Pride honour those who make Pride happen each year

Pride Directors Paul Kemp and Dulcie Weaver honoured the people who work behind the scenes to make Pride happen each year, at the Pride Supporters Awards at the Brighton Metropole Hilton on Monday night (September 1).

Special awards were presented to representatives from the police and council who helped deliver this year’s Pride, universally acknowledged as the best Brighton Pride ever, and the volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes.

Inspector Anthony Lumb from Sussex Police received a special medal for his support in helping deliver a safe Pride Village Party, which was a paid-for event this year for the first time. £1 from each Pledgeband sold was donated to the Rainbow Fund for distribution through their programme of grants to LGBT/HIV organisations providing front-line services to the LGBT communities in Brighton and Hove.

A special medal was awarded to Richard Butcher Tuset, Head of Policy and Communities at Brighton and Hove City Council, who worked tirelessly on Pride planning and helped deliver the permission to extend the Pride Village Party down to Marine Parade, making it a safer event for the community.

A special medal was awarded to Luke Halloran for his volunteering activities during Pride 2014. Luke sits on the LGBT Community Safety Forum committee and helped deliver this year’s Accessibility Matters Project, making Pride more accessible to older and disabled people than ever before.

A special medal was award to Terry Wing who, as Pride Parade Director, has for the last two years delivered the two biggest Pride Parades the city has ever seen.

The Pride Legend Medal was awarded to Stephen Richards, aka Lola Lasagne, who works so hard to organise and maintain the best cabaret tent at any Pride in the UK. Paul Kemp said: “Lola is a pleasure to work with and definitely runs a self-sufficient ship!”