Trans Pride Brighton
{{Short description|The first annual transgender pride event in the UK}}
{{Infobox recurring event
|name =
|image = File:Trans Pride 2014 rallying the March.JPG
|alt = A group of people marching, photo taken from behind. Several trans pride flags are being waved.
|caption = The march in 2014
|first = 2013
|founders = Sarah Savage,Fox Fisher, Phoenix Thomas, Stephanie Scott, Sabah Choudrey
|frequency = Anually
|prev = {{start date|2024|7|19}} to {{end date|2024|7|21}}
|attendance = 40,000+https://education.cwu.org/news/brighton-trans-pride-is-biggest-ever/
}}
Trans Pride Brighton and Hove is a pride protest and community festival advocating transgender rights. It is held in Brighton and Hove, England. The event takes place annually beginning in 2013.{{cite web|date=8 September 2014|title=Trans Pride Brighton defines key year for emerging community|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/08/-sp-trans-pride-brighton-lgbt-equality|author-last=McConnell|author-first=Freddy|access-date=23 July 2022|work=The Guardian}}{{cite web | url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/07/trans-pride-great-its-not-enough-camouflage-discrimination | title=Trans pride is great but it's not enough to camouflage discrimination | date=31 July 2015 }}
History
Trans Pride Brighton and Hove was founded in 2013, the first trans-specific pride event to be held in the UK.{{cite web | url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10580921.brighton-and-hove-celebrates-britains-first-ever-trans-pride-event/ | title=Brighton and Hove celebrates Britain's first ever Trans Pride event | date=30 July 2013 }} The co-founders included Sarah Savage,{{cite web|date=20 June 2022|title=The people making a difference: meet the founder of the UK's first Trans Pride|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/20/sarah-savage-founder-uk-first-trans-pride|author-last=Kale|author-first=Sirin|access-date=23 July 2022|work=The Guardian}} Fox Fisher, Phoenix Thomas, Stephanie Scott and Sabah Choudrey.{{cite web |last=Parsons |first=Vic |date=10 January 2020 |title=The highs, the lows and the backlash: Looking back on the last decade of the fight for trans rights in the UK |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2020/01/10/trans-rights-equality-uk-2010s-gender-recognition-act-stonewall-hate-crime/ |website=PinkNews |access-date=9 June 2024}}{{cite instagram |last=Choudrey |first=Sabah |user=sabah.c |postid=CupKMmEoiqN |title=In 2013 it started with us: Fox Fisher, Phoenix Thomas, Sarah Savage, Stephanie Scott, and me, Sabah Choudrey. In 2023 it continues with thousands more. 10 years of TransPrideBrighton has got me reflecting on our history and I want to make sure nothing gets forgotten. |date=13 July 2023}}
In an article written by Natasha Thoday entitled "Putting the ‘T’ in LGB at Brighton Pride 2002", published in 2016 in Brighton's GScene magazine, Thoday writes that: "in 2001 Pride in Brighton & Hove was still only explicitly celebrating the diversity of the LGB communities. We wanted to change that by specifically and visibly having Pride and all the other agencies across the city put the T with LGB." {{Cite web |date=2016-06-25 |title=Putting the ‘T’ in LGB at Brighton Pride 2002 |url=https://www.gscene.com/news/putting-the-t-in-lgb-at-brighton-pride-2002/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=Scene Magazine - From the Heart of LGBTQ+ Living |language=en-US}} {{Cite web |title=Natasha Thoday CV 2025.pdf |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jG8CNRKNiG0N-YHelWqjcUMY4bjeOXCD/view?usp=drive_link |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=Google Docs}}
The 2016 event saw attendance of several hundred people.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-36871340.amp | title=Hundreds join march for trans equality | date=23 July 2016 }}
The 2017 event saw attendance of 2,500 people.{{cite web | url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/15428553.2500-people-take-part-in-trans-pride-brighton-2017/ | title=PICTURES: Thousands turn out for record breaking Trans Pride | date=23 July 2017 }}
The 2018 event saw attendance of 5,000 people.{{cite web | url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/07/21/huge-turnout-for-biggest-ever-trans-pride-in-brighton/ | title=Huge turnout for 'biggest ever' Trans Pride in Brighton | date=21 July 2018 }}
