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Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.OS Explorer map 122: Brighton and Hove. Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing date: 2009. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxons periods. The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" was documented in the Domesday Book (1086). The town's importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses.
In the Georgian era, Brighton developed as a highly fashionable seaside resort, encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who spent much time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion in the Regency era. Brighton continued to grow as a major centre of tourism following the arrival of the railways in 1841, becoming a popular destination for day-trippers from London. Many of the major attractions were built in the Victorian era, including the Grand Hotel, the Hilton Brighton Metropole, the Palace Pier and the West Pier. The town continued to grow into the 20th century, expanding to incorporate more areas into the town's boundaries before joining Hove to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove in 1997, which was granted city status in 2000. Today, Brighton and Hove district has a resident population of about and the wider Brighton and Hove conurbation has a population of 474,485 (2011 census).
Brighton's location has made it a popular destination for tourists, renowned for its diverse communities, shopping areas, large and vibrant cultural, music and arts scene, and its large LGBT population, leading to its recognition as the "unofficial gay capital of the UK". As of the 2021 census, 10.7% of the population of Brighton and Hove over the age of 18 identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, the highest percentage in the entire UK. Brighton has been called the UK's "hippest city", as well as "the happiest place to live in the UK".
Brighton was originally an informal shortened form, first seen in 1660; it gradually supplanted the longer name and was in general use from the late 18th century, although Brighthelmstone remained the town's official name until 1810. The name is of Anglo-Saxons origin. Most scholars believe that it derives from Beorthelm + tūn—the homestead of Beorthelm, a common Old English name associated with villages elsewhere in England. The tūn element is common in Sussex, especially on the coast, although it occurs infrequently in combination with a personal name. An alternative etymology taken from the Old English words for 'stony valley' is sometimes given but has less acceptance. Brighthelm gives its name to, among other things, a church, a pub in Brighton, some halls of residence at the University of Sussex. Writing in 1950, historian Antony Dale noted that unnamed antiquarian had suggested an Old English word brist or briz, meaning 'divided', could have contributed the first part of the historic name Brighthelmstone. The town was originally split in half by the Wellesbourne, a winterbourne which was and buried in the 18th century.
Brighton has several nicknames. Poet Horace Smith called it "The Queen of Watering Places", and "Old Ocean's Bauble". Novelist William Makepeace Thackeray referred to "Doctor Brighton", calling the town "one of the best of Physicians". "London-by-the-Sea" is well-known, reflecting Brighton's popularity with Londoners as a day-trip resort, a commuter dormitory and a desirable destination for those wanting to move out of the metropolis. "The Queen of Slaughtering Places", a pun on Smith's description, became popular when the Brighton trunk murders came to the public's attention in the 1930s. The mid-19th-century nickname "School Town" referred to the remarkable number of boarding, charity and church schools in the town at the time.
Later, there was a Roman villa at Preston Village, a Roman road from London ran nearby, and much physical evidence of Roman occupation has been discovered locally. From the 1st century AD, the Ancient Rome built a number of villas in Brighton and Romano-British Brythonic Celts formed farming settlements in the area. Current Archaeology, 13 March 2014, . Retrieved 27 April 2014. After the Romans left in the early 4th century AD, the Brighton area returned to the control of the native Celts. Anglo-Saxons then invaded in the late 5th century AD, and the region became part of the Kingdom of Sussex, founded in 477 AD by king Ælle. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Parker MS) ( E-text)
Anthony Seldon identified five phases of development in pre-20th century Brighton. The village of Bristelmestune was founded by these Anglo-Saxon invaders, probably in the early Saxon period. They were attracted by the easy access for boats, sheltered areas of raised land for building and better conditions compared to the damp, cold and misty Weald to the north. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 it was a fishing and agricultural settlement, a rent of 4,000 herring was established, and its population was about 400. By the 14th century there was a parish church, a market and rudimentary law enforcement (the first town constable was elected in 1285). Sacked and burnt by French invaders in the early 16th century—the earliest depiction of Brighton, a painting of 1520, shows Admiral Pregent de Bidoux's attack of June 1514—the town recovered strongly based on a thriving mackerel-fishing industry. The grid of streets in the Old Town (the present The Lanes area) were well developed and the town grew quickly: the population rose from 1,500 in 1600 to 4,000 in the 1640s. By that time Brighton was Sussex's most populous and important town.
