Record cash boost for Brighton during Gay Pride
Brighton’s club and bar owners are celebrating today after a hugely successful Pride weekend that has brought an estimated £5.5 million into the city.
As revellers from all over the country descended on Brighton to enjoy the annual Pride weekend, restaurants and shops reported a huge boost in revenue.
Every hotel in the city was booked up, with more than 120,000 people joining in the celebrations.
Some hotels said that they were almost completely occupied by gay people, some of whom stay at the same hotel every year.
Businesses along the Pride parade route said that they had experienced a massive cash influx, with people buying alcohol and cigarettes to watch the floats go by. The amount of pink pounds pouring in to Brighton and Hove over the weekend is reportedly a record for the city.
However, Pride organisers have spoken out at their need for more financial support from local businesses who have made money from the event. PJ Aldred, event co-ordinator of Brighton Pride, has released a statement that Pride will lose money yet again this year.
The event costs Pride £200,000 to stage and year on year the charity loses money. Organisers are pleading with businesses in Brighton and Hove to hand over some of the cash they made from the weekend or to hold events that fundraise for next years’ event.
