Brighton Pride organisers praise 'weekend of joy'

Mika closed Brighton Pride on Sunday evening on stage in Preston Park

The organisers of Brighton & Hove Pride 2024 have described the event as a "weekend of joy and celebration".

About 300,000 people attended the parade which wound its way through the city.

This was followed by two days of concerts in Preston Park, headlined by Girls Aloud and Mika.

A spokesperson said the event "brought music, culture and joy in abundance for another spectacular year".

A statement described it as "a weekend packed full of campaigning, protest and celebration in equal measure".

Mika told the crowd on Sunday evening that Brighton felt like his "first ever proper Pride concert" of his career.

He also said that he had moved to live just outside Brighton only days before getting the call to perform at Pride.

Earlier in the day, S Club took to the stage and had the crowd singing along to all their hits.

Girls Aloud were the headline act on Saturday night, with Olly Alexander joining them on the stage.

Around 300,000 people are believed to have attended the Pride parade on Saturday

Brighton Rainbow Fund was the main recipient of the £1.3m which was raised at Pride for charity.

Chris Gull, its chair of trustees, told BBC Radio Sussex the money it got from Brighton Pride was "absolutely vital".

On Saturday Alf le Flohic helped lead the Pride Parade through the city.

He said: "There was a lot of shouting and cheering. It was very special."

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