After a build-up of online hype, on July 17th Brighton and Hove Pride finally announced their line-up for their first ever digital festival. The online festival is set to take place 31st July – 2nd August (the intended dates of the physical festival), which you’ll be able to tune into on their YouTube channel.
Though the FABULOSO theme remains unchanged, sadly in the transition to online Brighton Pride lost its biggest, and most awaited performers – Mariah Carey and the Pussycat Dolls. Despite this, their line-up still delivers an impressive combination of “exclusive performances, archive footage, comedy, cabaret, queer politics and more”. Sticking as close to their physical festival as possible, Brighton Pride has kept an impressive array of stages, including the main stage, BAME stage, dance stage, cabaret stage, pride soap box, and many more! It’s everything you could want from a pride festival from the comfort of your own home, meaning cheaper drinks, no queuing from gross toilets, and a 0% chance of rain ruining your weekend. What’s not to love?
Some highlights from their line-up are Billy Porter, Bjorn Again (you definitely won’t want to miss them!), The Cocoa Butter Club, Fat Boy Slim, Todrick Hall, MNEK, and many, many more! If drag is your cup of tea (and if not, are you even living?), then you’ll be gagging over The Glory and QueerTown stages. Here you’ll find both drag kings and queens, from familiar faces such as Alfie Ordinary and Rhys’s Pieces to London regulars John Sizzle and Jonny Woo, even drag duos such as Diane Chorley and Milky. The best part? There’s still plenty more acts to be announced, so be sure to keep track of who else will be joining this legendary line-up on Brighton Pride’s Instagram.
Although this year pride has been celebrated rather differently than the parties we’ve come to expect, with Brighton Pride taking their festival online, we can now have a global celebration. The digital festival will be free to view, with optional donations, whereby proceeds will go towards helping the LGBTQ+ community – more information available here.
