When Pride began in Brighton in 1992, people vented their anger against Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which forbade the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities.

This practically unworkable piece of discriminatory legislation brought people together to protest and galvanised the gay community.

Over the years Pride has grown from a modest afternoon gathering on The Level in Brighton to a week of events culminating in a huge celebration in Preston Park.

But after 17 years, questions are being asked about what exactly Pride represents.

Is it still a celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community? Does it campaign to challenge prejudice? Or is it now just an opportunity for residents and visitors, whatever their sexuality, to have a party? Recent letters to The Argus suggest some members of the LGBT community no longer know who Pride is aimed at and feel disappointed that, despite the LGBT community doing most of the fundraising needed to stage the free event, plenty of people have jumped on the bandwagon to make money out of it.

Today a press conference will be held by organisers of Pride to address the “many challenges ahead” and an announcement will be made.

Changes James Ledward, editor of GScene, an LGBT lifestyle, listings and community magazine for Brighton and Hove, has seen at first hand the changes in Pride over the years.

He said: “This year at my own magazine, 70% of the columnists were very lukewarm about the coming event.

This tells me there has been a slight movement from last year.

I’m not sure people know why they are doing it any more.

“The big change is it is no longer a gay event and that has become a really big problem for people.

It costs an awful lot of money to stage and all year organisers fundraise to have this big party which fewer and fewer gay people are going to.

“The thing that made it so special ten years ago was that is was small and intimate.”

This view was echoed by Peter Lilley, of Salisbury Road, Hove, who wrote in a letter to The Argus: “It’s neither acceptable nor sustainable for the LGBT community to do most of the work arranging the event (including hosting countless functions to help raise funds) only to find that come Pride itself, the world and his wife (and other assorted couplings) are suddenly falling over themselves to be ‘gay for a day’.”

The absence of political issues highlighted at this year’s Pride has also been noted by many.

Mr Ledward said: “Prides all over the world have always had a very political edge.

A big issue at the moment is bullying so that would have been a good theme.

“The fact that such a number of people are questioning the role of Pride means there is range of voices saying, ‘What are we trying to achieve with this event?’.

“Maybe the time has come for a debate to see what gay people want and what the city wants.”

City councillor Paul Elgood agrees the event could be more political.

He said: “On the night of Pride this year there was a bombing of a gay nightclub in Tel Aviv, which was a sombre reminder.

“A huge section of the community supports Pride each year, which is part of its success, but it should never just be a party.

There is a very serious message behind it.

“We don’t want it just to go mainstream and to become another carnival.

It has got to have a political message for the people who participate in it.

Success “Attracting such a large crowd of people who want to be part of it is a tremendous success but that must never dilute the message why Pride was established.”

He also thinks Pride should not lose the wider community following it has built up.

He said: “Lots of families come to support it.

Parents bringing their young children along is part of a really positive experience.

“It is amazing when you go on the march.

There is a complete mix of people watching, from older people to young people and often those you wouldn’t expect to see supporting it.

It is a great opportunity to get a message to all of those people.”

There are many issues surrounding Pride’s future.

Hopefully these can be addressed and a way forward found.Whatever happens, organisers have to find a balance between the views of those who believe it should go back to its political roots and those who feel it should be a celebration involving the whole community.

We are fortunate to live in a city where the majority of people are so accepting of others, regardless of their sexuality, race or religion.

Pride’s greatest success has been the breaking down of barriers between people and this, along with Brighton’s long tradition of tolerance, is surely something we can all be proud of.