If you’ve been going to Pride for a number of years, it can be hard to put a date on your old photos. At some point in the past I created a spreadsheet of ‘what happened when’ in terms of the history of Brighton Pride – a timeline or chronology if you will. It’s just occurred to me that other people might find it interesting or useful. Maybe even both!
So if you’re not sure what year your photos come from, this chronological list might just help you narrow it down. FYI this listing only goes up to 2020. Good luck!
Oh, if you were hoping for fluffy tales of all the fun and frolics over the years you might be a little disappointed as this is more of a reference guide, but it does have some pretty pictures.
1970s
1972
There was no Pride march in 1972, however the Sussex Gay Liberation Front did organise a Gay Day. A Gay Day was a specific event that was intended to show people being homosexual and happy – both meanings of the word gay in fact. The Gay Day before Pride took place on 28 October 1972.
Photo courtesy of Bishopsgate Institute
1973
Following in the footsteps of the Gay Liberation Front in London who held the UK’s first Pride march in 1972, the first Gay Pride in Brighton was a week of events that took place 3-8 July 1973.
I’ve heard it said before that 1973 wasn’t a real Pride, whatever that means. So just to set the record straight – here is a notice in Gay News advertising that very real Gay Pride Week in 1973.
1980s
There were no Pride marches in the 1980s, however it was the introduction of Section 28 of the Local Government Act in 1988 that resulted in the return of Brighton Pride a few years later.
1990s
1991
After a few years of demonstrating against Section 28, we rejected the shame and invisibility that we were supposed to experience, and turned it into Gay Pride in 1991. It was four days of events over the bank holiday weekend 24-27 May. Saturday ended with cabaret at the Sallis Benney Theatre, with the final event on the Monday being a ‘pink picnic’ in Preston Park.
1992
Pride was a huge 11-day programme of activities from 15-25 May. Events included plays, a conference, a book launch, film screenings, safer sex workshops and club nights, the National AIDS Memorial Quilt was on display, and even a pop-up Pride Centre appeared on West Street.
A march from the Peace Statue in Hove to Preston Park on Saturday 23 May culminated in a celebration of Pride that today’s attendees would recognise – an open stage, cabaret tent, beer tents, stalls, a first aid tent, and of course toilets. The headliner on the stage was Labi Siffre and festivities ended with a firework display.
There was also a ‘Queer on the Pier’ event on Monday 25 May that attracted unwanted attention from the national press. In addition a plan for a Pride Memorial was blocked at the last minute by Brighton Council, which you can read about on the Queer Heritage South website.
1993
A Pride Festival was arranged for 20-31 May, with a parade from Hove town hall on Saturday 29 May, ending with a ‘pink picnic’ that took place in Queen’s Park.
1994
The Pride Festival was arranged for 22-28 May, with the main gathering on Saturday 28 happening at The Level. The finale in the park started to develop beyond a picnic, with a few local bars, clubs and performers now supporting Pride. Some of these can be seen in my home movie of Brighton Pride in 1994.
1995
Brighton Council refused applications to move the post-march gathering to another location (Preston Park, Queen’s Park or Madeira Drive), so it was once again held at The Level, on Saturday 27 May.
However, sponsors came forward to turn the march into more of a carnival procession, including: The Aquarium, The Bulldog, Legends, Revenge, The Marlborough, Pavilion Club, The Black Horse, The Queen’s Head, Rawhide, The Sussex Club, Zanzibar and Scene 22.
1996
A Pride Festival was held 22-27 May, with the main gathering on Saturday 25 May returning to Preston Park, where it has remained ever since.
1997
This was the year that Pride was moved from the May to the August bank holiday, removing any potential clash with Brighton Festival and Fringe every May. It usually meant better weather too. The main gathering was held in Preston Park on Saturday 9 August.
1998
The Pride Festival ran 6-9 August, with the main gathering on Saturday 8 August in Preston Park.
1999
The Pride Festival ran 7-15 August, with the main gathering on Saturday 14 August in Preston Park. The logo that year was rather unkindly referred to as the sweaty dolphin. Or maybe that was just me and my friends.
2000s
2000
The Pride march took place on Saturday 29 July ending at Preston Park. This year had a theme of ‘Silver Screen’.
2001
A Pride Festival was held 8-12 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 11 August. The theme that year was ‘Myths and Legends’.
