Pride’s Gay Icons Parade, the biggest ever!

This years Brighton Pride Parade is the biggest ever with 67 organisations registered to march this Saturday, August 3.

Dykes on Bikes will lead the Gay Icons Parade off at 11am starting from the Brighton Wheel on Madeira Drive. They will be followed by Pride’s Four Ambassadors. Danny Dwyer, George Montague (The Oldest Gay in Village), Helen Marie Carter and Dorrett Agoreyo who were nominated by the readers of Gscene Magazine.

Most organisations are keeping the contents of their floats a secret, but look out for the mass appearances of Freddie Mercury and Lady Gaga!

Local entertainer Jason Sutton aka Miss Jason will be appearing on an army tank to promote his appearance in Privates on Parade at the Theatre Royal, opening on Thursday, August 22. Florida Keys & Key West tourist authority will be appearing at Brighton Pride for the first time while local favourites, the Brighton Samba School are bringing their unique and colourful South American style to the parade once again.

Corporate entries this year include American Express, The Cooperative, Ford Motor Company and the Hilton Group.

If you want to be part of this years parade Brighton Gay and Gay owned businesses have entered a walking plateau and need volunteers  to carry the 100 banners supporting LGBT people in Russia who are being persecuted under Putin’s new anti gay laws. To be involved in this walking tableau meet at lamp Post number 11 on Madeira Drive, between 9.30 and 10am. Artist and poet Vince Laws will be there to recreate his ‘Banned Happening’ and will give you a banner to carry on the parade. He will also paint your face with the name of one of the 76 countries in the world where it is illegal to be gay.

Help take Brighton Pride back to its roots and make a statement on Saturday, August 3 for all LGBT people in Russia.

If you want to march and carry a banner, EMAIL:

James Ledward, editor of Gscene Magazine, said:

“This is the first Brighton Pride in years organised exclusively by gay people for gay people. Send a message out to those regimes all over the world who continue to discriminate against LGBT people in their countries. Reclaim Pride! “

Politicians will be out in force on Saturday. The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats will all be on the parade. The Green Party have not registered to march.

A spokesperson for the Greens said:

“We will be there on Saturday. In the past we have had a motorised float. This year we were planning a walking tableau and thought we could just turn up on the day. Jason Kitcat the convenor of the Greens and Leader of the Council will be with the Mayor at the Brighton Wheel waving the parade off.”

Brighton Pride confirmed to Gscene at 6pm (August 1) that no application or payment had been made by the Green Party to be on the Parade and they would have to satisfy the same Health and Safety Requirements as everyone else on the Gay Icons Parade who had paid their entry fee to march.

Pride organisers expressed concerns to the City Council earlier in the year that the cost of the Parade this year was prohibitive and without financial support from the Council they could not afford to finance the parade. The council responded that if Pride did not cover the costs of the Parade they would be charged for the use of Preston Park.

The Official Parade line up is as follows:

• Dykes on Bikes

• Prides Four Ambassadors

• Rainbow Fund

• Ford Motor Company

• Florida Keys & Key West

• Gay Star News

• Brighton School of Samba

• Hilton Brighton Metropole

• LBGT Community Safety Forum

• Nando’s

• East Sussex Fire & Rescue

• Brighton & Hove Conservatives

• Carters Domestic Appliances

• Bear Patrol

• Asda LGBT

• Body Tech

• Proud Cabaret

• Brighton & Hove Christians LGCM

• MCC Brighton

• Enterprise rent-a-car

• Adonis Cabaret Ltd

• Allsorts Youth Project

• American Express

• Bar 7 & the Lounge @ 7

• Brighton & Hove Liberal Democrats

• Hampshire Fire & Rescue

• Coppafeel (Realise Live)

• Ishigaki Jujitsu

• Broken Rainbow UK

• Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus

• Brighton Gay Businesses

• Sussex Central YMCA

• BLAGGS

• Police GPA

• Rainbow Chorus

• Outdoorlads

• Barclays Bank

• Rainbow Operations P-Punters

• Affinity Sutton Housing Group

• Brighton & Hove City Council LGBT workers forum

• Brighton Rockers Roller Derby

• Her Majesty’s Prison Service

• KAP Motor Group

• Kent Fire & Rescue Service

• FTM Brighton

• Privates on Parade a the Theatre Royal

• LGBT Labour

• EDF Energy

• Shafted? Building the HIV Army

• Out at Tesco’s

• National Union of Teachers

• The Co-operative

• Brighton Housing Trust

• Students Union

• Raystede Centre

• SECAM NHS Foundation

• Legal & General

• The Edge

• Sussex Beacon

• Student Pride

• Mind Out LGBT Mental Health

• UNISON South East

• Peer Action

• Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard

• Terence Higgins Trust (THT)

• Unite

• West Sussex Fire & Rescue

• Pride Vans

• LGBT & Friends (BAHBCO Group)