Brighton Pride’s Kemp Town street party has not been cancelled, Brighton and Hove City Council says, after a draft events list shared online suggested it had. Brighton & Hove Pride says it has not confirmed any plans for 2027, so the answer to whether the street party will happen next summer is that nothing has been decided yet.
The council says its 2027 events programme will not be finalised until late November. Here is where the story comes from, what each side has said, and what happens next.
The draft list that started the rumour
According to Brighton and Hove News, the rumours followed an internal council document posted on Facebook by Conservative councillor Ivan Lyons. It listed the Pride street party as cancelled for Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August 2027.
In a statement reported by Brighton and Hove News and Sussex News on 26 October, Councillor David McGregor, the council’s cabinet member for culture, said the document was a draft of the city’s 2027 events programme, that it should not have been shared publicly and that errors in it had caused confusion and upset. He said no events have been cancelled.
He added that no application has been made at this stage to host a street party in Kemp Town, but that this does not mean there will be no activity there in 2027. The council says it is working with Pride and other partners on plans for next summer.
What Brighton & Hove Pride says
Pride’s managing director Paul Kemp said the organisation has not confirmed any plans for Pride 2027. He said Pride has talked to the council about using council-owned land, as is standard because the council is the landlord, and that no details of 2027 events have been agreed. Pride was not told the council planned to share its draft list and will ask for clarification.
Pride’s own website backs that up: its Street Party page lists only the 2026 dates, Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August, and its news page has no announcement about 2027.
How the street party got here
The party began as the Pride Village Party in and around St James’s Street. The council agreed in June 2020 to consent to Pride events from 2021 to 2026, including a Village Party in the St James’s Street area, and in December 2023 approved a five-year Pride plan, with the Village Party to be reviewed in 2024.
The council’s report to its Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee in October 2025 says that in summer 2025 the event became the Pride Street Party and moved to Marine Parade only, because of residents’ concerns, mainly about access. The site centred on about six LGBTQIA+ venues on Marine Parade and side streets, traffic was reinstated on St James’s Street where safe, and a family friendly party was held at New Steine Gardens.
That report said feedback on the first year was largely positive, with no significant reports of antisocial behaviour, less public urination and more access to St James’s Street.
Why the move is now in doubt
Brighton and Hove News reported on 6 October that council and Pride officials told a Kemp Town residents’ meeting the move to Marine Parade had not worked, and that the council’s outdoor events manager, Ian Baird, said finding a workable solution would be a challenge. According to the same outlet, venue managers want the party back on St James’s Street while also wanting community ownership of it.
Residents and access
Residents’ access was a live issue before this year’s event too. In late July the Liberal Democrats said many residents had not heard from Pride about getting in and out of their homes. Pride said residents inside the ticketed footprint are entitled to free wristbands, and Councillor McGregor said no resident of the side streets off St James’s Street would have to pay to reach their home.
Watch: the Pride changes in 2025
Latest TV looked at the Pride line-up and the local celebration changes in April 2025, in a 10 minute video.
What happens next
The council says the 2027 programme will be finalised in late November, and until then Pride’s plans remain unconfirmed. Neither side has announced whether the street party will return to Marine Parade, go back to St James’s Street or take a new form.
For the main event, see our Brighton Pride 2026 guide. For another Pride 2027 story, see our report on the Jennifer Lopez Pride 2027 rumour.
The Community Parade
The Community Parade marched along the seafront on 2 August 2025. Brighton & Hove Pride lists the Street Party as a separate event on its own page.
Have your say
Residents can contact Pride’s residents team at residents@brighton-pride.org. The council has previously directed residents to the Your Voice section of its website to give feedback on outdoor events.
Watch: Pride parade highlights from 2025
Sussex News filmed the Community Parade in 2025 and published the highlights.
We will update this story when Brighton & Hove Pride or the council announce plans for 2027.
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