A post-Pride street party is to go ahead next month despite its main sponsor backing out.

The Village Street Party, held in St James’s Street, attracts thousands of people determined to carry on partying after the yearly Pride event.

This year’s event looked uncertain to take place after sponsor Eristoff Vodka withdrew its funding of £15,000 without notice.

But Sharon Barr, chairwoman of The Gay Village Party, told The Argus the event on August 3 had been saved, although scale backs had been made.

She said: “The party is definitely going to go ahead.

“I’m hoping that the guesthouses and other local businesses will be pretty generous with their donations towards the street party because obviously they make plenty of money out of it as well.”

Eristoff Vodka, a Bacardi Brown Foreman brand, had promised the money to the event in January but withdrew its offer last month.

Ms Barr said: “The street party costs £21,000 to put on and we were relying on this money.

“I spoke to one of the senior managers; they just wouldn’t give any reason.

“The manager who authorised the deal is no longer with Bacardi Brown Foreman.”

Generous

Bars in St James’s Street have since contributed £500 each to an outdoor bar.

Boost Drinks have also stepped in to make a contribution, which Barr is grateful for.

She said: “They’re stepping in at the last minute and giving us £3,500 which was extremely generous of them as they’re only a small company.”

Hurdle She added a number of cutbacks have had to be made for the party, including the loss of a loud speaker system.

She said: “We can’t afford that because that costs £6,000.

“So we’re only putting three speakers out, one at the bottom of St James’s Street, one in the middle and one at the top, which in case of an emergency we can clear the streets.”

This is the latest hurdle to face the popular street party.

In 2011, the official organisers of Pride intervened to ensure the party went ahead when no one came forward to run it.

In earlier years it had also been criticised for being too rowdy and revellers had been urged to be more considerate.

Last year, the event was again in the hands of the local community.

Bacardi Brown Foreman was unavailable for comment.