Over the next few decades, though, events severely affected its local and national standing, such that by 1730 "it was a forlorn town decidedly down on its luck". More foreign attacks, storms (especially the devastating Great Storm of 1703), a declining fishing industry, and the emergence of nearby Shoreham-by-Sea as a significant port caused its economy to suffer. By 1708 other parishes in Sussex were charged rates to alleviate poverty in Brighton, and Daniel Defoe wrote that the expected £8,000 cost of providing sea defences was "more than the whole town was worth". The population declined to 2,000 in the early 18th century.
From the 1730s, Brighton entered its second phase of development—one which brought a rapid improvement in its fortunes. The contemporary fad for drinking and bathing in seawater as hydrotherapy for illnesses was enthusiastically encouraged by Richard Russell from nearby Lewes. He sent many patients to "take the cure" in the sea at Brighton, published a popular treatise on the subject, and moved to the town soon afterwards (the Royal Albion, one of Brighton's early hotels, occupies the site of his house). Others were already visiting the town for recreational purposes before Russell became famous, and his actions coincided with other developments which made Brighton more attractive to visitors. From the 1760s it was a boarding point for boats travelling to France; road transport to London was improved when the main road via Crawley was Toll road in 1770; and spas and indoor baths were opened by other entrepreneurial physicians such as Sake Dean Mahomed and Anthony Relhan (who also wrote the town's first guidebook).
From 1780, the development of the Georgian terraces had started, and the fishing village developed as the fashionable resort of Brighton. The growth of the town was further encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent (later King George IV) after his first visit in 1783. He spent much of his leisure time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion during the early part of his Regency era. In this period the modern form of the name Brighton came into common use. A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Preston Barracks in 1793. It was rebuilt in 1830.
The population increased rapidly throughout the 19th century from 7,339 in 1801 to 46,661 in 1841, and by 1901 the population had reached more than 120,000. The arrival of the London and Brighton Railway in 1841 brought Brighton within the reach of day-trippers from London. Many of the major attractions were built during the Victorian era, such as the Grand Hotel (1864), the West Pier (1866), and the Palace Pier (1899). Prior to either of these structures, the famous Royal Suspension Chain Pier was built, to the designs of Captain Samuel Brown. It lasted from 1823 to 1896 and is featured in paintings by both Turner and John Constable.
Due to the boundary changes, the land area of Brighton expanded from 1,640 acres (7 km2) in 1854 to 14,347 acres (58 km2) in 1952. New housing estates were established in the acquired areas, including Moulsecoomb, Bevendean, Coldean and Whitehawk. The major expansion of 1928 also incorporated the villages of Patcham, Ovingdean and Rottingdean, and much council housing was built in parts of Woodingdean after the Second World War. By the 1970s, the town had acquired a reputation as a retirement destination, with an elderly population. However, this was reversed in the 1990s, as Brighton regained the fashionable status it held in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1997, the town of Brighton and its neighbouring town Hove were joined to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, which was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the millennium celebrations in 2000.
Brighton has long had an LGBT-friendly history. In a 2014 estimate, 11–15 per cent of the city's population aged 16 or over is thought to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. The city also had the highest percentage of same-sex households in the UK in 2004 and the largest number of civil partnership registrations outside London in 2013.
As part of the Jedi census phenomenon in 2001, 2.6 per cent claimed their religion was 'Jedi Knight', the largest percentage in the country.
Although deprivation in Brighton is distributed across the city, it is more concentrated in some areas. The highest concentration is in the Whitehawk, Moulsecoomb, and Hollingbury areas but is also found around the St. James's Street and Eastern Road areas. "Residents slam 'sickening' spread of drugs in Kemp Town" The Argus, 28 June 2019. A 2015 government statistic showed that the area around Brighton's Palace Pier roundabout and to the east towards St James's Street in Kemptown is the seventh-worst living environment in England. On 19 January 2017, Brighton council announced they were looking at certain initiatives to try to alleviate some of the increasing homelessness seen on Brighton's streets and were hoping to open the first in-house temporary housing for homeless people in the city.