The 2019 event saw an attendance of 8,000 people, 2000 more than was anticipated by the organisers.{{cite web | url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/07/21/brighton-trans-pride-2019/ | title=Brighton Trans Pride's 'amazing turnout' showcases 'all that's been achieved,' says MP | date=21 July 2019 }} The march that year used the slogan "putting the T first," in reference to the acronym LGBT, where the T is usually placed as the last letter.{{cite web | url=https://www.consortium.lgbt/2019/07/22/putting-the-t-first-at-trans-pride-in-brighton/ | title=Putting the T first at Trans Pride in Brighton }}
In 2020 and 2021, in-person events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with events being held virtually instead.{{cite web | url=https://www.gscene.com/news/trans-pride-brighton-2020-is-cancelled/ | title=Trans Pride Brighton 2020 is cancelled | date=18 March 2020 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.gscene.com/news/trans-pride-brighton-hove-update/ | title=Trans Pride Brighton & Hove update | date=13 April 2021 }} The 2020 digital events saw a total audience of 10 000 viewers.{{cite web | url=https://www.brighton.ac.uk/news/2021/university-celebrates-links-to-trans-pride-brighton-2021 | title=University celebrates links to Trans Pride Brighton 2021 }}
In 2022, in-person events returned and saw an attendance of over 20,000 people.{{cite web | url=https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/life/trans-pride-brighton-over-20000-people-march-for-trans-liberation-in-largest-turnout-ever/ | title=Trans Pride Brighton: Over 20,000 people march for trans liberation in largest turnout ever | date=19 July 2022 }} The community festival held in Brunswick Square Gardens was headlined by performance artist Travis Alabanza.{{cite web | url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/07/16/trans-pride-brighton-gra-sport-conversion-therapy/ | title=20,000 people march for trans rights and liberation at Trans Pride Brighton | date=16 July 2022 }} An hour into the event they ran into technical difficulties with their card machines, causing an estimated loss of £25,000.{{cite web | url=https://m.facebook.com/story.php/?id=100068929717577&story_fbid=563762489264737 | title=Your support makes a big difference | website=Facebook | date=31 May 2023 }}
The organisation team behind Trans Pride Brighton opened the Trans Pride Center in 2022, a community space specifically for trans and nonbinary people.{{cite news | url=https://theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/20/sarah-savage-founder-uk-first-trans-pride | title=The people making a difference: meet the founder of the UK's first Trans Pride | newspaper=The Guardian | date=20 June 2022 | last1=Kale | first1=Sirin }}
In 2023, they were awarded the Grassroots Pride of The Year award by Gaydio.{{cite web | url=https://gaydioprideawards.co.uk/winners-announced-for-gaydio-pride-awards-2023-with-hilton/ | title=WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR GAYDIO PRIDE AWARDS 2023 WITH HILTON! | date=February 2023 }} The 2023 event celebrated 10 years of Trans Pride and had 30,000 attendees despite a yellow Weather warning causing the parade route to be changed. The windy weather made it unsafe to host the event in Brunswick Square Gardens.{{cite web | url=https://transpridebrighton.org/next-event | title=Next event }} Instead the Saturday park events were held in the Brighton Dome, The Queery, the Ledward Centre, and The Actors, with the venues offering the spaces at no cost.{{cite web | url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/16/brighton-trans-pride-2023/ | title=Brighton sees biggest ever turnout for 10th anniversary Trans Pride: 'A beacon of hope' | date=16 July 2023 }} A beach party was planned for the Sunday, but had to be cancelled due to a fire breaking out in the Royal Albion Hotel the night before.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/15/fire-breaks-out-at-royal-albion-hotel-in-brighton | title=High winds hamper efforts to tackle fire at Royal Albion hotel in Brighton | newspaper=The Guardian | date=16 July 2023 | last1=Preston | first1=Richard }} The organisation explained it was due to the smoke, and safety concerns.[https://twitter.com/TPrideBrighton/status/1680527192923447297?s=20 Trans Pride Brighton]. July 16, 2023. Twitter/X.