Burst of energy, art and creativity

The Festival, which kicks off today, and the Fringe, which started yesterday, will both see thousands of people descend on the city.

Hedley Swain, South East area director of Arts Council England, which funds Brighton Festival, said: “I always love coming to Brighton Festival - it presents such a wide range of high-quality work.

“This year promises to be just as good with a strong and diverse range of events, performances and activities.

“At the heart of events like Brighton Festival is the commitment to deliver great art and culture, and bring benefits to everyone.”

He was joined by the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Jason Kitcat, in extolling the virtues of Brighton Festival and the largely self-supporting Brighton Fringe.

He told The Argus: “Hosting England's biggest arts festival and the brilliant Fringe alongside is vitally important for the city.

“It's not just a huge boost in May but it helps spread the good word about our city year-round.

“For me personally May means an injection of energy, creativity and arts to blow away the cobwebs and freshen our thinking for another year. “It's a great feeling just walking through the city when the Festival and Fringe are on.”

Brighton Festival, as ever, kicks off with the colourful Children's Parade today.

About 5,000 youngsters from more than 80 schools in and around Brighton and Hove take to the streets from 10.30am.

The parade kicks off from Kensington Street at 10.30am before weaving through the city and finishing in Madeira Drive.

Proud parents are expected to line the route with shuffle room only down the likes of Jubilee Street and New Road.

Children, parents and teachers have spent the past few weeks preparing their costumes, music and dance moves for the event, which has the theme “Taking Flight” this year.

Aside from being culturally significant, the two events will yet again be big business for the city, according to the president of Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce.

Julia Chanteray told The Argus: “Brighton Festival and the Fringe are both very important dates in the calendar.

“They bring a lot of people into the city. It's quite a big chunk of the economy - it's an important sector, our export market, really.”

This year the Festival takes place in venues and locations across the City including Woodingdean Central Park, Saltdean Oval, the beach and West Pier as well as the Dome venues and All Saints Church.

Its programme offers nearly 400 performances across 150 events in 37 venues.

The Fringe features its largest programme ever with 780 events in 174 venues across the city.

The Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe festivals provide distinctly different offerings for visitors and residents to enjoy.

Brighton Festival started out in 1967 and has become one of Europe's leading events for artists and audiences.

It is curated by a team of experts in their field with the intention of bringing the best of visual arts, dance, theatre, literature and music to the city.

It gets some of its money from The Arts Council, which invests £1.2 million every year in Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival. The cash not only supports the Festival but also a year-round arts programme.

It has become the largest annual mixed arts festival in England. In 2013 it attracted a record audience of 468,000 people.

Hedley Swain, South East area director of Arts Council England, said: “We are really lucky to have the Festival.”

He highlighted its creative learning department, which includes projects such as the Umbrella Club, giving children with life-limiting conditions access to arts events, and Miss Represented, an arts programme for vulnerable young women.

Mr Swain said the project reaches more than 15,000 people each year.

Andrew Comben, chief executive of Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, said: “I'm always particularly excited about Brighton during Festival time, and this year - with the natural world playing a central role in our programme - we're reminded of just how special our city is.

“While we may not be able to guarantee the weather, we can guarantee three weeks of amazing entertainment, art and brilliant events for all ages.”

Where Brighton Fringe differs is in being an open-access festival. This means anyone (within reason) can put on a show. Deriving less than 3% of its income from public sources, the Fringe sustains itself through participants' registration fees, adverts in its brochure and on its website, sponsorship and membership.

Last year, the Fringe attracted more than 250,000 people to the area, 50,000 of whom came to Fringe City, a free sector of arts events in New Road, Brighton.

In the nine years it has been an independent entity, Brighton Fringe sales have grown by 67%.

And organisers expect 2015 ticket sales to far surpass last year; 2015 sales are currently £35,000 up on 2014. This equates to about 2,000 tickets or a 15% rise.

Julian Caddy, managing director of Brighton Fringe, said: “Every year, we come up with more superlatives about how Brighton Fringe keeps growing and each year we wonder how long it will continue, yet continue it does.”

Of the nearly 780 events this year, 175 are free and 552 are under £10. There are 233 world premieres. There are also 57 shows from 22 countries.

Mr Caddy added: “This is unprecedented and further reinforces Brighton's brightest festival as by far the largest arts event in England.

“It is truly an event by the city, for the city and something we should support, enjoy and nurture for years to come.

“In fact, it's more than just a festival, it's an empowering community movement that showcases the city of Brighton and Hove to the rest of the world.”

Brighton and Hove City Council leader Jason Kitcat agreed.

He said: “Every happy Festival and Fringe-goer, every act who wants to come again and each review posted in the media all build the buzz around Brighton and Hove as a fantastic place to visit for business or pleasure.”

Organisers have said the two May festivals contribute about £20 million to Brighton and Hove's economy between them.

Julia Chanteray, president of Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce, said: “Anything that brings additional visitors into the city is good for everybody.

“If someone goes to see a show maybe they will go for a drink afterwards or buy a meal.”

The festivities have drawn their detractors, though, often claiming they are elitist or self-serving.

Coun Kitcat defended: “I know everyone involved in the Festival and Fringe take very seriously the need to programme in broad, inclusive ways so that there are events for as many tastes as possible. Anyone taking a look at the programmes will see how broad the offers are.”

Ms Chanteray added: “There's a lot of stuff that's quite weird and wonderful but without being avant garde or elitist. It's like a big box of chocolates.”

From a commercial perspective, she added that it was the responsibility of businesses to do their own marketing: “Just because people are walking the streets doesn't mean they will spend money with us.

“I would see it as a huge opportunity to go and get more customers.”

Don't miss our guide to Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe every day in The Argus.

Factfile

Brighton Festival starts on May 2 and ends on May 24.

Visit brightonfestival.org or call 01273 709709 for tickets.

Brighton Fringe started yesterday, on May 1, and runs until May 31.

Visit brightonfringe.org or call 01273 917272 for tickets.