Brighton Pride is an international event whose reputation is being tarnished by the ongoing uncertainty over Pride 2010.

Pride have announced that Fisher Productions Ltd have won the tender process to produce next years event.

An Experion credit check reveals they have a high credit risk and personal guarantees from a director should be sought. Pride needs to reveal if any personal guarantees have been sought from the directors of Fisher Productions Ltd.

Just over twelve months ago Pride refused Stagfleet Ltd, the owners of Revenge, the right to tender for the bar concessions at Pride on the basis that their credit checks didn’t come up to scratch. Stagfleet Ltd were re-organising their businesses portfolio at the time and two directors of Stagfleet offered personal guarantees of £100,000 to Pride. Pride refused their offer, which resulted in Revenge not having a presence on Preston Park in 2009. Pride now need to explain to the community why they did this.

Wilde Ones, who have produced Pride for the last ten years, tabled a rescue plan more than a month ago that would guarantee the event would happen in 2010, with the same infrastructure on the park as 2009. The Wilde Ones rescue plan leaves Pride and the City with no financial risk.

A Pride worker at the moment is telling anyone who will listen that they expect the council to bail the event out. The council have just finished a cost-cutting round to voluntary sector organisations and eyebrows will be raised if the council do indeed come up with a rescue package. However, if the Council do intend to, they should announce so as quickly as possible, as the longer the uncertainty surrounding Pride 2010 continues, the harder it will be to salvage the event if it proves necessary to do so.

Last month I asked the Pride trustees to consider a twelve month moratorium which would involved extending Wilde Ones contract for a year, while all Pride’s present problems are aired at community level and not just behind the closed
doors of the Pride office. They refused.

This present situation is very, very serious. The future of Pride as we know it is at stake.

I’ve met with Real Brighton.com and we’ve agreed that to be fair to all parties we need to test public opinion on how the community feels Pride should move forward.

The Pride Trustees are merely ‘guardians’ of the event for the community, and without community support the 2010 event will not happen.

There are two proposals on the table.

The Wilde Ones rescue plan in which Wilde Ones take the full financial risk of staging Pride next year, with a commitment to fence the park, give all profits to our voluntary sector groups leaving Pride to organise the Parade.

The other proposal is Pride’s intention to try and stage the event with a new production company who have staged corporate events such as Conservative Balls in the past, but who the experts are saying are a high credit risk.

There comes a time when the talking has to stop and we test the water on how the wider LGBT community at large feel on this matter.

Go to www.realbrighton.com  and have your say from December 29.