Kemptown and Pride: the back story

About Kemptown and Pride: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Brighton Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Kemptown runs east from the Old Steine along St James’s Street and Marine Parade to the great Regency squares of Kemp Town. It is the heart of LGBTQ+ Brighton, with bars, clubs and cabaret around St James’s Street, George Street and Marine Parade. Every August, Brighton & Hove Pride, which calls itself the UK’s biggest Pride festival, brings the Pride Community Parade through the city, concerts at Pride on the Park in Preston Park, and the Pride Street Party in Kemptown.

The village

St James’s Street is Kemptown’s main street, lined with independent shops, cafés, bars and clubs; Revenge stands at the Old Steine end.

Regency Kemptown

Further east, Marine Parade and the squares of Kemp Town, with Sussex Square and Lewes Crescent, are among the finest Regency set pieces on the coast.

Book Pride tickets and accommodation well ahead: the city is at its busiest that weekend.

The Pride weekend

Brighton & Hove Pride takes place over a weekend each August (1–2 August in 2026): the Community Parade, Pride on the Park in Preston Park and the Pride Street Party in Kemptown. Dates and tickets: brighton-pride.org.

Our advice: come for Pride if you love a party; come any other weekend for the village itself.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Kemptown and Pride: the back story before you go.