Brighton & Hove City Council leader Jason Kitcat on the boons of festival time

It’s that time of year again, when we celebrate the Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe, both running throughout the month of May. They are our annual celebration of music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events in venues across the city.

The Brighton Festival kicked off with the annual Children’s Parade, which was bigger and better than in previous years. A total of 83 schools and 5,000 children put on a wonderful parade for all, and I was delighted to see everything from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Frankenstein’s monster represented in their remarkable costumes and floats. It’s so wonderful to see our children enjoying the city, being creative with arts and music for the parade.

These annual festivals showcase many global stars, including the work of this year’s guest festival director Hofesh Shechter. They also give a vital platform to many local arts groups and performers, helping them go on to future successes. There’s a huge range of events – including plenty of free ones – to keep residents and visitors busy.

It’s a huge boost to the local economy too. Between them, these two internationally-renowned festivals attract over 350,000 people to their events and performances, and bring tens of millions of pounds to our wider local economy. In Brighton & Hove we already have over 1,500 companies involved in areas like advertising, architecture, design, music, theatre, computer games, television and radio. They’ve established a critical mass of expertise and skills, and continue to attract new companies to the city.

Part of our work as a council is supporting the local economy, ensuring that we continue to be fertile ground for these kinds of small businesses, which employ so many and contribute so much to Brighton & Hove.

Brighton & Hove is already an industry-leader in the arts. Through supporting these festivals, we hope to continue to make arts accessible to all, and continue to reap the cultural and economic benefits they bring to our city.