Homelessness figures released by Crisis in December 2018 reported a record high in the UK, with figures in Sussex, including Brighton and Hove, reported as being "high".Peter Lindsey (22 December 2018)
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Crisis as Homelessness Reaches Record High The Argus Brighton Argus
At a meeting of the full B&H Council on 25 March 2021, Brighton and Hove became the first UK City to adopt the Homeless Bill of Rights.B&H Homeless Bill of Rights: Homeless Bill of Rights
Behind the estuary was a stagnant pond called the Pool or Poole, so named since the medieval era. This was built over with houses and shops from 1793, when the Wellesbourne was to prevent flooding, and only the name of the road (Pool Valley, originally Pool Lane) marks its site. One original house survives from the time of the pool's enclosure. Behind Pool Valley is Old Steine (historically The Steyne), originally a flat and marshy area where fishermen dried their nets. The Wellesbourne occasionally reappears during times of prolonged heavy rain; author Mark Antony Lower referred to an early 19th-century drawing of the Royal Pavilion showing "quite a pool of water across the Steyne".
Despite 16th-century writer Andrew Boorde's claim that "Bryght-Hempston is among the noble ports and havens of the realm", Brighton never developed as a significant port: rather, it was considered as part of Shoreham-by-Sea. Nevertheless, the descriptions "Port of Brighthelmston" or "Port of Brighton" were sometimes used between the 14th and 19th centuries, as for example in 1766 when its notional limits were defined for customs purposes.
The East Cliff runs for several miles from Pool Valley towards Rottingdean and Saltdean, reaching above sea level. The soil beneath it, a mixture of alluvium and clay with some flint and chalk rubble, has experienced erosion for many years. The cliff itself, like the rest of Brighton's soil, is chalk. Below this are thin layers of Upper and Lower Greensand separated by a thicker band of Gault. The land slopes upwards gradually from south to north towards the top of the Downs.
Main transport links developed along the floor of the Wellesbourne valley, from which the land climbs steeply—particularly on the east side. The earliest settlement was by the beach at the bottom of the valley, which was partly protected from erosion by an underwater sandbar. Changes in sea level affected the foreshore several times: disappeared in the first half of the 14th century, and the Great Storm of 1703 caused widespread destruction. The first sea defences were erected in 1723, and a century later a long sea wall was built.
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In its original form, Brighton parish covered about between the English Channel, Hove, Preston, Ovingdean and Rottingdean. The borough (but not the civil parish) was first extended from 31 October 1873, when was annexed from Preston civil parish. In 1894 the part outside the borough became Preston Rural civil parish and Preston civil parish continued in the borough. On 1 April 1889 Brighton became a county borough.
On 1 October 1923, were added to Brighton borough and to Preston civil parish from Patcham parish: Brighton Corporation was developing the Moulsecoomb Council house there at the time. On 1 April 1928, Brighton civil parish was extended to include Preston civil parish. On the same date the borough grew by nearly five times by adding Ovingdean and Rottingdean parishes in their entirety and parts of Falmer, Patcham and West Blatchington; it also exchanged small parts with Hove municipal borough. All the areas added to the borough became part of Brighton civil parish. From 1 April 1952, more of Falmer and part of the adjacent Stanmer parish were added; 20 years later, land and marine territory associated with the new Brighton Marina development also became part of Brighton. Except for a small addition of rural land in 1993 (from Pyecombe parish), Brighton Borough's boundaries remained the same until it was joined to Hove Borough in 1997 to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove.
The old boundary between Brighton and Hove is most clearly seen on the seafront, where the King Edward Peace Statue (1912) straddles the border, and in a Alley called Boundary Passage which runs northwards from Western Road to Montpelier Place. There is a Listed building parish boundary marker stone in this passageway. Between Western Road and the seafront, the boundary runs up Little Western Street (pavement on eastern side, in Brighton), but it is not visible. Northwards from Western Road, it runs to the west of Norfolk Road, Norfolk Terrace, Windlesham Road and Windlesham Gardens in the Montpelier area, then along the south side of Davigdor Road to Seven Dials. From there it runs along the west side of Dyke Road as far as Withdean Road in Withdean, at which point it crosses Dyke Road so that the section north of that is part of Hove parish. The boundary continues to follow Dyke Road towards Devil's Dyke on the South Downs.
