Brighton pride. Probably the biggest pride of them all, which means that you would be a fool to miss it!
It is a rainbow-storm that is about to hit this traditional seaside, with street parties, rainbow flags and a pride park about to sprinkle a load of gay glitter all over the party-goers. For everyone who isn't from England, this is our Big-Huge-Gay-Bash of the year!
Think Lady Gaga meets Glitter Cannon mixed with The English Seaside.
Compared to other prides I have been to, this is probably the best around, so I will be heading down once again to get involved with the celebrations. Tweet me if you are going, it would be good to say hello to you all!
As Brighton has so much going on, and sometimes the feeling of 'where do I start?', I have 10 tips that will guarantee you have a great pride! So pack your wellies in you are camping incase it rains, get your pre-party alcohol stocks ready, and get ready to spend your Saturday at one big party!
1. The Parade
First things first. If you are planning to come down and stay in Brighton, then you NEED to catch the Parade. Setting off at 11am, this is going to be the parade of all parades. There will be floats, there will be hot people, and it will be busy! Make sure you grab a spot, or just join in and follow it up to Preston Park. Grab a spot along Grand Parade. With grass areas, you can grab a spot back from the crowds but still see the full parade. Then, you can join in the end and follow it up through Brighton to the park.
2. The Pride Park
This is where the party starts. Preston Park has been transformed into a Rainbow City, with 8 tents of music, funfairs and alcohol, you will be there for hours enjoying the atmosphere. It is open from 12pm till 8pm, which means you have 8 hours of absolute party party party.
Just be warned, once you are in a tent, you are in! If you need to use the bathroom, then you will need to leave the tent and re-queuing is never fun! This especially goes for the bigger tents which hold 3000-5000 people!
If you haven't already, buy a ticket here. They are cheaper in advance at £17.50, otherwise you will have to pay on the door which could be costly!
3. Buy a Flag
Buying a rainbow flag is probably not on the top of your to-do list when you get to pride, but once you see everyone having one, you will want in on the action! There will be stalls in the pride park, and shops all around Brighton selling them.
Grab one, wave it like you just don't care, and support the LGBT community.
4. Pace Yourself
Pride starts early, but you don't want to be going to bed early. So pace yourself throughout the day. Start on a few drinks in the morning and slowly work yourself up to the evening.
Then, as night falls, crack out the shots and go for it in one of the many clubs. No-one wants to be in bed by midnight now, do they?
5. Hit up the Pride Street Party
This is an absolute must.
When I lived in Brighton, my flat was on St Jame's Street, which turns into a street long party from the bottom all the way to the top. With bars and music blasting out, this is the place to go inbetween the Park and the club. It can get pretty busy, and the music varies as you go up the street, so be sure to explore and see how you get on!
6. Let's go to the Beach, beach!
Brighton has a beach, so get on it.
If you need somewhere to go to finish off your own booze before the club, or for a breather from the partying, then the beach is perfect!
They will probably be alot of people on it, so make friends and join in with everyone.
7. Get In A Club
Okay, so you have traveled to Brighton, and queued for ages to get in a club, and get turned away because it is too busy. Not the ideal situation!
Before you go, have a look online at some of the clubs and see if you can get tickets to them. If not, make sure you get to the clubs early as the queues will be long, it will be busy, and last thing you want is to be wandering the streets trying to get in somewhere.
Clubs like Revenge, Wild Fruit, and Legends all have after-pride parties. Just click on their names to be taken to the tickets page for each!
8. Spot the TV Crews
Brighton Pride is one of the biggest prides, and most years there will be a TV crew filming some sort of news bulletin, or a new TV show. Grab your 5 minutes of fame and get on camera if you can.
9. Buy 4 drinks at the bar, not 2.
That doesn't need explaining. With it being manic, expect the bars to be queues upon queues. So buy a few more drinks so you don't need to go back. Afterall, if you meet someone then at least you can offer a drink (or receive one) without having to stand and wait for ages!
10. Enjoy Pride
Most of all, enjoy pride. Brighton is in it's 21st year now, and each year seems to get bigger and bigger. Enjoy, celebrate and have an amazing time.
Do things you might never do (like skinny dipping in the sea) and take pictures for the memory book. Drink until the sun comes up, and look back on it being the best day and night you have had in a long time!
And just remember to have phone battery, in-case you don't know where everyone is when you wake up the next morning, or you lose a friend in a club!
Happy pride everyone!
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