Brighton Pride parade well worth £25,000 (From The Argus)
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Brighton Pride parade well worth £25,000
3:00pm Tuesday 5th February 2013 in News By John Keenan
Brighton Pride parade in the centre of town in September 2012
Pride organisers claim they could have to scrap its parade if council funding of £25,000 is cut.
Tens of thousands of people line the route as floats travel from Brighton seafront to Preston Park during the annual LGBT celebration.
However, community campaigners claim the parade is at risk if Brighton and Hove City Council scraps the annual £25,000 grant after the 2013 event.
But town hall bosses strongly reject any suggestion that they are doing anything to jeopardise its future.
James Ledward, a director of the community interest company that runs the festival, said the council grant would be devoted exclusively to funding the parade.
He said: “In the context of what the council pays to external community development consultants £25,000 is in real terms peanuts and amazing value for money.
“Here is an event that has a proven track record of bringing millions and millions of pounds of finance into the city for what is a piddling amount of money.
“It is becoming harder and harder to pay for the parade and this would help safeguard it.
“I would like to know where the priorities are with the cutting. Will the Brighton Festival be asked to lose similar amounts?”
Council budget
The proposal to cut the funding is part of the local authority’s budget, which will be decided at a meeting at the end of this month.
The £25,000 sum for 2013 will be paid for through reserves but after that it will be scrapped.
Geoffrey Bowden, the chairman of the council’s culture committee, said officials were working closely with Pride organisers to ensure the long-term future of the event.
Support from the council has included not charging the organisers to use Preston Park and Madeira Drive and fees were waived for suspending parking bays and cleaning on the parade route.
Coun Bowden said: “We have had a number of very positive meetings with the Pride organisers in recent months and they have not so far indicated that the viability of the event is in question.”
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Comments(9)
tom servo
says...
3:54pm Tue 5 Feb 13
1. Is this "grant" separate to the £20,000 loans Pride used to get? ....and never pay back.
2. Did last year make any kind of dent in the £200,000 Pride was in debt?
3. Did Pride make any profit at all on last year? It was claimed to be a massive success but where are the figures to support this? (I'm sure someone must have the facts!)
I think these are reasonable questions to ask given prides appalling financial history that costs the tax payer year on year. If the organisation can make the event pay for itself then good on them I say. They should however in my opinion (for what that's worth) pay for the use of the park as other organisations do and at least contribute to the clear up operation afterwards (which they may well already do for all I know).
fredflintstone1
says...
6:07pm Tue 5 Feb 13
imnotpc
says...
7:14pm Tue 5 Feb 13
Oooh err
says...
10:11pm Tue 5 Feb 13
imnotpc
says...
10:40pm Tue 5 Feb 13
Oooh err wrote:oh dear yawn zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I think we should cut more bus subsidies to make this years Pride the best ever!
Mylex58
says...
10:20am Wed 6 Feb 13
tom servo
says...
11:08am Wed 6 Feb 13
Mylex58 wrote:Know what? ... I don't disagree with what you have just said at all. What I don't understand is why the event doesn't seem transparent (and if I'm wrong why isn't anyone forthcoming with the answers?). So.......
I understand the views of people above who say Council money should only be spent on essential services; & that the Pride parade should fund itself. BUT, Brighton & Hove promotes itself as being a conference centre, a resort and a city where a wide range of events take place. If events are helping to drive the city's economy, doesn't it seem reasonable that the Council should make a modest contribution to the running costs of an event? The reward is hundreds of thousands of pounds being spent in Brighton & Hove. Brighton Pride attracts somewhere around 150,000 visitors each year; the majority spending money in pubs, restaurants, shops and hotels. And that's got to be good.
What were the costs last year?
How much was loaned how much was a grant?
Were any loans repaid?
Who paid for the cleanup operation? Was the park paid for by the event? (there is usually a charge for events to use the park)
How much is the event in debt?
How did the event do last year? loss, break even or profit?
fredflintstone1
says...
11:47am Wed 6 Feb 13
tom servo wrote:Questions that definitely should be answered before more public money is handed over.
Mylex58 wrote:Know what? ... I don't disagree with what you have just said at all. What I don't understand is why the event doesn't seem transparent (and if I'm wrong why isn't anyone forthcoming with the answers?). So.......
I understand the views of people above who say Council money should only be spent on essential services; & that the Pride parade should fund itself. BUT, Brighton & Hove promotes itself as being a conference centre, a resort and a city where a wide range of events take place. If events are helping to drive the city's economy, doesn't it seem reasonable that the Council should make a modest contribution to the running costs of an event? The reward is hundreds of thousands of pounds being spent in Brighton & Hove. Brighton Pride attracts somewhere around 150,000 visitors each year; the majority spending money in pubs, restaurants, shops and hotels. And that's got to be good.
What were the costs last year?
How much was loaned how much was a grant?
Were any loans repaid?
Who paid for the cleanup operation? Was the park paid for by the event? (there is usually a charge for events to use the park)
How much is the event in debt?
How did the event do last year? loss, break even or profit?
The only thing you can deduce is that they're not spending money on PR. Otherwise you'd have got an answer by now!
RottingdeanRant says...
3:52pm Tue 5 Feb 13