There are 21 wards in the city of Brighton and Hove, of which 12 are in Brighton. Regency, St Peter's & North Laine, Preston Park, Withdean, Patcham, Hollingdean & Stanmer and Hanover & Elm Grove are part of the Brighton Pavilion constituency; Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queen's Park, East Brighton, Woodingdean and Rottingdean Coastal are covered by the Brighton Kemptown constituency.
The newly created Borough of Brighton consisted of six wards in 1854: St Nicholas, St Peter, Pier, Park, Pavilion and West. When the territory was extended to include part of Preston parish in 1873, the new area became a seventh ward named Preston. The seven were split into 14 in 1894: Hanover, Kemp Town (renamed King's Cliff in 1908), Lewes Road, Montpelier, Pavilion, Pier, Preston, Preston Park, Queen's Park, Regency, St John, St Nicholas, St Peter, and West. Preston ward was extended in 1923 to incorporate the area taken into the borough from Patcham parish in 1923 for the construction of the Moulsecoomb estate, and in 1928 the ward was divided into four: Hollingbury, Moulsecoomb, Preston and Preston Park. Elm Grove and Patcham wards were created at the same time, bringing the total to 19. There were further changes in 1952, 1955 and 1983, at which time there were 16 wards. This situation continued until 1 April 1997, when Hove and its wards became part of the new unitary authority of Brighton and Hove.
Brighton Town Hall occupies a large site in the Lanes. Medieval Brighthelmston had a town hall, although it was called the Townhouse and functioned more like a market hall. A later building (1727) known as the Town Hall was principally used as a workhouse. Work on the first purpose-built town hall began in 1830; Thomas Read Kemp laid the first stone, and Thomas Cooper designed it on behalf of the Brighton Town Commissioners (of which he was a member). Brighton Corporation spent £40,000 to extend it in 1897–99 to the Classical design of Brighton Borough Surveyor Francis May. Despite this, the building was too small for municipal requirements by the mid-20th century, and extra council buildings were built in locations throughout Brighton Borough Council's existence: the most recent, Bartholomew House and Priory House next to the town hall, were finished in 1987. The town hall ceased to be responsible solely for Brighton's affairs when Brighton and Hove were united in 1997, but it is still used by Brighton & Hove City Council—particularly for weddings and civil partnerships.
The presence of a British subsidiary of the United States arms company EDO Corporation on the Home Farm Industrial Estate in Moulsecoomb has been the cause of protests since 2004. The premises were significantly damaged in January 2009 when protesters broke in.
Since the amalgamation of Brighton and Hove, economic and retail data has been produced at a citywide level only. Examples of statistics include: Brighton and Hove's tourism industry contributes £380m to the economy and employs 20,000 people directly or indirectly; the city has 9,600 registered companies; and a 2001 report identified it as one of five "supercities for the future". In the past couple of years tourists to Brighton and Hove have fallen in numbers. Over 2016, day visitors to Brighton and Hove dropped by an average of 2,400 per day. In August 2017, new figures for the year showed Brighton's tourism had fallen by a further 1 per cent on the previous year.
Brighton is a popular destination for conferences, exhibitions and trade fairs, and has had a purpose-built conference centre—the Brighton Centre—since 1977. Direct income from the Brighton Centre's 160 events per year is £8 million, and a further £50 million is generated indirectly by visitors spending money during their stay. Events range from political party conferences to concerts.
