Pride's paid worker Judith Manson announced on Juice FM last month that tickets for this year event would cost up to £17.50 if bought on the day.

10,000 tickets have been made available at £8.50 for people with a BN postcode and will be available for two weeks. 30,000 tickets are available at £12.50 and 5,000 will be held for sale on the day at £17.50.

There was no announcement of any concessions for the disabled, students, the unemployed or community groups. A statement posted on Pride’s website, said the ticket prices were justified to control visitor numbers, fund “frontline LGBT services” and dissuade troublemakers. Tickets would go on sale "sometime in April" she said.

Pride's paid worker was not challenged during the interview on the reasons for Stagfleet Ltd owners of Revenge nightclub pulling out of this years Pride bars contract, on who would be operating the various attractions on Preston Park such as the Dance Tent, how much money was guaranteed for the LGBT voluntary sector and HIV charities, whether ticket money for the event would be held in a safe holding account until after the event or be used to finance the event up to August, and whether people would be able to take their own drinks on to Preston Park.

Reaction to the announcement of the level of ticket prices was fast and furious on social network sites and Facebook.

Comments on Pride’s Facebook Page can be read at: www.facebook.com/brightonpride

Students from the two Brighton LGBT university groups set up a Facebook group called Say No To Brighton Pride Ticket Prices.

Comments can be read at:
http://tinyurl.com/prideticketprices.

The students representatives have put their case about their opposition to the ticket prices on page 14 of this months Gscene.

New Pride Trustee, Ryan T Atkin, wrote in an email to other Pride Trustees:
“I’ve seen the response regarding the Ticket Prices. On reflection I think we have got this horribly wrong. I think we need to rethink this, release a big press statement, stating factual prices for what the event is costing, and why. People have the right to know what this event is costing, why we are having to pay out money for the fencing and who told us we had to do it, and what the capacity is and why. None of this information is secret. We as trustees need to stand up and be counted and argue our point across and lay some rumours to bed as far as the alternative Pride, and other inaccurate articles. This would have to be released a day after the board meeting, as it is already causing Pride trouble and grief. Such a shame after a great week of Winter Pride! I will draft a press release for the board meeting on Wednesday as a rough example.”

Pride issued a statement, giving a breakdown of its £675,000 costs for this years event which can be viewed at: www.brightonpride.org

Pride’s statement raises the following questions:

• Pride asserts the event has grown in recent years which has led to increase in costs for infrastructure, production and health and safety.
Where is the evidence for this?

• In 2010 the only difference on the park was a community stage, which replaced the line dancing tent and which we were told was sponsored.

• In 2007 costs for the production of the park were £174.138.

• This rose to £184,116 in 2008 and £208.381 in 2009. (Figures from Pride’s published accounts).

• The costs for production on the park in 2011 as produced in Pride’s most recent statement is £533.250.

Following the appointment of a new production company, costs have risen by £324.869 in two years, from £208.381 to £533.250 - yet the contents of the park remain basically the same.

Pride’s full time staff have reduced from three to one during the same period. Can all this increase be due to the introduction of a fence to enclose the park or is the true Pride deficit hidden in these figures?

Reclaim Pride for The LGBT Community produced a fully costed budget to stage Pride on Preston Park this year. Ticket prices were £6 which included a £1 guaranteed donation to LGBT organisations. The budget was prepared by Wilde Ones International Events Ltd, who staged and produced the budget for Pride on Preston Park from 2000–2009.

As we went to Press Sussex Police announced that now that Pride were charging for entry to the park, they would be charging Pride for the services of Police Officers on Preston Park this year.

A spokesperson for the Reclaim Pride bid which the Council refused to consider, confirmed to Gscene there was an allowance for the cost of police officers in their fully costed bid.