Brighton Pride lives up to its reputation with amazing parade
Tristan Fewings/Getty
More than 300,000 people have gathered to celebrate Brighton and Hove Pride – far more than the population of the city.
The explosion of LGBT will culminate tonight (August 4) with a much-anticipated performance from pop legend and longtime ally Britney Spears, who was responsible for breaking the event’s website when her tickets went on sale.
Before her appearance at the event, Britney tweeted to reveal that the Pride edition of her Fantasy perfume had been released, with part of the proceeds going to LGBT group GLAAD.
She attracted some criticism for the fact that only 2.5 percent of the proceeds will go to the LGBT media monitoring group, but this was nothing compared to the protest at British Airway’s i360 tower, which saw the building on the seafront occupied by Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants.
“British Airways are taking people, against their will, to countries where they risk persecution” (Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants)
The activists locked themselves in the tower while the parade was happening to protest the “jarring hypocrisy” of BA sponsoring Brighton Pride while refusing to stop deporting asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, at the parade – which this year adopted a theme of ‘Colour My World’ – celebrations were in full swing.
Everyone had fun, whether it was dogs or children.
Happy #BrightonPride everyone. The atmosphere is amazing! pic.twitter.com/oHWAarBBK3
— Doris the lurcher (@DLurcher) August 4, 2018
The police’s presence at Pride remains controversial to some, but one thing’s for sure: their car and uniforms were very much in the spirit of the day.
This year @sussex_police #pride car for the parade ️ ️ #policewithpride #BrightonPride pic.twitter.com/TL2gQAWG8w
— Sussex Police LGBT+ (@SXP_LGBT) August 4, 2018
Police were present and correct (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
But really, there was only one thing on most people’s minds: Britney, bitch.
The anticipation levels when it came to Britney were high (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
Current mood #BrightonPride pic.twitter.com/FiXYi2kNgb
— Ben (@benleto) August 4, 2018
BRITNEY IS BACK IN THE UK AFTER 7 YEARS BRITNEY IS BACK IN THE UK AFTER 7 YEARS BRITNEY IS BACK IN THE UK AFTER 7 YEARS BRITNEY IS BACK IN THE UK AFTER 7 YEARS BRITNEY IS BACK IN THE UK AFTER 7 YEARS BRITNEY IS BACK IN THE UK AFTER 7 YEARS #BrightonPride pic.twitter.com/3I0rv9DYz1
— Jemma Page (@jemmapage) August 4, 2018
For anyone who missed it, the US megastar is back in the UK after – yep, that’s right, seven years.
Pride would be nothing without intersectionality, and that principle was not lost on Brighton Pride.
Anyone can dress in drag and look wonderful (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
Peter Tatchell and other protesters stand against anti-Muslim prejudice and homophobia (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
But mostly, people just had an incredible time, safe and free to delight in their true selves and those of others. And it was beautiful.
More than 300,000 people attended Brighton Pride (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
Attendees celebrate with Brighton Pavillion in the background (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
A giant rainbow flag soars down a main road in Brighton (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
Local Premier League football club Brighton and Hove Albion was represented at the parade (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
“Diversity moves the world” (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
“Love is Love” (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
Pure joy (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
Some of the more flamboyant Pride attendees enjoying themselves (Tristan Fewings/Getty)
Safe to say, it lived up to expectations – even before Britney’s star turn.
