by April 1 are eligible to be entered into the prize draw for VIP tickets.
