Disability Pride Brighton 2019 is an event that brings disabled people, their families, friends, carers and allies together to celebrate inclusion and diversity, while also raising awareness of disability discrimination. The event will take place on Sunday 14th July from 11.30am until 6pm at Hove Lawns, Brighton and is free entry for all.
About Disability Pride Brighton
Disability Pride Brighton was founded in 2017 by the group’s Chair, Jenny Skelton, after her daughter, who has severe learning disabilities, was discriminated against in a local pub and forced to leave.
Jenny posted the incident on Facebook, which went viral. Jenny received hundreds of messages of support from across the world, all sent by other disabled people who had also been discriminated against.
This inspired Jenny to launch Disability Pride Brighton. It began as a public meeting of only 20 people funded by the charity Scope. One year later, 3,000 disabled people attended Disability Pride 2018. Jenny is now hoping even more people will attend Disability Pride 2019 this weekend.
What’s on at Disability Pride Brighton 2019?
Disability Pride 2019 will be a fun-filled festival with lots of things to do: live music and performers, information stalls, art areas, face painting and food outlets.
The event will open with a short parade along the beautiful Brighton and Hove promenade from the i360 at 11.30am, arriving at the Peace Statue just before midday.
After the parade, everyone will meet at the main stage where there will be guest speakers, including:
- disabled artist Alison Lapper MBE
- Jenny Skelton
- Brighton and Hove Mayor Cllr Alexandra Phillips
- Caroline Lucas MP.
There will also be more than 50 local and national organisations, charities, and community groups attending this year’s festival, offering free information and advice to disabled people, and their families, friends, and carers. Some of these include Scope, Independent Lives, local NHS Trusts, University of Brighton and The Royal British Legion.
In addition, the festival will be launching the hashtags #ComingOutAsDisabled #COAD, which it wants everyone to share. Many people are afraid to admit they have a disability in case they face discrimination, but Disability Pride wants to change this by encouraging people to share their uniqueness. It believes that everyone should be free to be who they are and accepted for themselves as a natural part of human diversity. Even if you can’t attend the event, it would be great if you could share these hashtags.
This festival is aligned with other global Disability Pride events in New York City, Italy and Senegal.
As well as Disability Pride Brighton, there will also be a Norfolk Disability Pride 2019 event taking place on Sunday 29th September at The Forum, Norwich.
Accessibility at Disability Pride Brighton 2019
The event will provide accessible facilities for disabled visitors, including BSL Interpreters, Changing Places toilets, quiet areas and a free shuttle bus service.
Brighton and Hove Buses and Community Transport will run a free shuttle bus every 20 minutes. This will go from Brighton Station to Disability Pride at Hove Lawns this Sunday.
Disability Pride will also offer free travel to companions of disabled concessionary card holders, including on Metrobus services 270 and 271. All you need to do is show the driver your concession card and indicate who’s travelling with you.
Disability Pride Brighton Festival 2019 will take place on Sunday 14th July at 11.30am to 6pm at Hove Lawns, Brighton BN3 2WN.
To find out more about this event, visit Disability Pride Brighton website.
By Emma Purcell