The Hollingbury Industrial Estate is one of the largest such facilities in Brighton; in its early days about 6,000 people were employed, principally in industrial jobs, but in the late 20th and early 21st centuries its focus has switched to commercial and retail development, limiting Brighton's potential for industrial growth. Brighton Corporation laid out the estate on of land around Crowhurst Road in 1950. By 1956, large-scale employment was provided at a bakery, a typewriter factory and a machine tools manufacturer among others. Most of the large factories closed during the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s, employment fell to 1,000, and structural changes started in the mid-1980s with a move towards small-scale industrial units (the Enterprise Estate was finished in October 1985) and then retail warehouses. Asda's superstore opened in November 1987, MFI followed two years later, and other retail units were built in the 1990s. Two large headquarters buildings were vacated in quick succession when British Bookshops left in March 2011 and The Argus newspaper moved out of its headquarters in 2012—although the Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company signed a contract to move its 1,250 employees into the latter building.
Brighton has a high density of businesses involved in the media sector, particularly digital or "new media", and since the 1990s has been referred to as "Silicon Beach". By 2007, over 250 new media business had been founded in Brighton. Brandwatch is a social media monitoring company based in offices near Brighton station. Computer game design company Black Rock Studio was founded in 1998 and was taken over by Disney Interactive Studios, who closed it down in 2011. The Gamer Network, whose portfolio of websites relating to computer gaming (including Eurogamer) and creative industries was founded in 1999, is based in Brighton.
By the early 21st century, the market for office accommodation in the city was characterised by fluctuating demand and a lack of supply of high-quality buildings. As an example, the Trafalgar Place development ( 1990), "now considered a prime office location", stood partly empty for a decade. Exion 27 (built in 2001), a high-tech, energy-efficient office development at Hollingbury, remained empty for several years and is still not in commercial use: it houses some administrative departments of the University of Brighton. It was Brighton's first ultramodern commercial property and was intended for mixed commercial and industrial use, but its completion coincided with a slump in demand for high-tech premises.
Walking from Brighton station towards the seafront, first, is the North Laine area, stretching from Trafalgar Street, Kensington Gardens, Sydney Street, Gardner Street and Bond Street and is mostly pedestrianised. It is a retail, leisure and the residential area immediately north of the Lanes. Its name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Laine" meaning "fields", although the misnomer "North Lanes" is often used to describe the area. The North Laine contains a mix of businesses dominated by cafés, bars, theatres, and over 400 shops independent and avant-garde shops including an erotic shop and indoor flea markets.
The Lanes which is characterised by a labyrinth of narrow alleyways form a retail, leisure and residential area near the seafront, following the street pattern of the original fishing village. The Lanes contain predominantly clothing stores, jewellers, antique shops, restaurants and pubs.
Churchill Square is a shopping centre with a floor space of and over 80 shops, several restaurants and 1,600 car-parking spaces. It was built in the 1960s as an open-air, multi-level pedestrianised shopping centre, but was rebuilt and enlarged in 1998 and is no longer open-air. Further retail areas include Western Road and London Road, the latter of which is undergoing extensive regeneration in the form of new housing and commercial properties.
There are two weekly flea market / bootfairs in Brighton on Sunday mornings, one at Brighton Marina on the top open-air level of the carpark, and another at Brighton Racecourse.
The first of Brighton's three piers was the Chain Pier, which was destroyed in a storm in 1896. All that remains of the pier are small lumps of wood and stone, which are only visible at low tide. It was primarily intended as a landing stage for to Dieppe, France, but it also featured a small number of attractions including a camera obscura.
Brighton Marine Palace and Pier (long known as the Palace Pier) opened in 1899, it was meant to be a replacement for the Chain Pier, but became a pleasure pier instead. It features a Fair, restaurants and arcade halls. The West Pier was built in 1866 and is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the United Kingdom; it has been closed since 1975. For some time it was under consideration for restoration, but two fires in 2003, and other setbacks, led to these plans being abandoned. Nevertheless, publicity material presented in question-and-answer form during the building of the Brighton i360 observation tower (see below) maintained that the building of the tower would not prove prejudicial to the eventual restoration of the pier.
The Brighton i360, an observation tower located at the shore end of the West Pier, opened on 4 August 2016. At high, with a spacious glass viewing pod rising to , it is Britain's highest observation tower outside London – taller even than the London Eye. With a diameter of , it is also the thinnest tower in the world, with a height-to-width ratio of 41.15 to one.