2002
The Pride march took place on on Saturday 10 August ending at Preston Park. The theme that year was ‘Gold ‘N’ Glitz’. As you can possibly tell from the cover of the Pride In Pictures publication, this was one of those years where the heavens opened and turned Preston Park into a mud bath.
2003
A Pride Festival was held 3-10 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 9 August. The theme that year was ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’.
2004
A Pride Festival was held 1-8 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 7 August. The theme that year was ‘The Hit Parade’.
2005
A Pride Festival was held 30 July – 7 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 6 August. The theme that year was ‘Heroes and Heroines’.
There was also a Winter Pride event 5-13 February 2005. Fundraising events took place in February 2004 for that summer’s Pride, but I believe 2005 was the first year it was labelled Winter Pride.
2006
A Pride Festival was held 29 July – 6 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 5 August. The theme that year was ‘Carry on Pride’. And yes, Barbara Windsor was there on the Terrence Higgins Trust float, alongside a giant lookalike head of herself.
There was also a Winter Pride 4-12 February 2006.
2007
A Pride Festival was held 28 July – 5 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 4 August. The theme that year was ‘The Musicals’.
There was also a Winter Pride 3-11 February 2007.
2008
A Pride Festival was held 26 July – 3 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 2 August. The theme that year was ‘Pride Around the World’.
There was also a Winter Pride 2-10 February 2008.
2009
A Pride Festival was held 25 July – 2 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 1 August. The theme that year was ‘Pride Beside the Seaside’.
There was also a Winter Pride 7-15 March 2009.
2010s
2010
A Pride Festival was held 30 July – 7 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 6 August. The theme that year was ‘Heroes and Heroines’.
It’s unclear whether there was a Winter Pride this year. It began clashing with National Student Pride (6 March 2010) being held in Brighton in February / March.
2011
A Pride Festival was held 6-14 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 13 August. The theme that year was ‘Out of This World’. This was the first year you had to purchase a ticket to enter the park.
There was also a Winter Pride 5-13 March 2011.
2012
A Pride Festival weekend was held 1-2 September with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 1 September. The event was held a month later than normal to avoid clashing with the London 2012 Olympics. The theme for Pride that year was ‘United Colours of Pride’.
2013
A Pride Arts and Film Festival was held 19 July – 4 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 3 August. The headline act was Paloma Faith. The theme that year was ‘Gay Icons’.
This was also the year that the first Trans Pride was held in Brighton (the first in the UK and Europe too). The history of Trans Pride Brighton is well-documented on the Trans Pride Brighton & Hove website, to which I can add very little.
2014
A Pride Arts and Film Festival was held 18 July – 3 August with the march ending in Preston Park on Saturday 2 August. Sam Bailey was the headline act on the main stage. The slogan that year was ‘Freedom to Live’. This was the first year there you had to purchase a ticket to enter the Pride Village Party.
2015
Pride took place 1-2 August with The Human League as the headline act in Preston Park on Saturday 1 August. The slogan that year was ‘Carnival of Diversity’.
I said I could add very little to the history of Trans Pride Brighton but I did create a film of Trans Pride in 2015 so I’m linking to that here.
2016
Pride took place 5-7 August with Sister Sledge as the headline act in Preston Park on Saturday 6 August. The slogan that year was ‘Carnival of Diversity: Uniting Nations’. This was the first year of the Pride Pleasure Gardens at Victoria Gardens and Old Steine Gardens.
2017
Pride took place 4-6 August with The Pet Shop Boys as the headline act in Preston Park on Saturday 5 August. The slogan that year was ‘Summer of Love’.
2018
Pride took place 3-5 August with Britney Spears as the headline act in Preston Park on Saturday 4 August. The slogan that year was ‘Colour My World’. Sunday 5 August was set aside for the LOVEBN1FEST with CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers closing the show.
2019
Pride took place 2-4 August with Kylie as the headline act in Preston Park on Saturday 3 August. The slogan that year was ‘Generation of Love’, combined with a celebration of 50 years since the patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City fought back after yet another police raid. Sunday 4 August saw the return of the LOVEBN1FEST with Grace Jones appearing before the headliner Jessie J.
2020
Well, we all know what happened that year…
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little romp through Brighton Pride history. I’ve done my best to get everything correct by cross-referencing Pride guides, articles in Gscene magazine and elsewhere. It goes without saying (yet I’m saying it) that this list isn’t comprehensive. If you spot an error or typo, or want to add something, then please let me know via alf@gayhistory.co.uk and erm… Stay Proud!
