Celebcity: Brighton Pride 2014
Pics: © CHRISJEPSON.COM. Moshimo sponsored the brilliant Pridemakers T-shirts
Glowing with Pride
If you weren’t at Brighton Pride 2014 … then you missed out. BIG TIME. Because this year’s Pride was the best, most awe-inspiring, exuberant, colourful, genius celebration of everything that is amazing about our city, the LGBT community and the spirit of Pride itself. There just simply isn’t another day like it.
The day began with the spectacle that is the Pride Community Parade, which this year broke all previous records with 80 floats and walking groups making it the biggest the city has ever seen. A crowd of over 160,000 thronged the entire Parade route from Madeira Drive to Preston Park, offering support and cheering every single brilliant participant until they were hoarse.
Trevor Sorbie MBE, with Carole Sorbie
Waiting to greet the Parade at Preston Park was the largest and most ambitious Pride Festival production ever staged, with over 100 acts ready to entertain the tens of thousands of Pride festival-goers. The Brighton Pride Festival really is more than the sum of all its glorious parts, and in 2014, those parts were extra fabulous! Alongside the world class Legends Cabaret tent, the ever popular Wild Fruit tent and the rocking Calabash tent was a Main Stage line-up that gave us performances to remember from acts including powerhouse diva Sam Bailey, Mercury Award nominated Katy B, and the multi-platinum selling Blue boys.
Pic: Sam Bailey, Pic: krystenmarlette.com
Underscoring the world class entertainment of the Preston Park Festival and the carnival atmosphere of the Parade is Brighton Pride’s key message of Freedom to Live, and its important role in fundraising for frontline LGBT services in our region.
kay B, Pic: krystenmarlette.com
Brighton Pride organisers worked hard in 2014 to make this a Pride with purpose, both to raise funds for charities and good causes and also to heighten awareness of those countries where homosexuality is still criminalised; where people like you and me are denied the right to live and love as they please. Brighton Pride 2014 offered us all the opportunity to stand beside those LGBT communities across the globe and help make equality a reality. Within the Pride Parade, a walking group held placards to represent each of the 78 countries that refuse to recognise the human rights of their LGBT communities.
While at Preston Park, Peter Tatchell made an impassioned speech in support of Freedom to Live, and, as a breath-taking finale, a specially commissioned film was shown to the thousands of people thronging the Main Stage that poignantly made the case for change. Paul Kemp, Dulcie Weaver, every single volunteer, every single sponsor and partner, everyone who paid for a ticket to any Pride event in 2014 – we salute you. You made us Proud.
Jo Brooks is director of Brighton-based PR company JBPR Ltd, 01273 622555, www.jb-pr.com
Send celebrity spots, gossip and pictures to job@jb-pr.com
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