Brighton Clock Tower, built in 1888 for Queen Victoria's jubilee,Brighton Polytechnic. School of Architecture and Interior Design (1987). 9781869865030, McMillan Martin. ISBN 9781869865030 stands at the intersection of Brighton's busiest thoroughfares.
Volk's Electric Railway runs along the inland edge of the beach from Palace Pier to Black Rock and Brighton Marina. It was created in 1883 and is the world's oldest operating electric railway.
The Grand Hotel was built in 1864. The Brighton hotel bombing occurred there. Its nighttime blue lighting is particularly prominent along the foreshore.
Brighton and Hove has five synagogues: New Church Road Synagogue; Holland Road Synagogue; Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue; Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue; and Middle Street Synagogue. The Middle Street Synagogue is a Grade II listed building built in 1874–75; it is being gradually restored by English Heritage. There are also several mosques
and Buddhism centres.
The city council owns all the beaches, which are divided into named sections by —the first of which were completed in 1724. Eastwards from the Hove boundary, the names are Boundary, Norfolk, Bedford, Metropole, Grand (referring to the four hotels with those names), Centre, King's, Old Ship, Volk's, Albion, Palace Pier, Aquarium, Athina (where the MS Athina B ran aground), Paston, Banjo, Duke's, Cliff, Crescent and Black Rock. Cliff Beach is a Nude beach. Beyond Black Rock, the cliffs (part of the Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest) rise to more than and there are three small beaches at Ovingdean Gap, Rottingdean Gap and Saltdean Gap. All are connected by the Undercliff Walk, which has been affected by several cliff falls since 2000.
Part of the beach adjoining Madeira Drive, to the east of the city centre, was redeveloped opened to the public in March 2007, with a playground, mini-golf, beach saunas and beach volleyball courts.
On the sea wall of Madeira Drive is Madeira Terrace, a Grade 2* listed, 865-metre-long stretch of seafront arches. The Terrace structure has degraded, deemed unsafe, and been closed to the public since 2014. The Terrace is being restored, with a number of plans submitted. In front of the Terrace has been built a new national outdoor swimming centre, including a 50m swimming pool with an adjoining complex of shops, and bars.
Since the demolition in 1978 of the Black Rock open-air lido at the eastern end of Brighton's seafront, the area has been developed and now features one of Europe's largest Brighton Marina. However, the site of the pool itself remains empty except for a skate park and graffiti wall. Since 2003 a series of developments have been proposed including housing, a Hotel rating with a winter garden, and an 11,000-seat sports arena.
"They are a profoundly peaceful place of little woods and glades, sunny banks and shady paths. They have become, in the last 150 years, reservoirs for much of the wildlife of the surrounding countryside. Some of the big beech trees down in Woodvale are as old as the cemeteries. The marbles, limestones, and granites of the memorials are a detective story for geologists. Yaffles call across the trees. The rare greater horseshoe bat has hibernated in the funerary buildings. pit the mossy turf in their search for earthworms, and violet and celandine cheer the turf in early spring."
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Sussex, Heart South, Capital Brighton, Radio Reverb and Gaydio a radio station for the city's LGTBQ+ community.
The local newspaper that serves the city is The Argus.
The Duke of York's Picturehouse, (1990). 9781869865030, McMillan Martin Ltd.. ISBN 9781869865030 dating from 1910, was opened by Violet Melnotte. It is the country's oldest purpose-built cinema and was Brighton's first Electric Movie camera, which still operates as an arthouse cinema. The Duke of York's Picturehouse expanded in 2012, adding two additional screens in a different location. The company now occupies the upstairs of Komedia, situated on Gardner Street, central Brighton. There are two , the Odeon on North Street and Cineworld in the Marina.
An inaugural White Nights (Nuit Blanche) all-night arts festival took place in October 2008 and continued for four years until it was postponed in 2012 due to a lack of European funding. The Brighton Zine Fest, celebrating zine and DIY culture within the city, took place in 2009.
Brighton Fringe runs alongside Brighton Festival, and has grown to be one of the largest fringe festivals in the world. Together with the street performers from Brighton Festival's "Streets of Brighton" events, and the Royal Mile-esque outdoor performances that make up "Fringe City", outdoor spectacles and events more than double during May.
