Council Offers Safety And Transport Advice Ahead Of Brighton Pride This Weekend

Brighton & Hove City Council has issued advice ahead of Pride celebrations this weekend (August 2-4) when thousands of people will descend on the city for a three-day party.

Councillor Tristram Burden, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, said:

“I hope everyone attending Pride this weekend has a great time, but please take care of yourself. Most health risks can be easily prevented.

“Keep an eye out for others too – particularly those who may be distressed or who have had too much to drink. Offer them some water, help them find a steward or support and please stay with them until you have.

“Tell medical staff if any drugs or alcohol have been taken – you won’t get into trouble, but it will help them to know.

“There’s plenty of health and wellbeing support in the city, but please choose the right service for your needs so the NHS can care for those that need it.

“Please only dial 999 or use A&E if it’s a serious or life-threatening emergency. Medical support is available at Preston Park and the Pride Village Party, or you can get help from pharmacies, Safe Space or Brighton Station Medical Centre.”

Look after each other

Decide on a meeting point in a quieter area in case you get separated and let someone know if you’re going to leave the group or head home.

If you see someone who looks like they are struggling, ask if they’re ok and direct them to support if they need it. Stewards and security staff will be around Pride venues to help you.

Keep cool and stay hydrated

Avoid dehydration, overheating and a bad hangover by drinking plenty of water.

You can take an empty refillable water bottle into Pride events and there are water points in the park and in the city centre, or ask for water from bars.

The forecast is currently mixed, so be prepared for all weather.

Bring warm and waterproof clothing, and if the sun does come out, use suncream and look-out for sunburn or heat exhaustion in yourself and friends.

Pace yourself and know your limits

Have a good time but know when to stop drinking or call it a night.

To reduce your risk of overdose, avoid mixing drugs with other drugs, alcohol or prescription medication.

Remember that it’s never safe to go into the sea when you’ve been drinking alcohol or taken drugs. 

Protect yourself from STIs

Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are increasing.

The best way to look after your sexual health and avoid getting an STI is to use protection and get tested regularly, even if you are not showing any symptoms.

Free condoms are available at the park or in LGBTQ+ venues in the city.

Don’t feel pressured into doing something you don’t want to

Alcohol and drugs can impair your judgement – don’t feel pressured into drinking, taking drugs, having sex or going somewhere you don’t feel comfortable. If you’re not interested in doing something your friends are doing, remember that you don’t have to.

If you need first aid, medical help or support

St John Ambulance

First aid teams and medical centres are available in Preston Park and the Pride Village Party. Most problems can be dealt with on site. A steward will be able to direct you or assist you in getting to them.

Safe Space

A quiet space with support for anyone who is feeling distressed, intoxicated, injured, has lost friends, needs to charge a phone or is unable to get home. Open Friday and Saturday 10.30pm to 5am, St Paul’s Church, West Street BN1 2RQ.

You can also:

• Visit a pharmacy for advice and over the counter medicines for minor health concerns such as sunburn, stomach pain, a headache or hay fever.
• Call NHS 111 or visit www.111.nhs.uk for 24/7 medical advice or information about which local services to use.
• Walk-in at Brighton Station Health Centre for urgent treatment. Open 8am to 8pm every day and you don’t need to be a registered patient.
• Call the Samaritans on 116 123 if you are experiencing distress or want to talk to someone.

After the festival

Free HIV or STI test kits are easily available:

• Order a STI self-test kit online.  
• Get a free test kit from one of the eight sexual health and HIV digital vending machines in the city.

If you need sexual health & HIV support or advice:

• Brighton & Hove Sexual Health & Contraception Service (SHAC)
• Terrence Higgins Trust HIV & Sexual Health Service (THT)

If you need drugs or alcohol support, visit our help with alcohol or drug misuse information.

Road closures

For those who may be unfamiliar with Pride in Brighton & Hove, several roads will be closed in the city centre on both Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 August for the community parade, the festival in Preston Park and the Pride Village Party in Kemp Town.

Where possible, we would recommend people not to travel to Pride by car.

The Pride LGBTQ+ Community Parade starts at Hove Lawns at 11am on Saturday 3 August and travels through the city centre to Preston Park. Roads will be closed and parking bays will be suspended along the length of the parade route.

Roads will be closed around the Pride Village Party, including St James’s Street and Madeira Place.

There will also be road closures for the festival in Preston Park, including Preston Road between New England Road to Stanford Avenue and Stanford Avenue between Preston Road and Beaconsfield Road.

Roads may also be closed during the weekend where the police advise it is required for public safety.

Full road closure information for the Pride weekend.

Road closures are also shown on the One Network website.

Bus information

From Thursday 1 August until Monday 5 August there will be some bus diversions and changes to timetables in place.

Over Pride weekend, Brighton & Hove Buses will be operating a shuttle service (route 500 and route 600) operating to and from Preston Park from the Old Steine and the Waterhall Campsite.

More information about city bus services and route changes during Pride can found on the Brighton & Hove Buses website.

Service updates can also be found on their Twitter page.

Train information

Everyone planning on using the train over the weekend should allow plenty of time to get to and from the city as trains will be very busy and people may not be able to board the first service.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) which operates Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express have confirmed there will be more trains and extra carriages added to services to help visitors get to and from the city over Pride weekend.

Because of the large crowds who will be leaving the city after Pride, the advice is to get to Brighton station early. Everyone should plan to give themselves at least an hour to get to the station from any of the festival sites or the seafront.  

If travelling to or from any of the Pride events in the city, you will need to use Brighton station. Preston Park and London Road (Brighton) stations will be closed all weekend to help manage crowding.

Travellers are encouraged to get their train ticket in advance to speed things up. And remember that for safety reasons glass bottles or containers will not be allowed into the station or on to trains.

Rainbow queuing system at Brighton Railway Station

Brighton station’s rainbow queuing system will also be in place to direct passengers leaving the city into the appropriate queue for their train and destination, before they get to the station entrance. To help everyone on their way, remember:

• The green queue will be for trains on the East Coastway (services towards Lewes, Seaford and Eastbourne)
• The purple queue will be for trains on the West Coastway (towards Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing and Chichester)
• The blue queue is for stations on the Brighton Main Line (for stations towards Haywards Heath, Gatwick Airport and to London)

More information can be found on the Southern or Thameslink websites.

Any disruptions are also communicated via the Southern and Thameslink X/Twitter feeds.

Journeys can be planned at National Rail.

Walking

One of the best ways of getting around Brighton & Hove is on foot with most journeys a lot shorter than you may think.

• Brighton train station to Kemp Town (Pride Village Party) = 15 to 20 mins
• Brighton train station to Preston Park (Fabuloso) = 15 to 20 mins
• Hove train station to Hove Lawns (Parade Start) = 20 to 25 mins
• Palace Pier to Hove Lawns (Parade start) = 25 to 35 mins

Useful maps can be found on the Visit Brighton website.

By bike

Brighton & Hove’s Beryl BTN Bikes scheme is one of the best ways of moving around the city.

The city has more than 700 pedal and e-bikes located at more than 100 hubs around the city.

You can pay as you ride or, for £15, users can get 100 minutes of ride time with no unlocking fees on either pedal or e-bikes.

Our network of cycle lanes can also be found on our online cycle map.