Brighton Pride is to be the subject of a council scrutiny panel, according to documents seen by PinkPaper.com.
Pride trustees have apparently approached Brighton and Hove City Council of their own accord, asking for a full review of the nature of the event, funding and the increasingly commercial nature of the festival, although its detractors have been calling for such a review for some months.
The investigation, expected to be publicly confirmed in the next few days, would be independent and have no formal powers but would report by early November following a series of meetings with Trustees and staff. Any recommendations would then be put to a vote of all Pride members.
Elements of Pride’s activities likely to be scrutinised include whether the party in Preston Park should carry an entry charge and indeed whether the park is still the most suitable venue. Also possibly up for discussion is the economic value of Pride to the city and management issues including tendering processes, staff numbers and the make up of the Board.
The review would also look at whether a community focus needs to be re-established and whether the balance between the parade and park event needs to be addressed.
This follows an announcement by Pride bosses that donations at this month’s event fell far short of the £40,000 needed to help the event break even - £23,482.49 was raised this year. While this is the highest amount ever raised from donations, it equates to less than 20p per Pride-goer.
Organisers are calling on everyone who attended the event but didn’t donate to do so now at
justgiving.com/brightonpride.
A spokesperson said the organisation is also looking to local businesses that profited from the event to donate too, claiming that: “while many enjoy Pride as a free event, it costs more than £250,000 to stage.
“A lot of local businesses and individuals do support the charity all year round however, the truth is that there are many more businesses in the city that benefit enormously from the Pride festivities and yet contribute nothing towards to this fantastic event. We are asking these businesses to show their support to ensure Pride 2011 is even bigger and better”.