Brighton has two major and several other smaller ones:
Brighton Pride is the first of its kind in the UK, attracting 450,000 to the city over the Pride weekend in 2018.
Disability Pride Brighton promotes acceptance and visibility for area residents who are disabled.
The Brighton Comedy Festival, also known as the Brighton Dome Comedy Festival, takes place in October each year at the Brighton Dome, which includes the Pavilion / Studio Theatre and the Corn Exchange. The festival was incorporated in 2001, and the inaugural festival was held in 2002. Other venues for stand-up comedy include Komedia and the Brighton Comedy Garden.
The annual Brighton Digital Festival explores digital technology and culture. There were versions of such a festival in the late 1990s, but its current iteration came into being in 2011. Other festivals include: The Great Escape, featuring three nights of live music in venues across the city; the Soundwaves Festival in June, which shows classical music composed in the 21st Century; Paddle Round the Pier; Brighton Live; Burning the Clocks, a winter solstice celebration;
The Kemptown area has its own small annual street festival, the Kemptown Carnival, and the Hanover area similarly has a "Hanover Day".
Brighton is the terminus of a number of London to Brighton events, such as the veteran car run and bike ride. Transport rallies are also hosted on the seafront. Groups of mods and rockers still bring their Motorscooter and motorbikes to the city, but their gatherings are now much more sedate than the violent 1960s confrontations depicted in Quadrophenia.
Food- and drink-related festivals include the traditional Blessing of the Fisheries, where barbecued mackerel are eaten on the beach, and the more recent Fiery Foods Chili pepper Festival. There is also a twice-yearly general food festival. The main Sussex beer festival is held in nearby Hove, and there is a smaller beer festival in the Hanover area. The Vegfest (UK) festival was first held in Brighton in 2009. In 2023 it returned for its 15th year, after the COVID-19 pandemic. It takes place annually in March at the Hove Centre.
Brighton has many galleries, including the Brighton Centre for Contemporary Arts (Brighton CCA) based at the University of Brighton, Phoenix Art Space, and ONCA.
Brighton hosts the Great Escape music festival every May. Brighton has produced successful musical acts including Beats International, Norman Cook, Carl Cox, Dave Clarke, Krafty Kuts, Ed Solo, Evil Nine, Electrelane, James Marriott, Frazier Chorus, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, the Levellers, The Maccabees, Electric Soft Parade, British Sea Power, the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, the Xcerts, Architects, the Go! Team, Royal Blood, the Kooks, Freemasons, Blood Red Shoes, Lovejoy, Birdeatsbaby, and Rizzle Kicks. Brighton is also home to several independent record labels. The second half of 1973 rock opera Quadrophenia by the Who takes place at Brighton Beach.
The University of Sussex, established in 1961 as the first of the plate-glass universities, is a campus research intensive university between Stanmer Park and Falmer, four miles (6 km) from the city centre. The university is home to the Institute of Development Studies and the Science Policy Research Unit, amongst over 40 other established research centres, and has been ranked first in the world for Development studies by the World University Rankings. Served by trains (to Falmer railway station) and 24-hour buses, it has a student population of around 20,000 students of which about a quarter are postgraduates. The university has been ranked 41st in the UK by the Complete University Guide in its 2022 rankings and 246th in the world by the World University Rankings of 2021.
In 2001 the music college BIMM (British and Irish Modern Music Institute) opened in Brighton under the name The Brighton Institute of Modern Music. The college has approximately 1500 students across Brighton, its degree courses at BIMM are validated by the University of Sussex and diploma courses are taught at the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy. Notable alumni have included James Bay, The Kooks and Tom Odell. Since the college opened it has expanded to become Europe's largest music college with 6500 students studying at eight campuses across Europe including Bristol, London, Manchester, Berlin, Dublin, Hamburg, and Birmingham.
In 2003, the universities of Brighton and Sussex formed a medical school, known as Brighton and Sussex Medical School. The school was one of four new medical schools to be created as part of a government programme to increase the number of NHS doctors. The school is based at the University of Sussex campus and works closely with the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Brighton & Hove City Council is responsible for 80 schools, of which 54 are in Brighton.
