Trans Pride 2026 Final Thoughts
The fourteenth edition of Trans Pride Brighton was our biggest and most defiantly joyful year yet, with a reported 40,000+ people in attendance, a 20–30 person volunteer committee, 75 community stalls, more than 60 acts across our stages and over 320 volunteers helping on the day.
Firstly, on behalf of the whole volunteer committee, I want to thank every one of the tens of thousands of beautiful trans, non-binary, intersex and gender diverse people, and every cis ally, who showed up and supported our event on Saturday. Trans Pride only exists because you make the effort to be there, to march, to celebrate and to care.
We never really know how many people will actually turn up. Every year more people come to the protest march and park events and, despite us doing little to no promotion beyond social media, 2026 was attended by record numbers. It is hard to put into words the feeling of being both excited by the growth of Trans Pride and, at times, intimidated by the logistical challenges that come with that. Mostly, it is excitement.
The city of Brighton is the only place in the world that could host an event with the scale and atmosphere that Trans Pride has grown into. The overwhelming show of solidarity and allyship from all parts of the city was unmissable and unforgettable, and showed Brighton at its very best.
A big thanks goes out to our performers. Between our two parks and the afterparty, we hosted more than 60 trans and non-binary acts. The depth of talent in our community never ceases to amaze me, and being able to platform some genuinely inspiring people is such a privilege. We are so grateful to the team at Polyglamorous for all the work they put into the afterparty and all of the time they donated – it was such a success.
Another first in this record-breaking year was the sheer number of volunteers who signed up to help us on the day – over 320. A huge thank you to every bucket shaker, card machine wielder, setup and pack-down volunteer, litter picker, hi‑viz wearer and marshal. We could not have done it without all of your contributions, and again this shows how Trans Pride only exists because broad swathes of our community care deeply about the happiness of trans people.
One of the things that makes Trans Pride so special is that we are a free‑to‑attend event with no big corporate sponsors. We know that community grows from its roots and that we must give strength to the weakest amongst us. Around 40% of our event budget is raised through Trans Month of Solidarity and on‑the‑day donations and sales, about 20% is raised by income from stalls and afterparty ticket sales, and this year 20% came from sponsors – either super local or community‑owned businesses who have all been vetted for their history of supporting our community and being good trans allies. The final part of our funding comes from individuals, from the single donor who wants to remain anonymous and has covered shortfalls from the last two events, right down to the person who has a direct debit every month donating 50p. We are grateful for every single penny.
We are pretty new to taking sponsorships and we have a strict criteria for which businesses we will work with, so we are really proud to have found a small group of sponsors who know that trans allyship is more than throwing guilt money at Trans Pride and waving a pink, white and blue flag for the day. We are grateful to our sponsors not just for supporting us but for the work they do all year to help trans, non-binary and gender diverse people have safe, happy and fulfilling lives.
Trans people have always existed. In years to come, when this anti‑trans moral panic has passed, society will look back in horror at how the government, the media, the bots and the algorithms were used to oppress us. But despite all that, future trans generations will look back at Trans Pride Brighton as a source of community resistance and joy. They will see how defiant trans anger and defiant trans joy can exist hand in hand, at the same time.Despite the attacks on our rights, the trans and non-binary community is stronger and more resilient than ever. Trans joy cannot be contained or legislated away.
A shout out of thanks has to go to the choirs that showed up – both the surprise performance by the Rainbow Chorus on New Road and members of the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus who carried the two 25‑metre‑long trans flags. The tiny counter‑protest was so beautifully and quickly blocked from view by the flags and the singing, dancing men that almost all of the marchers did not even notice. That is what cis male allyship looks like in practice.
Looking forward to our 15th anniversary on the 17th of July next year, we will ride the wave of love our community has shown us and work even harder to give our trans people the gift of one inspiring, joyful, defiant day of Trans Pride in the July sunshine – in Brighton by the sea.
Photo credits to Michael Cheetham https://www.instagram.com/michaeldanielcheetham?igsh=b293dDdjOWhscnJ2