Brighton Pride director highlights repression abroad and charity fundraising at home

By Tatiana Aversa Sanchez

The director of Brighton Pride has urged people to remember gay repression abroad by highlighting the amazing day of freedom of expression that Pride brings.

Writing in the current issue of the Brighton and Hove Independent, Paul Kemp, who organises the annual celebration, said: “In 2014 we expect over 160,000 people to gather to watch the spectacle that is the Pride community parade as it winds its way from Madeira Drive to Preston Park, with a further 40,000 guests celebrating at the Preston Park Festival.

“It is important to remember that Brighton Pride is more than just a celebration, more than a party and more than a great few days’ takings for the city’s businesses.

“It is a unique yearly opportunity to put the spotlight on the plight of those LGBT communities around the world who do not have the same freedoms as are enjoyed in the United Kingdom.”

This year Pride’s march for equality is inviting the community to join in the 2014 campaign Freedom to Live.

The Pride parade will include 78 placards to represent the countries in which homosexuality is illegal and seen as a crime. They include Oman, Somalia, Dominica, India, Tonga, Russia, Egypt and Iraq.

By volunteering to hold one of the 78 placards, support can be shown for those in LGBT communities who do not enjoy the Freedom to Live.

The Live Stage at the Preston Park Festival will also give a platform to those who wish to campaign for everyone to have the Freedom to Live in this day and age.

England and Wales may have just celebrated equal marriage but across the globe there is so much more to be done.

Mr Kemp said that Brighton Pride was also about fundraising for LGBT organisations.

More than £43,000 was raised from Pride events last year and distributed via the independent Rainbow Fund.

It was spent supporting local LGBT and HIV charities and organisations.

Mr Kemp added in the Independent: “Brighton Pride really is a community event, stilled in the belief that equality matters, that by campaigning and fundraising together we can achieve so much.

“Every ticket bought, every ticket Pride supporting party, every proud business sponsor, every fundraising event, every donation, indeed every person can make a difference.

“Please join us in making Brighton and Hove Pride 2014 the best it has ever been – fabulous, proud and with a purpose like no other.”

The Rainbow Fund was set up by James Ledward and Paul Elgood after fundraising for the AIDS Memorial in Kemp Town, to provide a living legacy for the project.

The Rainbow Fund is administered by the Sussex Community Foundation which oversees the fund’s annual grant-giving process and handles all donations made to it.

The 2014 grant round is open from July to early October.

The Brighton Pride parade is due to take place on Saturday 2 August.