A range of non-university courses for students over 16, mainly in vocational education subjects, are provided at the further education college, Greater Brighton Metropolitan College (previously City College and before that Brighton Technical College). More academic subjects can be studied by 16- to 19-year-olds at Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College (BHASVIC) in the Seven Dials area. Varndean College in North Brighton occupies a commanding position. The 1920s building is celebrated for its façade and internal quads. The college offers academic A levels, the International Baccalaureate and vocational courses, including BTECs.
As Brighton is home to public universities and colleges, it also home to private colleges such as Hove College located near the County Cricket Ground. The college was established in 1977 and offers higher educational courses such as vocational, certificate, professional, diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications and has a close partnership with the University of Brighton.
There are and some faith schools. Notable secondary state schools include Longhill High School, Varndean School, Patcham High School, Dorothy Stringer School, Blatchington Mill School, Hove Park School, Brighton Aldridge Community Academy, and King's School.
Special Education Schools include Downs View and Downs View Link College for people over 16. There are also Pupil Referral Units (PRUs).
There are a number of independent schools, including Brighton College, Roedean School, Steiner School, Brighton Girls (formerly known as Brighton and Hove High School (BHHS)), and a Montessori school. As with the state schools, some independents are faith-based; Torah Academy, the last Jewish primary school, became a Nursery School at the end of 2007. The Brighton Institute of Modern Music, a fully accredited music college, opened in 2001 and has since expanded to five locations throughout Britain.
Brighton has been ranked a top 10 student city in the UK by QS rankings.
Whitehawk Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Whitehawk. They play in the Isthmian League Premier Division. Games are played at The Enclosed Ground, which is set into the South Downs close to Brighton Marina.
Brighton was chosen as one of the 13 Rugby World Cup 2015 host cities, with two games being played at the 30,750 capacity Falmer Stadium (although it was named the "Brighton Community Stadium" throughout the tournament for sponsorship reasons). One of the two games played was one of the biggest shocks in the history of Rugby Union, with Japan defeating South Africa 34 points to 32, with a try in the dying minutes of the game. The other game was between Samoa and the United States.
Brighton has a horse racing course, Brighton Racecourse, with the unusual feature that when the full length of the course is to be used, some of the grass turf of the track has to be laid over the tarmac at the top of Wilson Avenue, a public road, which therefore has to be closed for the races. A greyhound racing circuit – the Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium – in Hove is run by Coral.
Brighton Sailing Club has been operating since the 1870s.
The Brighton and Hove Pétanque Club runs an annual triples, doubles and singles competition, informal KOs, winter and summer league, plus Open competitions with other clubs. The club is affiliated to Sussex Pétanque, the local region of the English Pétanque Association, so they can also play at a Regional and National level. The Peace Statue terrain is the official pétanque terrain situated on the seafront near the West Pier.
Brighton has two competitive swimming clubs: Brighton SC, formed in 1860, claims to be the oldest swimming club in England; and Brighton Dolphin SC was formed in 1891 as Brighton Ladies Swimming. Casual sea swimming is also a popular activity in Brighton, rising in popularity since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amateur track cycling is held at the Preston Park Velodrome, the oldest velodrome in the UK, built in 1877.
There are three recognised surfing breaks close to Brighton, including East of the Marina, by the West Pier and at Shoreham harbour.
By 1985, there were about 5,000 parking spaces in central Brighton. The largest car parks are at London Road, King Street and the Churchill Square/Regency Road/Russell Road complex. In 1969, a 520-space multi-storey car park was built beneath the central gardens of Regency Square.
The only park and ride facility in Brighton is based at the Withdean Stadium. It does not offer a dedicated shuttle bus service: intending passengers must join the Brighton & Hove Bus Company's route 27 service to Saltdean—which travels via Brighton railway station, the Clock Tower and Old Steine—and pay standard fares. The 20-year City Plan released in January 2013 ruled out an official park-and-ride facility, stating it would be an "inefficient use of public money, particularly in an era of declining car use". Councillors and residents in Woodingdean and Rottingdean have claimed that streets and car parks in those areas have become unofficial park-and-ride sites: drivers park for free and take buses into the city centre.
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