Brighton Pride: Train cancellations and wind and rain

Brighton’s Pride event celebrates its 50th birthday this weekend, with revellers facing challenges from transport and the weather.

Govia Thameslink (GTR) has cancelled all trains to and from Brighton on Saturday.

The event, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people, is also set to be hit by wind and rain from Storm Antoni.

Organisers said the weather “wouldn’t stop us from having a great celebration”.

The parade went ahead from 11:00 BST despite forecasts of strong winds and rain across the UK, with amber warnings for gusts of up to 65mph (105km/h) in coastal areas.

Paul Kemp, managing director of Brighton Pride, said: “We’ve encouraged people to wear ponchos so it might be a little bit Glastonbury.

“That wouldn’t stop us from having a great celebration and a great Pride in our city.”

The annual celebration is the city’s largest single event, expected to boost the economy by more than £20m over the weekend.

The headliners at this year’s event are the Black Eyed Peas on Saturday and Steps on Sunday.

Ali and Jo Hood-Green made the seven-hour drive from Bolton, Lancashire, to be in Brighton, but said: “It was worth it”.

Connor Charles, 30, and Alex Fire drove down from London and stayed overnight.

Mr Charles refused to allow the murky conditions to dampen his spirits, saying: “It’s good the weather, it hasn’t been as bad as what the forecast said. It’s been showering.”

Jamie Sanders, 36, travelled from Hastings, East Sussex, as one of the organisers for Sainsbury’s parade group.

While he was able to book a hotel overnight, out of 100 colleagues expecting to take part in the company’s parade, only 60 were able to make it due to the travel disruption.

But he said the buses “were brilliant”, picking people up across other locations to help them get there.

Leo Gonzales, 54, an NHS nurse, said despite getting “drenched” everybody was having fun.

An overtime ban by the drivers union Aslef meant fewer trains could run, raising safety concerns because of the extra passengers expected.

GTR said it had previously relied on train drivers volunteering to run extra services to cope with the huge crowds travelling to and from Brighton on Pride weekend, which can total 85,000 extra passengers in a day, with up to 20,000 in the busiest hours of the evening.

The company said, without extra drivers, there was “a clear risk of stranding tens of thousands of people overnight without accommodation”.

Its statement added: “We have looked at every available option but ultimately the safety of customers and our colleagues must come first. This has been an exceptionally difficult decision to make.”

The trains cancellation was condemned by the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Bella Sankey.

She said: “I think this is an appalling decision not to run any services at all.”

Coach operator National Express has laid on extra services to Brighton for Saturday.

Australian Enrico Dannunzio, who lives in South London, usually travels to Brighton Pride from London Bridge, but was able to book a coach from Victoria.

“We had to get up earlier,” he said, “because it’s three and a half hours compared to the hour and a bit.

“We booked the coach early but it’s changed timings because there’s more people, so we’re arriving two hours later than planned. Hopefully we still get there in time for the parade.”

Keiron Pearce travelled from Barcelona for the event but nearly cancelled because of the industrial action.

“I almost didn’t go, but because I knew a coach was available I booked a ticket,” he said.

He believes train drivers should have run services this weekend.

“The public do understand, they’ve certainly made their point” Mr Pearce, who is originally from Maidenhead, said.

“But enough is enough, they’re ruining people’s lives. The argument’s with the government, not with us.”

The trains cancellation have also created problems for Sussex Police.

“The big challenge for a big change like that is it introduces an unknown,” said Ch Supt Jerry Westerman.

“We adapt and learn every year, and get better and better as we do it, now a significant change is going to change the dynamic of the event and that brings an element of risk to us.”

This year’s Pride, which has the theme of Dare to be Different. is celebrating 50 years since the first gay liberation protest march in the city in 1973.

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